Major League Baseball on DuMont
Major League Baseball on DuMont refers to the now defunct DuMont Television Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. More specifically, DuMont broadcast the World Series (during its very early years as a televised event) from 1947-1949.
World Series coverage
For the
| Year | Network | Play-by-play announcers
|
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | NBC, CBS, DuMont and ABC | Jim Britt[10] |
| 1948 | NBC, CBS, DuMont and ABC | Red Barber[11] Tom Hussey (Games 1–2, 6) Van Patrick (Games 3–5)[12] |
| 1947 | NBC[13][14] (Games 1, 5) CBS (Games 3–4) DuMont (Games 2, 6–7) |
Bob Stanton Bob Edge Bill Slater |
Attempts at creating a regular season national package
By the start of the 1950s, Major League Baseball was, for the most part, still in the province of the local market television stations. Outside of these markets, however, televised baseball (unlike on radio) was rare. DuMont's sports programming head, Thomas McMahon[15] was working with individual owners to televise Major League Baseball's first regular season national games in the summer of 1953.[16]
McMahon planned (as far back as January 1953) to set up a corporation to sell the national MLB telecasts meanwhile, giving stock shares to minor league teams. More specifically, McMahon's plan was to negotiate with individual teams rather than Major League Baseball as a whole. This way, McMahon could avoid a potential antitrust suit from the Department of Justice. In order to counter the possible negative effect on the minors (which Western League president Edwin C. Johnson most predominately feared), McMahon would offer them a piece of the national television pie. Furthermore, McMahan argued that since the planned DuMont games would be held on Saturday afternoons,[17] the minors that scheduled most of their games in the evening wouldn't have been greatly affected.
Ultimately, however, the first national Game of the Week package didn't air on DuMont, but on ABC. In April 1953, ABC set out to sell teams rights but instead, only got the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians,[18] and Chicago White Sox[19][20] to sign on.[21] To make matters worse, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within 50 miles of any ballpark.[22]
Major League Baseball on DuMont's affiliates
DuMont's
American League
National League
| Team | Stations | Years |
| Boston Braves | WNAC 7 (later WHDH)
WBZ-TV |
1948-1949 1950-1952 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | WABD 5 (later WNYW) | August 17, 1953-October 1, 1953 |
| Chicago Cubs | WGN 9 | 1948-present |
| Cincinnati Reds | WLWT 5 | 1948-1995 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | KTTV 11 KTLA 5 |
1993-2001 1958-1992 |
| Milwaukee Braves | WTMJ 4 | 1962-1964 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | WTMJ 4 WVTV 18 |
1972-1980 1981-1988; 1993-1997 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | WFIL 6 (later WPVI) | 1959-1970 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | KDKA 2 | 1958-1995 |
| San Diego Padres | KFMB 8 | 1980-1983; 1995-1996 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | KSDK 5 (formerly KSD) | 1948-1958; 1963-1987; 2007-2010 |
References
- ^ Gallant, Joseph. "Channel 12: Feedback". DuMont Television Network | Historical Website.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Pappas, Doug. "Summer 1997: 75 Years of National Baseball Broadcasts". Outside the Lines. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (21 October 2012). "A look back at first TV broadcasts of World Series in 1947". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Lewis, David L. (1976). The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 466.
- ^ Stewart, B.W. (October 5, 1947). "BASEBALL ON VIDEO; Television, Despite Some Handicaps, Scores in World Series Coverage". New York Times. p. X11.
- ^ "Will Carry Series on 5 Networks". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. September 24, 1948. p. 21.
- ^ Wolters, Larry (September 24, 1948). "All Chains Get Offer on Series TV". Chicago Tribune. p. C4.
- ^ Buttefield, C.E. (September 19, 1949). "World Series Via Video Destined for 45 Stations". The St. Petersburg Independent. Associated Press. p. 8.
- ^ Drebinger, John (October 5, 1949). "Reynolds to Face Newcombe (Maybe) in Opener of Series Today". New York Times. p. 38.
- ^ "Mel Allen, Red Barber Named As Broadcasters". The Hartford Courant. October 5, 1949. p. 14.
- ^ "Radio and Television". New York Times. October 8, 1948.
- ^ Wolters, Larry (October 6, 1948). "CHICAGO TO SEE SERIES GAMES FROM CLEVELAND". Chicago Tribune. p. B3.
- ^ Saunders, Dusty (October 1, 2001). "TV BUFFET: BONDS, BOATS, BRONCOS". Rocky Mountain News.
- ISBN 9780275981426.
- ISBN 9781936183869.
- ISBN 978-0803248250.
- ISBN 9781933599410.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Club Owners Veto Television of Spring Games". The Spokane-Review. Associated Press. March 14, 1954. p. 1.