But despite those names, there will still many TV stars who never showed up to show their athletic skills on BOTNS.
So I have come up with what I think are the 25 of the biggest TV stars that never appeared on Battle of the Network Stars.
Two notes before you begin: the list is in alphabetical order and is all men as I will be doing a all-female list later.
Anyway, here is the list:
Alan Alda
Show + Network: MASH(CBS)
Time Period: November 1976-October 1982(I-XIII)
Why: While other members of the cast participated in BOTNS(Jamie Farr[Klinger], Gary Burghoff[Radar], Loretta Swit[Hot Lips], Mike Farell[B.J.]), Alda never did even though he was the heart and soul of MASH as Hawkeye Pierce.
It would have been interesting to see how Alda would have fared because he did serve in the US Army, spending a year at Fort Benning, Georgia and then ironically, six months in Korea(not during the Korean War, though).
Time Period: November 1976-October 1982(I-XIII)
Why: While other members of the cast participated in BOTNS(Jamie Farr[Klinger], Gary Burghoff[Radar], Loretta Swit[Hot Lips], Mike Farell[B.J.]), Alda never did even though he was the heart and soul of MASH as Hawkeye Pierce.
It would have been interesting to see how Alda would have fared because he did serve in the US Army, spending a year at Fort Benning, Georgia and then ironically, six months in Korea(not during the Korean War, though).
Dirk Benedict
Time Period: November 1978-May 1979(V-VI) + May 1983-May 1985(XIV-XVIII)
Why: For you kids out there, Benedict was the original Starbuck on the original Battlestar Galactica(yes, Starbuck was a man) and then "Face" on the A-Team.
While he never played sports, it would have been nice to see Benedict on BOTNS, just for the reason to see if his macrobiotic diet, to which he credits for him beating prostate cancer during the 1970s, would have made him a strong athlete or not.
Pierce Brosnan
Show + Network: Remington Steele(NBC)
Time Period: October 1982-May 1985(XIII-XVIII)
Why: Before he was James Bond, Brosnan was private investigator Remington Steele, though he really wasn't Remington Steele(I'll get to that in another article or you can go ahead and research it).
It would have been curious to see Brosnan partake in some of the events because he is from Ireland so he would have been a fish out of water when it came to the football competition.
But since he went on to play 007, I think Brosnan would have been a very good athlete on BOTNS.
Ted Danson
Show + Network: Cheers(NBC)
Time Period: October 1982-May 1985 + 1988 (XIII-XIX)
Why: I found it hard to believe but no member from the cast of Cheers ever appeared on BOTNS.If anyone did, Danson would have been the perfect choice, not because his character on Cheers was a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but because Danson was a very good basketball player at the Kent School, a private high school in Connecticut.
Fred Dryer
Show + Network: Hunter(NBC)
Time Period: December 1984-May 1985 + 1988 (XVII-XIX)
Why: Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, 10 of them with the Los Angeles Rams, playing defensive end and recording 104 quarterback sacksHe was selected to the all-pro first team in 1974 and second team in 1975, played in Super Bowl XIV, and is the only player in NFL history to record two safeties in one game.
Erik Estrada
Show + Network: CHIPS(NBC)
Time Period: November 1977-May 1983(III-XIV)
Why: While the cast of CHiPS combined for 12 BOTNS appearances(five by Randi Oakes, four by Larry Wilcox, two by Breanne Leary, and one by Tina Gayle)Estarda who played Ponch, never made an appearance, which is a shame because he is the most well-known member of the cast.
James Garner
Show + Network: The Rockford Files(NBC)
Time Period: November 1976-November 1979(I-VII)
Why: While he was in late 40s during the Rockford Files, I think Garner would have been a natural for BOTNS as he played football, basketball, golf and ran track during his days at Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, before dropping out and joining the US Army where he fought in the Korean War as a rifleman for the 5th Regimental Combat team.
Tom Hanks
Show + Network: Bosom Buddies(ABC)
Time Period: December 1980-November 1981(IX-XI)
Why: Before he become a two-time Oscar winner and one of the greatest actors of all time, Hanks was on the short-lived but memorable sitcom Bosom Buddies, playing a man who along with his friend, had to dress up in drag in order to live in an all-girls apartment.Though he had no background in sports, it still would have been funny to see Hanks on BOTNS and see how far he has come in his rise to stardom.
David Hasselhoff
Show + Network: Knight Rider(NBC)
Time Period: October 1982-May 1985(XIII-XVIII)
Why: It's a shame that "The Hoff" never appeared on BOTNS as he was the captain of the volleyball team at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois and is said to be an avid scuba diver and white white rafter which would have made him perfect for the swimming and kayaking competitions.
Judd Hirsch
Show + Network(s): Taxi(ABC + NBC)
Time Period: ABC=November 1978-May 1982(V-XII) NBC=October 1982-May 1983(XIII-XIV)
Why: Surprisingly, only one cast member from Taxi participated in BOTNS and that was Jeff Conway in May 1981.While Hirsch, who played the lead character Alex Rieger, did not have an athletic background, he did serve one year in the US Army which I think give him an advantage in endurance events like swimming and running.
Ken Howard
Show + Network: The White Shadow(CBS)
Time Period: November 1978-December 1980(V-IX)
Why: Just like his character Ken Reeves on The White Shadow, Howard was a former basketball player as he played varsity basketball at Manhasset High School in Manhasset, New York, ironically earning him the nickname "The White Shadow" because he was the only white player on his team.Howard would go on be the captain of the Amherst College basketball team before attending the Yale School of Drama, leading to his acting career.
Don Johnson
Show + Network: Miami Vice(NBC)
Time Period: December 1984-May 1985 + December 1988(XVII-XIX)
Why: While his TV partner, Philip Michael Thomas, was in the infamous 1985 BOTNS, Johnson never made an appearance.I would have like to seen Johnson in the 3-on-3 football competition and see if he could be as good a pass-catcher as his character, Sonny Crockett, was supposed to be as Crockett was a former All-American wide receiver for the University of Florida before joining the Miami Vice department.
Michael Landon
Show(s) + Network: Little House on the Prairie and Highway To Heaven(NBC)
Time Period: November 1976-May 1982(I-XII) December 1984-May 1985 + 1988(XVII-XIX)
Why: The patriarch of the Ingalls family on Little House on the Prairie and angel who was on probation on Highway to Heaven might have been an Olympian as his excellence in the javelin throw at Collingswood High School in New Jersey, earned him a scholarship to the University of Southern California until a shoulder injury ended his track & field career and steered him toward his endeavors in acting.Still, I think Landon would have been really good at the baseball throw or as a quarterback in the 3-on-3 football competition with his javelin expertise.
Ed Mariano
Show + Network: Hill Street Blues(NBC)
Time Period: May 1981-May 1985(X-XVIII)
Why: Playing running back for Cornell University, Mariano led the country in rushing in 1970 and 1971 as he became the first player in college football history to rush for over 4,000 yards in a career.He almost won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 as he finished 2nd to Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan, before embarking on a six-year career in the NFL where he scored 13 touchdowns and played in two Super Bowls with the Minnesota Vikings.
Lee Majors
Show(s) + Network: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Fall Guy(ABC)
Time Period: November 1976-November 1977(I-III) November 1981-May 1985(XI-XVIII)
Why: While he co-hosted the November 1981 BOTNS, Majors never participated in the competition, which is a shame because he had an amazing athletic background.Majors was a star athlete at his high school in Middlesboro, Kentucky, where he ran track and played football, earning a football scholarship to Indiana University, where he spent two years before being expelled by the university for a fraternity fight.
Majors transferred to Eastern Kentucky University where in 1959 his football career came to an end after a back injury left him paralyzed for two weeks, leading him to his true calling in acting.
Gerald McRaney
Show + Network: Simon & Simon(CBS)
Time Period: November 1981-May 1985 + 1988(XI-XIX)
Why: Jameson Parker, who played A.J. the younger Simon, participated in the October 1982 battle, but the other half of Simon & Simon did not even though McRaney had a career playing football until a knee injury in junior high school steered him toward acting.
Donny Osmond
Show + Network: Donny & Marie(ABC)
Time Period: November 1976-November 1978(I-V)
Why: Many teen idols of the late 70s and early 80s took part in BOTNS, like Scott Baio, Parker Stevenson, and even Leif Garrett, so why not Donny?Plus, Captain & Tenille participated in BOTNS, and their vareity show lasted only 20 episodes, while Donny's variety show with sister Marie ran for 78 episodes.
John Ritter
Show(s) + Network: Three's Company and Three's A Crowd(ABC)
Time Period: November 1977-May 1984(III-XVI) and September 1984-May 1985(XVII-XVIII)
Why: Ritter is regarded by some as the greatest physical comedian of all time for his role as Jack Tripper on Three's Company, so it would have been interesting to see if he put those skills as a physical comedian to use on BOTNS.Plus, Ritter is the only one of the original trio not to partake in BOTNS as his TV roommates, Suzanne Somers and Joyce Dewitt, made appearances as participants and co-hosts.
John Schneider
Show + Network: The Dukes of Hazzard(CBS)
Time Period: May 1979-December 1984(VI-XVII)
Why: Schneider was only 18 when The Dukes of Hazzard premiered, so "Bo Duke" might have been the most athletic of all the Dukes cast members with his youth and often performing his own stunts on the show.His TV cousins, Luke(Tom Wopat) and Daisy(Catherine Bach) combined for five BOTNS appearances and even Schneider's temporary replacement, Coy(Byron Cherry) took part in a Battle of the Network Stars.
Starsky & Hutch, (Paul Michael Glaser & David Soul)
Show + Network: Starsky & Hutch(ABC)
Time Period: November 1976-May 1979(I-VI)
Why: It's surprising that neither Starsky(Paul Michael Glaser) or Hutch(David Soul) never appeared on BOTNS, as Starsky & Hutch was one of the most popular shows of the 1970s.While I don't know how well Glaser(he's the one with black hair) would have fared, I think Soul would have done all right for himself since he turned down a contract to pitch for the Chicago White Sox when he was 19.
John Travolta
Show + Network: Welcome Back, Kotter(ABC)
Time Period: November 1976-May 1979(I-VI)
Why: Before he was burning up the disco floor in Saturday Night Live and singing duets with Olivia Newton-John in Grease, Travlota was Vinnie Barbarnio, the "unofficial official" leader of the Sweathogs in Welcome Back, Kotter.Travolta did not play any sports in his youth, but his father was a semi-pro football player, so it would have been interesting to see if those football skills rubbed off on the younger Travolta.
Jan Michael Vincent
Show + Network: Airwolf(CBS)
Time Period: May 1984-May 1985(XVI-XVIII)
Why: While not having a conventional sports background, Vincent was an avid surfer, taking up the sport since his role in the 1978 movie Big Wednesday, so Vincent might have excelled in the swimming and kayaking competition.Plus, Vincent served some time in the California Army National Guard, which does require some military training, which means Vincent could have also been exceptional in the obstacle course portion.
Denzel Washington
Show + Network: St. Elsewhere(NBC)
Time Period: October 1982-May 1985(XIII-XVIII)
Why: Much like Hanks, Washington is a two-time Oscar winner who got his start in television, playing Dr. Phillip Chandler on the medical drama St. Elsewhere.But unlike Hanks, Washington was a former athlete as he was a guard on Fordham University's junior varsity basketball team from 1972-74, playing for head coach P.J. Carlesimo, who would go on to coach Seton Hall University for 12 years, which included an trip to the 1989 NCAA Championship Game, and then four teams in the NBA.
Show + Network: Happy Days(ABC)
Time Period: November 1976-September 1984(I-XVII)
Why: Aayyy! The Fonz was one of the most iconic characters in TV history and yet never made an appearance on BOTNS.Perhaps if they had held a water skiing competition and had to jump over sharks, maybe Winkler would have shown up.
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