The monologue "What it Was, Was Football" was recorded in 
Raleigh, NC for the Colonial label in 1953. Soon, Colonial had 
sold nearly 50,000 copies of the record and then sold the 
masters to Capitol Records. Capitol released the record in 
the same year, and soon had sold nearly 800,000 copies
and was instrumental in launching Griffith’s career in TV,
stage, and film. The record is still one of the biggest
selling comedy records of all time. On the original single,
(below) the monologue is credited to "Deacon Andy Griffith."