Andy Griffith’s 1953 Comedy Monologue That Propelled Him to Fame Is Still Hilarious Today

Andy Griffith was a mainstay on television for decades. Before he had his own television show, he performed monologues. Andy Griffith was so talented at this that his comedy monolgues helped boost him into television. His monologues are still funny to listen to today and will make you miss the good old days!

In 1953, Griffith recorded “What It Was, Was Football.” It was mass produced with over 800,000 copies being sold.

Griffith’s monologue is actually one of the best selling comedy records of all time. It has become one of the most beloved comedy recordings of all times.

If you didn’t already know, this is actually is how “Matlock” first got his start!

“What It Was, Was Football”

“What It Was, Was Football” is a monologue in which Andy Griffith describes a college football game as seen by a very naive country preacher who had never witnessed a game before.

RELATED: Andy Griffith Teaches This Boy a Lesson That Today’s Liberals Need to Learn!

He stumbled upon the game and couldn’t understand it. The preacher’s description of the game is both wholesome and hilarious. If you had no previous knowledge of football, imagine how chaotic it would appear!

The country preacher thought the referee was a convict and the football was a pumpkin. And he couldn’t understand why everyone was fighting. 

“Then a convict come over to where they was a-standin’, and he took out a quarter, and they commenced to odd man right there!,” Griffith said. “They did. After a while I seen what it was they was odd-manning for. It was that both bunches-full of them men wanted this funny-lookin’ little punkin to play with. They did.”

Andy Griffith In Mad Magazine

“What It Was, Was Football,” landed Griffith a guest spot on the Ed Sullivan Show, putting him on the map.

Inf fact, his comedy monologue was so popular that in 1958, Mad Magazine printed Andy Griffith’s monologue along with illustrations. 

After the game was over, the naive country preacher still had trouble understanding what happened. But, he fared pretty well. 

“I think it was that it’s some kindly of a contest where they see which bunch-full of them men can take that punkin and run from one end of that cow pasture to the other without gettin’ knocked down or steppin’ in somethin’,” Griffith tells the audience at the end of the monologue. 

RELATED: John Wayne Surprised Everyone When He Sang With Dean Martin

Andy Griffith’s familiar accent adds charm to this fun story, which you can hear below.

Plus, the artwork in the video is from the 1958 Mad Magazine article about the monologue. Enjoy!