Brian Billick was a contestant on Episode #3.19 (1978). At the time, he was a college assistant coach who had been cut from an NFL team. After losing the game, Richard Dawson joked, "Failed at football, failed at Match Game. Where will you go now?" In 1999, Billick became the coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and led them to win Super Bowl XXXV in 2001.
The show debuted on Monday, June 25, 1973, at 3:30pm (EST), on CBS, sandwiched between The New Price Is Right (1972) and The Secret Storm (1954). The panel consisted of Michael Landon, Vicki Lawrence, Jack Klugman, Jo Ann Pflug, Richard Dawson, and Anita Gillette. Klugman agreed to appear if his wife, Brett Somers, appeared as a panelist on a later date, along with Charles Nelson Reilly and Betty White. Somers, Reilly, and White debuted on the panel on July 16 1973, and appeared for the next 9 seasons.
Originally when the final match was played, the contestant was allowed to choose a panelist to try and match answers with. Most picked Richard Dawson. The Star Wheel was introduced in 1978. The contestant had to match answers with whichever celebrity the wheel stopped on. If the wheel stopped on a lucky star, the prize would be doubled to $10,000 on CBS, $20,000 on the syndicated version. The first time the Star Wheel was used, it stopped on Richard Dawson, and the other celebrities tried to leave the set.
Initially, the show played things straight. Mark Goodson didn't want it to be a comedy within a game, like NBC's Hollywood Squares. However, ratings shot up after one celebrity answered a question with "boobs." It became the most popular show on daytime television. The comedy angle also appealed to teens, who typically avoided game shows.
A week of episodes was usually shot in one day. During breaks, panelists could change outfits and get something to eat. Food and drinks, including alcohol, were provided. Gene Rayburn and the panelists sometimes seem tipsy on Thursday and Friday episodes.
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