Anyone remember NBA players playing one-on-one during halftime of a nationally televised game in the early 1970s? How many times do you remember playing one-on-one against someone at the playground or the gym?

Back in the 1971-72 and the 1972-73 seasons, Vitalis and the NBA joined forces to showcase a one-on-one tournament of current players who would battle through a tournament to receive a $15,000 prize.

I didn’t initially recall it, but it started to come back to me after a friend did. Any added attraction to a televised NBA game back in the day was something special, especially to see a one-on-one match.

Did the NBA ever have a H-O-R-S-E tournament? We’ve all had our own experiences playing the game.

In this version of my Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond — I’ll take a look at the NBA tournament and other halftime segments during games.

Also, I’ll recall two shows that crossed sports and TV paths. And, who was Peter Puck, and were NFL players ever in the ring with WWWF stars?

Showdown ... The first one-on-one tournament was during the 1971-72 season, and there were 17 teams in the league, along with 34 players (two per team) chosen for the tilt.

The game was 20 points, and you had to win by four. Hard to believe, but Keith Jackson and Bill Russell called all the action. There was no three-point line, but they did shoot foul shots if necessary.

In the inaugural contest, Detroit center Bob Lanier — remember his size 23 sneaker — edged Boston guard JoJo White, 21-16. Their contest was taped and shown during halftime of Game Five of the Lakers-Knicks finals. (You can find it on YouTube).

It’s hard to believe that Lanier beat Pete Maravich in a preliminary round.

During the final two rounds, Mike Newlin defeated John Johnson, Cazzie Russell defeated Bob Kaufmann, Lanier defeated Paul Silas, Mike Riordan defeated Johnny Green, Jeff Mullins defeated Butch Beard, Randy Smith defeated Rudy Tomjanovich, Connie Hawkins defeated Jerry Lucas, and White defeated Jack Marin.

In the next round, it was Newlin over Russell, Lanier over Riordan, Mullins over Smith, and White over Hawkins.

How many of those guys can you recall? You get a star if you knew Buffalo’s Bob Kauffman.

Lanier and White were among the final four the following year, with Geoff Petrie and journeyman Barry Clemens, who was with Seattle at the time.

Clemens shocked everyone by beating Lanier, and Petrie won a classic game over White.

Petrie edged Clemens in the final.

Spell It Out ... In 1977-78, the NBA had a H-O-R-S-E tournament at halftime of the CBS regular-season televised games. Don Criqui and legendary NBA referee Mendy Rudolph called the action.

There were 32 participants, and Maravich was scheduled to meet Paul Westphal in the finals. However, Maravich suffered an injury and was replaced by Rick Barry, who lost to Westphal. Other noted players were George Gervin, Bob McAdoo and Kevin Grevey.

Maravich beat Gervin and McAdoo on his way to the final.

In addition, there was a “Battle of the Sexes” in which Karen Logan, a Utah State women’s basketball player, lost to Oscar Robertson. Logan beat Jerry West two years earlier.

NFL Roots ... Before the landmark, “NFL Today” began its run in 1974, CBS aired some predecessors.

In 1961, “Pro Football Kickoff” debuted a 15-minute pre-game show with host and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack. The next year, the title changed to “The NFL Kickoff” and Kyle Rote took over as the host.

A few years later, Frank Gifford became host of the renamed “The NFL Report,” and its name was again changed to “The NFL Today” in 1967 and it expanded to 30 minutes.

When Gifford left for “Monday Night Football” in 1971, Pat Summerall and Jack took over as hosts. Three years later, Brent Musberger helped change the show into its historic stance.

Loose Pucks ... In the early 1970s, NBC aired “The NHL Hockey Game of the Week.”

During intermissions, NBC held its hockey “Showdown,” in which players and goalies squared off in a penalty-shot format. NBC dropped hockey after 1975.

The concept of Showdown involved 20 of the NHL’s greatest players (16 shooters and four goaltenders) going head-to-head in a taped competition with national voice Brian McFarlane hosting.

Along with “Showdown,” NBC debuted “Peter Puck,” a cartoon in which an animated puck explained the rules of the game. It proved to be a hit, and I remember learning more about hockey from it.

The intermission segment further evolved into a brief book series, Peter Puck: Love That Hockey Game (1975), Peter Puck and the Stolen Stanley Cup (1980), and Peter Puck’s Greatest Moments in Hockey (1980).

Peter Puck made a comeback in 2007 on Canadian broadcasts, and it can still be seen during the first intermission of Toronto’s games on Leafs TV.

Just The Basics ... In 1961, the NFL began its “Punt, Pass and Kick” competition.

Kids from across the country ages six to 13 competed in the three-section format, and CBS showed competitions during their regular-season and playoff games.

In the 1970s, ABC’s Monday Night Football aired the competition at halftime, and Frank Gifford announced the winners in the fourth quarter. One memorable footnote was the 1971 California winner was a young boy named Andy Reid, misspelled on TV as “Ried.”

Do you remember anyone who took part?

Star Quality ... In 1976, ABC began “Battle of the Network Stars,” a show that featured recognized TV stars from three major networks competing against each other. It was one show annually that ran from 1976-88.

Back then, there was a cavalcade of TV stars who we all watched and sometimes could relate to in some way. Regular events were swimming, kayaking, volleyball, golf, tennis, bowling — custom-made outdoor lanes — cycling, three-on-three football, the baseball dunk, running, and the obstacle course.

Gabe Kaplan (Kotter), Terry Savalas (Kojak), and Robert Conrad were captains for the first few years, but there was a revolving door of stars that included Jimmy Walker (J.J.), Gary Burghoff (Radar), Linda Carter (Wonder Woman), Farah Fawcett-Majors (Charlie’s Angels) and Tom Selleck (Magnum) to name a few.

Other Types of Stars ... A few years earlier, ABC unveiled “The Superstars,” a show that involved athletes who participated in sports other than their own, and it became a ratings breaker and a Sunday staple that aired in late February.

Bob Seagren, an Olympic winning pole vaulter, won the first event accumulating 49 points over skier Jean Claude-Killy’s 28 points. Other noted athletes on the opening roster were Rod Laver, Peter Revson, Johnny Bench, Elvin Hayes, Rod Gilbert, Jim Stefanich, Joe Frazier and Johnny Unitas. In case you don’t remember, Revson was a Formula-One and Indy car racer, and Jim Stefanich was a pro bowler.

Some events were a 100-yard sprint, half-mile run, tennis serve, bench press and a bike ride.

It was neat back then to see the “superstars” compete in other sports. Howard Cosell and Jim McKay, the classic ABC voices, and Keith Jackson, who I really liked, had the calls.

In 2017, ABC tried it again on a weekly basis for a year with martial arts expert and MMA athlete Ronda Rousey and then Cowboys defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware hosting, but it didn’t have the same effect as its predecessor.

Back Then ... Speaking of 1973, the price of a stamp was eight cents, gas was 40 cents a gallon, and a movie ticket was $1.70. Maybe some of you can relate to it.

For whatever reason, I always remember the price of stamps.

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... In each column, I will look back on the career of a former pro wrestler from our youth.

Keeping with the theme of the column, a 20-man battle royal was held in 1986 as part of Wrestlemania II that featured events held in New York, Rosemont, Illinois (outside Chicago), and Los Angeles.

One of the highlights was a 20-man WWWF/NFL players Battle Royal in Rosemont.

NFL players involved were Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, Russ Francis, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin and William “The Fridge” Perry. A great WWF lineup had Andre The Giant, Ted Arcidi, Tony Atlas, The Hart Foundation of Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart, The Killer Bees of B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell, Hillbilly Jim, The Iron Sheik, King Tonga, Pedro Morales, Bruno Sammartino, Danny Spivey and Big John Studd.

André the Giant and both members of the Hart Foundation were the final three participants. André first eliminated Neidhart and then Hart to win the battle royal.

Final Thought ... When the Flyers had their Stanley Cup run in the 70s, the “Tastykake Post-Game Show” was a must-watch after games. Gene Hart always did a great job hosting it, and the first Flyer who scored got a case of Tastykakes.

Using Hart’s famous sign-off for this column, “Good Night and Good Hockey.”

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