# First Jeopardy winner **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406 "2019-05-23T13:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/1 "2019-05-23T13:42:15Z")
What with James’ streak and all the Jeopardy talk going around, I thought it might be interesting to look up the very first winner. There is tons of info out there on winners in general but I couldn’t find who the first winner was. Maybe I just overlooked it. Does anyone know? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/2 "2019-05-23T14:21:04Z")
It looks like Frank Selevan. From the Jeopardy Archive: [J! Archive - Frank Selevan](http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=363) But that’s Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy, not Art Fleming’s. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/3 "2019-05-23T14:48:58Z")
I figured there would be a copy of the Art Fleming one, but like a lot of shows from that era they were taped over. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/4 "2019-05-23T15:13:56Z")
One of the people pictured here? Sorry, just a short clip and don’t know if this is actually the pilot. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NXczGnYaIGI/hqdefault.jpg "Jeopardy! - 1964 Pilot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXczGnYaIGI) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/5 "2019-05-23T15:18:15Z")
[quote=“Folly, post:4, topic:834406”] One of the people pictured here? Sorry, just a short clip and don’t know if this is actually the pilot. [/QUOTE] Notice how straightforward the categories were back then. None of the strange ones of today. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/6 "2019-05-23T18:43:07Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > It looks like Frank Selevan. From the Jeopardy Archive: [J! Archive - Frank Selevan](http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=363) > > But that’s Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy, not Art Fleming’s. One of the earliest episodes - the second one, I think - had all three players bet everything on Final Jeopardy and miss, so the first champion didn’t last very long. > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I figured there would be a copy of the Art Fleming one, but like a lot of shows from that era they were taped over. And the one episode that I know of that exists - the 2000th episode, with Mel Brooks doing his 2000-Year-Old Man character - is in very poor quality. Color tapes from that area just don’t last that long. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/7 "2019-05-23T18:45:50Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > It looks like Frank Selevan. From the Jeopardy Archive: [J! Archive - Frank Selevan](http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=363) > But that’s Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy, not Art Fleming’s. Looks like it was Greg, not Frank that won: [http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player\_id=365](http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=365) ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-jeopardy-winner/834406/8 "2019-05-27T18:00:58Z")
The very first winner on the original version (30 March 1964) was Mary Eubanks of Candor, North Carolina, and she won $345. Source: _The Jeopardy! Book of Answers: 35th Anniversary_ by Harry Friedman and Barry Garron (Rosetta Books, 2018). Friedman is the show’s executive producer, so I would guess that he has access to whatever paperwork survives from the show’s original run. Two episodes from 1974 and the finale from 1975 also survive in their original color videotape format. An episode from the weekly syndicated version from 1974 is posted on YouTube, an off-air recording in B&W.