Westinghouse Tubes Advertisement w/Mickey Mantel
April 1954 Radio & Television News

April 1954 Radio & TV News

[Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

Other than vaguely recognizing the name, do Millennials know who Mickey Mantel was? Maybe hard-core Yankees fans of all ages still know. My having been born in 1958, the kids in my neighborhood watched "The Mick" playing on TV, witnessing real-time some of his final 536 career home runs being hit. When this two-page Westinghouse advertisement appeared in a 1954 issue of Radio & Television News magazine, he was only beginning in his forth season in Major League Baseball (MLB), which ran through 1968. The promotion was for a contest where servicemen who bought Westinghouse vacuum tubes submitted a witty response for the comic showing a housewife (that's what we called them back then) asking the poor bloke who fixed her TV set, "All that money to replace this little tube?" It was a line heard day in and day out. As pointed out in many of the Mac's Radio Service Shop stories, service shops made very little money on the actual technical knowledge and relied on profit margins from replacing parts (that hopefully were legitimately in need of replacing). The payout by Westinghouse was quite generous, with a total of $8,050 in prizes ($94,337 in 2020 money) spread among 209 winners and a chance to meet Mickey Mantel.

Westinghouse Tubes Ad

Win $8,000.00 In Prizes

1st Prize $1,000 Cash

Westinghouse League Leaders

And Dealers Aid Contest

You never saw such an easy contest! Just fill in the names of the teams which were leading each major league on August 1, 1953. Then you have the first leg on the $1,000 Cash First Prize in the exciting League Leaders and Dealer Aid Contest.

Fill in the Entry Blank on the opposite page. Have your distributor salesman certify that you have purchased 25 Westinghouse Receiving Tubes or 1 Westinghouse Picture Tube. And mail your Entry Blank Now Now! An early entry can win one of the big prizes for you.

After naming League Leaders on August 1, 1953, write your answer to the cartoon situation pictured on the Entry Blank. Winners will be judged on the basis of correctness of team selection, and aptness, originality and effectiveness of cartoon solution.

Enter as often as you wish. The more entries you submit, the better chance you have at the 209 Big Cash and Merchandise Prizes. Ask your distributor salesman for additional entry blanks. He will be glad to sign them when he takes your tube order.

209 Prizes for Smart Service Men

2nd Prize - $700 in Your Choice of Merchandise

3RD Prize - $400 in Merchandise You Select

4TH Prize - $300 You Choose the Merchandise

First, Second, Third and Fourth Prize Winners will Meet Mickey mantle or Stan Musial in the Big Prize Award Dinner Westinghouse Has Planned for You in New York

5 Fifth Prizes of $140 Each in Merchandise • 30 Seventh Prizes of $35 Each in Merchandise

20 Sixth Prizes of $70 Each in Merchandise • 50 Eighth Prizes of $20 Each in Merchandise

100 Ninth Prizes of $15 Each in Merchandise

You Can Be Sure... if It's Westinghouse

Reliatron Tubes

Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Electronic Tube Division, Elmira, N.Y.

Fill in This Entry Blank Today!

Posted June 25, 2024
(updated from original post on 3/24/2020)