Quiz 'em on the air
"Quiz 'Em on the Air," also simply called "Quiz 'Em," was a TV and radio quiz show created for high school students in the early 1950s. With the earliest mention of it appearing in 1951, it appears to predate the creation of the College Bowl radio show.
Origins and Format
The show may have had its origins in a national newspaper column called "Quiz 'Em" in the early 1950s that provided interesting bits of trivia. At least some competitions beginning in 1951 in the Memphis area. Though there had been a number of radio quiz shows before featuring individual students, Quiz 'Em appears to have featured school-based teams with faculty sponsors and included both radio and TV versions. Although it appears that the show varied somewhat in format between cities, it mostly featured current events questions drawn from local newspapers. At least some questions, however, were drawn from general knowledge, including tiebreaks. Prizes generally included radios and TV sets as well as complete sets of encyclopedias and other books for school libraries.
The show was portrayed in Detroit as a way to combat "juvenile delinquency."
At least one TV/radio station appears to have continued running "Quiz 'Em" into the late 1970s.
Cities with Quiz 'em on the Air
- Memphis (and the surrounding Mid-South, including Northern Mississippi)
- Indianapolis
- Miami
- Detroit
- Houston