All in the Family poked fun at all kinds of stereotypes — and in the process contributed to the tearing down of some of the walls that divided us in the 1970s.
Sadly much of the TV series' groundbreaking humor would not be tolerated today.
The episode that first aired on this night in 1972, "Archie and the Bowling Team," challenged existing racial and gender roles in its unique way.
Archie (Carroll O'Connor) came home in an unusually good mood. It seemed a member of a prestigious local bowling team — the Cannonballers — had died, opening a spot for which Archie was a finalist. He and two other contenders would compete that night, and their scores would be among the considerations.
Archie had been waiting six years for this opportunity. With the support of a Cannonballer who was known for tearing doors off their hinges when he didn't get his way, Archie figured he couldn't lose.
But while it helped to be a good bowler, as Archie explained to his son–in–law (Rob Reiner), it was also important to be a "special kind of guy."
Mike protested that it was discrimination to "keep a guy out because of what he is."
Archie disagreed. "They don't keep nobody out because of what he is," he insisted. "They keep a guy out maybe because of what he ain't — like if he ain't a good bowler, he ain't gettin' in ... and if he ain't white and Protestant."
At the tryout, Archie knew he bowled better than the first finalist, but the other finalist got off to such a good start that Archie couldn't stand to watch. He arranged for someone to call him with the final result, and he went home.
When the call came through, Archie learned that he and the other finalist had finished with the same score. Archie figured that meant he was in. The other finalist was black.
But he learned differently when his door–trashing buddy came by. The other finalist had been taken. The Cannonballers were under pressure from the other teams in the league to integrate. If Archie had outscored him, the team could have taken Archie, but since they tied, the team had to take the other bowler.
"The world's changin'," he told Archie. He needn't have said that. Archie knew already, and he didn't like it. "Every time it does it kicks me in the butt," he lamented.
This episode is an important reminder of just how much things have changed.
