David W. Crain

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David W. Crain (born 1946) is an American engineer who is known for conceiving and patenting the "1st and Ten" graphical overlay system used in sports television broadcasts. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Crain was born in 1946 in California. [1] He graduated from Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, California. [3] He earned a Bachelor of Science in physics (1968), a Master of Science in materials science (1971), and a Ph.D. in materials science (1976) from the University of Southern California (USC). [1] His doctoral dissertation, titled "Charge Motion in the Variable Threshold Memory Transistor," focused on the development of flash memory transistors. [4]

Career

Crain began his career by joining the United States Naval Oceans System Command in 1968 in San Diego, California, where he worked on the development of microelectronics for anti-submarine warfare systems. [1] [4] During his tenure, he patented the technology that later evolved into the "1st and Ten" system commonly referred to as the football "yellow first-down line". Crain was awarded US Patent 4084184 "TV Object Locator and Image Identifier" on April 11, 1978. [2] The invention, described below, was not utilized in broadcasts until ESPN and SportVision implemented it years later. [5] [6]

Crain transitioned to Sempra in 1976 as Director of Corporate Strategy and later joined Fluor Corporation in 1996 as Director of Markets and Strategies. [4] In 1999, he co-founded the Association for Strategic Planning and served as its president. [4]

Crain has served as a professor at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, Cal Poly Pomona, and the University of Southern California. [4]

"1st and Ten" Invention

Crain in 2019 19 01 11 LA Coliseum David w Yellow Line -2.jpg
Crain in 2019

Crain was awarded US Patent 4084184 "TV Object Locator and Image Identifier" on April 11, 1978. [2] One use of the technology was to create on-field markings to allow TV viewers to identify the distance needed to achieve a first down in televised football games. It did so by inserting graphical elements on the field of play as if they were physically present. He presented the concept to Roone Arledge and Roger Goodman of ABC News and Sports and to Robert T. McKinley of the CBS Technology Center. [1] [7] At the time, the broadcast industry was not ready to use Crain's invention. The invention was brought to market 20 years later and was introduced on ESPN football telecasts in 1998 when signal processing technology had the speed to keep up with insertion of dynamic objects in the field of view. [5] [6] [8] It is now widely used in network sports broadcasts of all types and is considered the foundation technology for augmented reality (AR) video applications. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Swanson: David Crain's 1st-and-10 line measures up as his 'best idea'". Orange County Register. 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  2. 1 2 3 US4084184A,Crain, David W.,"Tv object locator and image identifier",issued 1978-04-11
  3. ↑ e-yearbook.com (tm). "Don Bosco Technical Institute - Techman Yearbook (Rosemead, CA), Class of 1962, Page 57 of 160 | E-Yearbook.com has the largest online yearbook collection of college yearbooks, university yearbooks, high school yearbooks, middle school yearbooks, military yearbooks, and naval cruise books | Yearbook pictures | Yearbook photographs | Yearbook photos | Yearbook images". e-yearbook.com. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "CE 559 SYLABUS STRATEGIC PLANNING IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING". web-app.usc.edu.
  5. 1 2 Staff, The Lamp Online. "The story behind the yellow line". The Lamp. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  6. 1 2 Bennett, Corey Nachman , Dashiell. "14 Innovations That Changed Sports Broadcasting Forever". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-12-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ CBS Television Network Letter from Robert McKinley to Dr. David Crain, June 29, 1979
  8. ↑ "An Explanation of the Football 1st & Ten Line". Symmetry Electronics. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
  9. ↑ "Sports and Training - Augmented Reality : Where We Will All Live". Ebrary. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
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