In 1950 the
Mutual Broadcasting System
acquired the television and radio broadcast rights to the World Series and All-Star Game for the next six years.
Mutual
may have been reindulging in dreams of becoming a television network or simply taking advantage of a long-standing business relationship; in either case, the broadcast rights were sold to NBC in time for the following season's games at an enormous profit.
Year-by-year breakdown
[
edit
]
1950
[
edit
]
On July 11, 1950 the
All-Star Game
out of Chicago's
Comiskey Park
was televised for the first time. On November 8, 1950,
Commissioner
Happy Chandler
and player reps agreed on the split of the TV-radio rights from the
World Series
.
By
1950
World Series games could be seen in most of the country,
[1]
[2]
but not all. 1950 also marked the first time that there was an exclusive network television broadcaster (NBC). West Coast viewers finally saw live major league games on television during the 1951 postseason.
1951
[
edit
]
On August 11, 1951
WCBS-TV
in New York City televised the first baseball game (in which the
Boston Braves
beat the
Brooklyn Dodgers
by the score of 8?4) in
color
. On October 1 of that year, NBC aired the first coast-to-coast baseball telecast as the Brooklyn Dodgers were beaten by the
New York Giants
in the first game of a
playoff
series by the score of 3?1 featuring Bobby Thomson's two-run home run. Thomson's famous
now-legendary home run
would occur in the third game of the best of 3 series.
NBC aired the second and third games of the
1951 National League tie-breaker series
between the
Brooklyn Dodgers
and
New York Giants
, necessitated by the teams' finishing the regular season in a tie for first place. The three-game
pennant playoff
, which featured the first baseball games televised live from coast to coast (with CBS airing the first game), culminated on October 3 when the Giants won the third and deciding game by the score of 5?4 (off
Bobby Thomson
's
home run
).
Ernie Harwell
called the game for Giants television flagship
WPIX
? the
independent station
's broadcast was simulcast nationally by NBC ? and his description of the home run was a simple shout of "It's gone!" almost at the moment Thomson's bat struck
Ralph Branca
's pitch. Harwell later admitted he had probably called it "too soon", but fortunately for him, the call proved to be correct. "And then", Harwell recalled, "the pictures took over."
[3]
The 1951 playoff between Brooklyn and the New York Giants and that year's
World Series
were the first major league baseball games telecast live from
coast
-to-
coast
[4]
to
coast
;
[5]
[6]
[7]
transcontinental network transmission lines had been completed and activated in September, in-time for the
Japanese Peace Treaty Conference
in San Francisco and the start of the 1951?52 television season.
1952
[
edit
]
The
1952 All-Star Game
at
Shibe Park
in Philadelphia was the first nationally televised All-Star Game, but it was shortened due to rain.
1953
[
edit
]
On January 31, 1953 the
New York Yankees
,
Cleveland Indians
and
Boston Red Sox
joined forces against
St. Louis Browns
owner
Bill Veeck
. The respective franchises tried to force the Browns to play afternoon games in an attempt to avoid having to share television revenues. A month later, Major League Baseball owners received a warning from Senator
Edwin Johnson
about nationally televising their games. Johnson's theory was that nationally televising baseball games would be a threat to the survival of
minor league baseball
. The owners pretty much ignored Johnson since the games on NBC in particular, were gaining a large and loyal following.
In 1953
[8]
ABC
-TV executive
Edgar J. Scherick
(who later created
Wide World of Sports
) broached a Saturday
Game of the Week
,
[9]
TV sport's first network series. At the time, ABC was labeled a "nothing network" that had fewer outlets than
CBS
or
NBC
. ABC also needed paid programming or "anything for bills" as Scherick put it. At first, ABC hesitated at the idea of a nationally televised regular season baseball program. ABC wondered how exactly the
Game of the Week
would reach television in the first place and who would notice if it did? Also, Major League Baseball barred the
Game of the Week
from airing within 50 miles of any ballpark.
[10]
Major League Baseball according to Scherick, insisted on protecting local coverage and didn't care about national appeal. ABC, though, did care about the national appeal and claimed that "most of America was still up for grabs."
In April 1953 Edgar Scherick set out to sell teams rights but instead, only got the
Philadelphia Athletics
,
Cleveland Indians
,
[11]
and
Chicago White Sox
[12]
[13]
to sign on.
[14]
These were not "national" broadcast contracts since they were assembled through negotiations with individual teams to telecast games from their home parks. It was until the
Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961
, that antitrust laws barred "pooled rights" TV contracts negotiated with a central league broadcasting authority.
In 1953 ABC earned an 11.4
rating
for their
Game of the Week
telecasts.
Blacked-out
cities had 32% of households. In the rest of the United States, 3 in 4 TV sets in use watched
Dizzy Dean
[15]
and
Buddy Blattner
[16]
(or backup announcers
Bill McColgan
and Bob Finnegan) call the games for ABC.
CBS
took over the Saturday
Game
in 1955 (the rights were actually set up through the
Falstaff Brewing Corporation
[17]
) retaining Dean/Blattner and McColgan/Finnegan as the announcing crews (as well as
Gene Kirby
, who produced the Dean/Blattner games and alternated with them on play-by-play) and adding Sunday coverage in 1957. As Edgar Scherick said, "In '53, no one wanted us. Now teams begged for "Game"'s cash."
1955
[
edit
]
By 1955
[18]
Dizzy Dean
[19]
and the
Game of the Week
would move from
ABC
to CBS
[20]
(the rights were actually set up through the
Falstaff Brewing Corporation
[21]
[22]
[23]
). "CBS' stakes were higher" said
Buddy Blattner
, who left the
Mutual Broadcasting System
to rejoin Dean. Ron Powers wrote about the reteaming of Dean and Blattner, "they wanted someone who'd known Diz, could bring him out."
Gene Kirby
, who had worked with Dean and Blattner at Mutual and ABC, produced the telecasts and also filled in on announcing duties.
Bob Finnegan, who along with Bill McColgan had called backup games for ABC, performed the same role for CBS, working with a variety of color men including future
Wide World of Sports
host
Jim McKay
[24]
and future
World News Tonight
anchor
Frank Reynolds
.
Another first for NBC during this period was the first
color telecast
[25]
[26]
[27]
of a World Series, the 1955 matchup between the
Brooklyn Dodgers
and the
New York Yankees
.
1956
[
edit
]
In 1956 CBS Sports director
Frank Chirkinian
devised an earplug called an Intercepted Feed Back (or IFB) to connect the announcer, director, producer and thus, smoothing on-air flow.
[28]
1957
[
edit
]
In 1957
[29]
NBC started airing weekend
Game of the Week
telecasts
[30]
[31]
(Sunday telecasts were added in 1959) with
Lindsey Nelson
and
Leo Durocher
calling the action. During this period, NBC (as rival
CBS
had the rights to broadcast at least eight teams) typically broadcast from
Pittsburgh
's
Forbes Field
,
Chicago
's
Wrigley Field
or
Milwaukee
's
County Stadium
. NBC purchased the rights to 11
Milwaukee Braves
games, 11
Pittsburgh Pirates
games, two
Washington Senators
games, and two
Chicago Cubs
games. Leo Durocher was succeeded as
color commentator
by
Fred Haney
in 1960, and
Joe Garagiola
in 1961, while
Bob Wolff
[32]
replaced Nelson on
play-by-play
in 1962.
Also in 1957 CBS added a Sunday
Game of the Week
.
[33]
[34]
[35]
ABC's
Edgar Scherick
said "In
'53
, no one wanted us. Now teams begged for "Game"'s cash." That year, the
National Football League
(NFL) began a US$14.1 million revenue-sharing pact. By 1965, Major League Baseball ended the large-market
blackout
, got $6.5 million for exclusivity, and split the pot.
With CBS now carrying the
Game of the Week
,
[36]
the network's stations in
Phoenix
(
KOOL-TV
),
Little Rock
(
KTHV
) and
Cedar Rapids
(
KGAN-TV
) were finally receiving the broadcasts. Bud Blattner said "America had never had TV network ball. Now you're getting two games a week [four, counting NBC, by
1959
]."
1958
[
edit
]
In 1958 Dizzy Dean ruffled the feathers of CBS Sports head
Bill MacPhail
when he said "I don't know how we come off callin' this the 'Game of the Week'. There's a much better game ?
Dodgers
?
Giants
? over on
NBC
." Dean also once refused a Falstaff ad because the date was
Mother's Day
. When
United Airlines
backed CBS'
Game of the Week
telecasts, Dean ? who hated to fly ? said "If you have to, pod-nuh,
Eastern
is much the best." That year,
George Kell
served as host for the pregame show. During one broadcast, Kell hoped to ask guest
Casey Stengel
about the
Yankees
' batting order. When asked about how it went, Kell said, "Fine. But in our 15 minutes, Casey didn't get past the leadoff batter."
From 1958 to 1960,
[37]
NBC aired a special regional feed of its games in the
southeast
, where the network had a different sponsor (such as
National Bohemian
beer) than for the rest of the country. This feed featured its own announcing team, with
Chuck Thompson
calling the games with
Bill Veeck
(1958) and
Al Rosen
(1959?60). NBC never had a true backup game until 1966, when the network got exclusivity for the
Game of the Week
. In the process, NBC brought in
Curt Gowdy
and
Pee Wee Reese
for the primary game, and
Jim Simpson
and
Tony Kubek
for the alternate game (which was always shown in the markets of teams playing in the primary game).
KTTV
in Los Angeles aired the first regular-season baseball game ever played on the
West Coast
, a
Los Angeles Dodgers
-
San Francisco Giants
game from
Seals Stadium
in San Francisco, California, with
Vin Scully
announcing. In its first year airing Major League Baseball, KTTV aired only the Dodgers' road games.
1959
[
edit
]
Jack Whitaker
and
Frankie Frisch
announced the backup games on CBS from 1959 to 1961. They usually did games that took place in
Philadelphia
,
New York City
,
Washington, D.C.
or
Baltimore
. Whitaker once said in three years, he would only broadcast three innings because CBS would not switch away from Dizzy Dean. However, he said that he learned a lot of baseball just sitting next to Frisch. CBS had other backup crews for games featuring the
Chicago Cubs
and
White Sox
,
Cleveland Indians
and
Cincinnati Reds
. In these cases, Bob Finnegan would handle the play-by-play duties with various analysts depending on the city. CBS did not have
Game of the Week
rights from any other ballparks in those years.
What may be the first sports
instant replay
using videotape occurred on July 17, 1959, during a broadcast of a
New York Yankees
game by New York TV station
WPIX
. It came after a hit by
Jim McAnany
of the
Chicago White Sox
ended a no-hitter by the Yankees'
Ralph Terry
. Since the game was being videotaped, broadcaster
Mel Allen
asked director Terry Murphy to play a tape of McAnany's hit over the air.
In 1959 ABC broadcast the
best-of-three playoff series
[38]
[39]
[40]
(to decide the
National League pennant
) between the
Milwaukee Braves
and
Los Angeles Dodgers
. The cigarette company
L&M
was in charge of all of the telecasts.
George Kell
[41]
and
Bob DeLaney
were the announcers.
Chicago White Sox
announcer
Bob Elson
missed a chance to call the
1959 World Series
? the
White Sox
' first since 1919, and Elson's first since 1943 ? on NBC because the then head of
NBC Sports
, Tom Gallery (who incidentally, grew up on the same block as Elson) did not like him.
[42]
Elson was, however, allowed to call the Series on the White Sox' radio flagship,
WCFL
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Larry Wolters (September 16, 1950). "TELEVISION ALL SET TO HIT LINE FOR GRID FANS".
Chicago Tribune
.
Tribune Publishing
. p. A1.
- ^
Larry Wolters (October 1, 1950). "TELEVISION COMES OF AGE AND STARS FLOCK TO SIGN UP".
Chicago Tribune
. Tribune Publishing. p. NW_B1.
- ^
"Longtime Tigers broadcaster Harwell dies at 92"
.
CBS Sports
. May 4, 2010.
- ^
"Coast-to-Coast TV Lights Up For San Francisco Parley".
The Christian Science Monitor
.
Associated Press
. September 4, 1951. p. 10.
- ^
Mike Dodd (October 27, 2008).
"TV signals limited viewing of 1948 World Series"
.
USA Today
.
- ^
Larry Wolters (September 16, 1951). "TELEVISION SET FOR A BOMBING SEASON".
Chicago Tribune
. Tribune Publishing. p. N_D1.
- ^
"COAST-TO-COAST TV CARRIES PLAY-OFF".
The New York Times
. October 2, 1951. p. 37.
- ^
"Searchable Network TV Broadcasts ? ABC Sports"
.
rec.sport.baseball
.
- ^
Walker & Bellamy 2008
, p. 103
- ^
"Club Owners Veto Television of Spring Games".
The Spokane-Review
. Associated Press. March 14, 1954. p. 1.
- ^
Ames, Walter (June 13, 1953). "Major League Ball Game on KECA-TV; Topper Series Set as 'Irma' Replacement".
Los Angeles Times
. p. A5.
- ^
"Albany Club Owner Asks for Video Of Major League Games in His Area".
Hartford Courant
. Associated Press. June 6, 1953.
- ^
Ames, Walter (May 8, 1954). "L.A.-Las Vegas Relay Ready by Fall; Lamenting Berle Seeks New Home".
Los Angeles Times
. p. A5.
- ^
"TV Baseball Ban Denied By Official".
The Daily Reporter
. Associated Press. March 11, 1954. p. 1.
- ^
George, Dave (April 25, 2008).
"San Francisco"
.
The Palm Beach Post
.
- ^
"Was in Slump All His Career".
Beaver Valley Times
. May 15, 1954.
- ^
"SPORTS BRIEFS".
Los Angeles Times
. March 6, 1954. p. B3.
- ^
"Searchable Network TV Broadcasts ? CBS Sports"
.
rec.sport.baseball
.
- ^
"Dizzy Dean Wants More Time to Enjoy Life".
Hartford Courant
.
Associated Press
. December 22, 1957.
- ^
Walker, James R.; Bellamy, Robert V. (2008).
Center field shot: a history of baseball on television
. University of Nebraska Press. p. 103.
ISBN
978-0803248250
.
- ^
"Falstaff Newspaper Ads 1950-60's"
.
A Falstaff Collector
.
- ^
"SPORTS BRIEFS".
Los Angeles Times
. March 6, 1954. p. B3.
- ^
Sieler, Pete (May 8, 2015).
"TV Radio Movies 1/16/15"
.
TRM ? TVRadioMovies.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 18, 2015.
- ^
"Standby Telecasters Know Answers"
.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
.
United Press International
. May 18, 1957.
- ^
Val Adams (September 27, 1955). "DUROCHER MEETS WITH NBC ON JOB".
The New York Times
. p. 71.
- ^
John Crosby (October 5, 1955). "Series in Color Lacked Black And White's Clarity".
Hartford Courant
. p. 28.
- ^
"Technological Innovations in Sports Broadcasting"
.
Engineering and Technology History Wiki
. September 28, 2015.
- ^
Cassuto, Leonard; Partridge, Stephen (February 21, 2011).
The Cambridge Companion to Baseball
. Cambridge University Press. p. 229.
ISBN
9781139826204
.
- ^
"Searchable Network TV Broadcasts ? NBC Sports (1950s)"
.
rec.sport.baseball
.
- ^
James R. Walker; Robert V. Bellamy (2008).
Center field shot: a history of baseball on television
. University of Nebraska Press. p. 104.
ISBN
978-0803248250
.
- ^
"BASEBALL ON TV TURNS 50 TODAY"
.
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
. August 26, 1989.
- ^
Wolff, Bob (March 23, 2011).
Bob Wolff's Complete Guide to Sportscasting: How to Make It in Sportscasting ...
Skyhorse Publishing Inc. p. 132.
ISBN
9781616080815
.
- ^
"Sunday Baseball TV Plan Proceeds Despite Minors' Pleas".
The New York Times
. December 17, 1957. p. 61.
- ^
"Major League Sunday Game of the Week TV Problems Rages".
Hartford Courant
. December 22, 1957.
- ^
"Minor Prexy Raps CBS for Sunday TV Plans".
Los Angeles Times
. Associated Press. December 26, 1957. p. C5.
- ^
"Baseball Will Collect Record Radio-TV Money".
The Christian Science Monitor
. Associated Press. March 22, 1957. p. 21.
- ^
"NBC's Game of the Week ? 1960"
.
Kinescope Steals Home
. February 25, 2012
. Retrieved
November 5,
2013
.
- ^
Reichler, Joe (September 29, 1959). "Dodgers Confident of National Flag".
Times Daily
. Associated Press. p. 5.
- ^
Lowry, Cynthia (September 29, 1959). "Crosby Sings Plenty".
Kentucky New Era
. Associated Press. p. 18.
- ^
"Vet, Rookie Combine for LA Playoff Win".
The Modesto Bee
. United Press International. September 30, 1959. p. C10.
- ^
"TELEVISION NOTEBOOK; Baseball Scores A Hit Among Week's Shows".
The New York Times
. October 4, 1959. p. X17.
- ^
Curt Smith
(2007).
The Voice: Mel Allen's Untold Story
.
The Lyons Press
. p. 120.
ISBN
9781599210940
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Related
programs
|
|
---|
Related
articles
|
|
---|
Commentators
| Play-by-play
announcers
| |
---|
Color
commentators
| |
---|
Guest
commentators
| |
---|
Hosts and field
reporters
| |
---|
"Inside Pitch"
scouting analysts
| |
---|
|
---|
Lore
| Tiebreaker games
| |
---|
LCS games
| |
---|
World Series games
| |
---|
|
---|
World Series
| |
---|
AL Championship Series
| |
---|
NL Championship Series
| |
---|
AL Division Series
| |
---|
NL Division Series
| |
---|
AL Wild Card Round
| |
---|
NL Wild Card Round
| |
---|
All-Star Game
| |
---|
Music
| |
---|
Seasons
| |
---|
|
---|
Related programs
| |
---|
Related articles
|
|
---|
Commentators
| Play-by-play announcers
| |
---|
Color commentators
| |
---|
Hosts & field reporters
| |
---|
Guest commentators
| |
---|
Other announcers
| |
---|
|
---|
World Series
| |
---|
AL Championship
| |
---|
NL Championship
| |
---|
All-Star Game
| |
---|
Lore
| |
---|
Seasons
| |
---|
|
---|
Game coverage
|
|
---|
Related
articles
|
|
---|
Commentators
| Play-by-play
announcers
| |
---|
Color
commentators
| |
---|
Guest
commentators
| |
---|
Hosts
| |
---|
Field reporters
| |
---|
|
---|
Lore
| Regular season
games
| |
---|
Tie-breaker games
| |
---|
LCS games
| |
---|
World Series
games
| |
---|
|
---|
World Series
| |
---|
AL Championship Series
| |
---|
NL Championship Series
| |
---|
AL Division Series
| |
---|
NL Division Series
| |
---|
All-Star Game
| |
---|
Seasons
| |
---|
|
---|
Contract history
|
|
---|
Over-the-air broadcasters
|
|
---|
Pay television broadcasters
|
|
---|
Streaming media carriers
|
|
---|
MLB owned
and operated entities
| |
---|
Broadcast days
| |
---|
Local broadcasters
|
|
---|
News television series
|
|
---|
Specialty programming
| Reality television series
| |
---|
|
---|
Broadcasters by event
| |
---|
International coverage
| Australia
| |
---|
United Kingdom and Ireland
| |
---|
Canada
| |
---|
Latin America
| |
---|
Brazil
| |
---|
Japan
| |
---|
South Korea
| |
---|
|
---|
Landmark events
| |
---|
Miscellaneous
| |
---|