SALE OF THE CENTURY 1983 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS--MORT KAMINS, CATHY POWERS,FRAN WOLFE--EPS. 4 & 5

No one else has posted this so--35 years later--I had to do it myself. These are the last two episodes of the Finals. November 1983.

[@JohnMossSF]

Thank you immensely for posting this. All three of you played exceptionally well; in fact, in just these two episodes, the caliber of gameplay was the highest I've ever witnessed in the American version of $ale.

[@Eminem200183]

Mort, this has been a pleasure seeing you play $ale during your 2 runs. Winning almost $250K in total is incredible. Cathy and Fran played a great game as well. As Jim said you can’t write a better script than this. It would be awesome if $ale was back on the air, Mort you would win over a million dollars

[@MetroShadow1]

I’m grateful as a quiz show fan but especially this game. This was flat out exciting and thank you for posting this!

[@theedspage]

Thank you for posting and sharing your Sale of the Century journey with us! What a treat to see! Also congratulations!

[@SP84Fanatic]

35 years later, you're still the all-time American daytime game show winnings champion, including tournaments; nobody has unseated you! Thanks for sharing this with us!

[@michaelfalkner1186]

If that is still the record, it may never be broken. I mis-recalled, thinking that was an African-American woman I once saw and joked that the bouquet of flowers she was given made it a cool quarter-mil or whatever...

[@jmjfanss]

Until it was broken recently

[@DougTrovinger]

Thank you for posting this. I hope your family is well. Bless you heart! :)

[@erikpridemore3174]

When we were living in Kingman, Arizona in 1983, I was a Senior at Kingman High School and during Thanksgiving break 35 years ago, we watched and witnessed you becoming the champion of champions winning almost $250,000 in cash and prizes, in the $ale of the Century 1983 Tournament of Champions with host Jim Perry on NBC. And you sure defeated your 2 opponents Cathy Powers and Fran Wolfe to become the grand champion, and not anyone else did what you have done yourself, long before Michael Larson walked away with $110,237 in cash and prizes on Press Your Luck with host Peter Tomarken on CBS. Thanks for posting the last two episodes of the finals Mort Kamins, you are always a game show champion!

[@floorpizza8074]

So fun to watch this. I turned 16 that year. I was driving around in my parent's 1964 Buick Skylark. I kinda wished that the commercials had been left in the video; even those are now a part of historical TV.

[@mfdesq]

Good to see this online - brought back memories. Fran Wolfe was the mother of someone on my Harvard College Bowl team; Lorin Burte (who won The Challengers TOC you played in) preceded me by a year on the U of Chicago College Bowl team; and Nathan Walpole (who participated in The Challengers TOC you played in) was one of my opponents in the 1985 J! Tournament of Champions. Small world, eh?

[@mortkamins4943]

Yes, those quiz show tentacles reach out in many directions. As for my Sale shows, I only found out after I posted them that they’re unavailable elsewhere so what was originally a personal indulgence became something of a minor public service

[@gameshowfanatic9311]

Yes indeed it is a small world, Michael. Is it just me or does Tom Byrd back then look a bit like Marc Summers (host of both Double Dare and Double Dare 2000 on Nickelodeon and WinTuition on GSN)

[@gladfan1989]

Mort, thank you for posting your incredible run to almost $250,000. TBQH, if I were you, there'd be tears in my eyes after winning.

[@alexandergonzalez7538]

Omg Mort Kamins, thank you so much for posting this. Also, saw you on both The Challengers and Double Dare

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

Plus JEOPARDY!

[@richardcleveland6949]

He was also on Win Ben Stein's Money. He defeated Ben and won his money

[@aaronbaker5887]

Can't beat that on Sale of the Century.

[@kambreesuncle2]

God Bless You, Mort!!!

[@spwash1000]

OMG! So he won in total almost a quarter million 💵 worth of cash and prizes during your appearances on $ale back in ‘83. That’s a lot of freakin’ money and a new record. He made the biggest winner in the game show history IIRC. Congrats on your win!

[@kylebulger4240]

The only episode with a quarter million $250,000 up for grabs😊

[@ChuckD79]

Mort, thanks so much for sharing...dunno if you remember me, but we exchanged e-mails a few years back, where you told me all about your appearances on the show, in the tournaments here and abroad, etc (I'm the webmaster of the Illustrious Game Show Page, if that helps!). Nice to finally see these shows again!

[@mortkamins4943]

I do recall replying to your e-mail. Yes, I've been on quiz shows on 3 different continents (possibly the only American who can make that claim?). Anyway, it's good to see you're still around.

[@ChuckD79]

Thanks for remembering me, and glad you're still around, as well...incidentally, someone else uploaded a couple of your Double Dare appearances off Buzzr! And yes, I think you're the only one who holds that title...LOL

[@morgan8757]

i remember having to ditch school to watch this final match

[@darrendoyle568]

Way to go Mort I assume you were the biggest winner in the shows history

[@mortkamins4943]

Thanks- maybe I was the biggest winner but I defer to the experts on that.

[@darrendoyle568]

Mort Kamins it was definitely impressive SOTC was always one of my favorite shows and Jim seemed so cool and nice and this show deserves a reboot

[@misstee101]

Wow way to go!

[@Square1986]

Great job! 👍

[@RaiderChampion34]

I was going to guess that Mort won since he posted the vids, but he beat me to the buzzer.

[@donnapodhurst6552]

Yay for Mort !!

[@TheEggplantThatAteChicago]

As stressful as it was just to watch this, I can't even imagine living it. I was petrified the Fame Game was going to screw it up at the end, even though I have nothing against any of the three players. It was beautiful to see such a solid performance so handsomely rewarded, and I'm grateful everyone has the opportunity again after over thirty-five years. Many happy returns!

[@jnadle1]

I'm so glad Sale adopted the 60 second speed round to really make things suspenseful and not anticlimactic like the three mere questions were.

[@timglende8869]

The speed round was originally 90 seconds.

[@zachhoran]

Fran getting the $25 money card on her last Fame Game pick could have changed the outcome of the tournament.

[@BillyM82094]

Mort was also a Jeopardy! champion in 2000

[@TimBoyd2012]

Always great to see contestants share their experiences. Congrats, Mort!

[@mortkamins4943]

Thanks!

[@LogoMan7777]

"Welcome to Daaaaaays of our Sale of the Century."

[@GameShowMike]

Fran Wolfe later teamed up with Alice Conkright in the finals of the 1985 USA/Australia championship on Aussie Sale.

[@mortkamins4943]

And I was there as one of the also-rans.

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

Champion Mort Kamins has Won Cash and Prizes Totaling... $249,982!

[@tyrese3745]

18 bucks shy of a quarter of a Million dollars!

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

21:31, The Final Episode of the Tournament of Champions

[@blindsportslover]

You know, I'm surprised Wikipedia's article on this game show didn't talk about the special tournaments they did. I honestly didn't know there was a tournament of champions here. I also think they dedicated special weeks of shows throughout its later seasons.

[@mortkamins4943]

I think Wikipedia should, at the very least, mention who won the first American Tournament of Champions.

[@blindsportslover]

@@mortkamins4943 or at least do a rundown of who won the lot/winners board and how much each prize level was. I know that it mentions about the car and the cash jackpot and the ultimate prizes but it would've been nice for a complete list.

[@donovanhoxtell4374]

42:06 balloon drop

[@seanvogt221]

Wow! $18 dollars short of a quarter million dollars!

[@rodneysexton1034]

R.I.P. Jim Perry.

[@aaronb825]

should have had speed round on final day

[@zacheryalderton8910]

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

[@ZACHERYalderton]

national championship

[@damienchance2622]

Congrats

[@liberacebush5136]

Great win Mr Kamins, do you regret not taking the gold panda coins?

[@mortkamins4943]

Not a chance--I would've been an idiot to buy those at that point in the game.

[@quizmaster85]

I vaguely remember you also took part in Australia's World Championships; what did you think of that experience?

[@mortkamins4943]

I was there four times (mostly in Melbourne) so it was a series of experiences, mostly terrific. I enjoyed meeting fellow contestants from the UK, New Zealand and Australia--a lot of smart and quirky people. Everyone working for Grundy was pleasant and accommodating. I just wish I had played better.

[@GamingDelight]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Mort, but your single-network daytime game show winnings record was shattered on TPIR just today. Michael Stouber won $202K in Million Dollar Plinko, plus his Showcase and a progressive jackpot of almost $30K. Total: $262,743.

[@mortkamins4943]

I demand an inflation-adjusted recount!

[@johnnyballenatl]

Mort Kamins Well, records are meant to be broken; Thom McKee at the time of your win was still the all-time holder with $312,700, until Michael Shutterly won $500,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with many others to follow.

[@TimothyMischka]

Do you have a copy of the episode where you won the Lot originally?

[@mortkamins4943]

I do, and I'll probably get around to posting it soon.

[@TimothyMischka]

@@mortkamins4943 Wow, thank you so much.

[@briangreenberg6021]

Thanks for responding to my last question. How would you have handled the Winners Big Money Game if you were on from 1988-89? You had to solve four puzzles in 20 questions to win.

[@mortkamins4943]

Brian, it's hard for me to answer that because I've never seen those shows and don't know what the puzzles consisted of. As a general rule, if it was a matter of general knowledge, I would probably just go for it on the theory of "live by the sword, die by the sword."

[@TheEggplantThatAteChicago]

@@mortkamins4943 You're not missing much. Those episodes are terrible.

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

41:55

[@zachhoran]

And today, a contestant on TPIR wins $260K+, breaking this 36 year old daytime game show record.

[@kylebulger4240]

Was this the highest amount ever won on this game show

[@mortkamins4943]

I defer to the experts-I’m just the winning contestant, not a game show historian-but I believe it was the highest total amount.

[@pem1974]

I'm guessing that $50K was just enough to cover the taxes on everything else. 😁

[@mortkamins4943]

Sold a lot of stuff to raise cash, gave some to charity. Btw, other (enlightened) countries--Australia, New Zealand, e.g.--don't tax game show winnings.

[@davidbrunson3219]

you players need to listen to the questions before you answer...it'll save you points.

[@mortkamins4943]

If you're playing against good players on Sale of the Century, waiting is a recipe for losers. You have to take chances, you have to anticipate, knowing that sometimes you're going to be wrong.

[@getlostyougoofball]

$18 shy of a quarter million.

[@300zxbear2]

Mort, Did You Went to The Middle East, South America or Europe?

[@mortkamins4943]

Two or three trips to Europe (Spain, France, Italy, Monaco, UK)

[@zachhoran]

This is I believe still the biggest daytime game show winner of all time, 35 years later. Price is Right has offered bigger cash prizes thanks to Big Money week with Million Dollar Plinko, but no one on those gimmicks has hit the $200K slot even once.

[@Rewindium]

That finally happened on today’s episode of Price when they played million dollar Plinko. Contestant Michael landed one chip into the $200K slot. He went on to win the showcase with over $250K but adjusted for inflation Mr. Kamins has won more in 2019 dollars