Color TV's 60th Anniversary: A Look Back Through Life.com Photos

IN PHOTOS: The 60th Anniversary Of Color Television

In the fall of 1951, the first CBS-manufactured color televisions rolled off the assembly line.

Those were the pre-remote control days when children sat on the floor within reach of the television to turn the dials at the command of their parents on the couch. Fast forward 60 years, and television is still America’s favorite pastime (and we're still couch potatoes).

The Nielsen ratings service found that nearly 97 percent of U.S. households own a TV. Sure, there's been a slight decline this year due to the troubled economy and the rise of the Internet, but that's still 114.7 million American homes with color televisions.

So in honor of color TV’s 60th anniversary, Life.com rounded up some images of historical TV moments. Remember watching the 1969 Apollo 11 landing? President John Kennedy's announcement of a blockade of Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis? Or how about them Yankees in the 1952 World Series against the Dodgers? Life.com captured it all.

Take a trip down memory lane through the full photo gallery here.

Enjoy select photos from the gallery below. All images and captions are courtesy of Life.com.

1952

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