He Invented Instant Replay, The TV Trick We Now Take For Granted

Decades before the DVR and years before the first Super Bowl, a young television director decided to try something that would either amaze or confuse TV watchers: the instant replay. With that, Tony Verna revolutionized the way we watch televised sports. He died Sunday at 81.
Verna's most important achievement lasted just a few seconds. During the 1963 Army vs. Navy football game in Philadelphia, Verna, then 29, tried something that had never been done before in a live TV broadcast.