I think it was 1961. My parents bought a 13" Philco. It came with a "remote". The remote consisted of a 6' flexible plastic tube. On one end was a rubber bulb for squeezing. On the other end was attached a 1" metal tube which would be inserted into a hole on the front of the TV.

To use the "remote" one would quickly squeeze the bulb. A burst of air would flow through the tube into the tv. The air pressure would somehow cause the channel to advance one number. That's it. Volume and on/off was still a manual operation.

However, once the tv was on and the volume set, turning the channels was a breeze (pardon the pun).