Major League Baseball on television in the 1940s
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2019) |
NBC television's relationship with
By 1947, television sets, most with five and seven-inch screens, were selling almost as fast as they could be produced. Because of this, Major League teams began televising games and attracted a whole new audience into ballparks in the process. People who had only casually followed baseball began going to the games in person. In 1948, Major League Baseball's total attendance reached a record high of 21 million.
Year-by-year breakdown
1947
World Series year | Network | Play-by-play announcers
|
---|---|---|
1949 | NBC, CBS, DuMont and ABC | Jim Britt[9] |
1948 | NBC, CBS, DuMont and ABC | Red Barber[10] Tom Hussey (Games 1–2, 6) Van Patrick (Games 3–5)[11] |
1947 | NBC[12][13] (Games 1, 5) CBS (Games 3–4) DuMont (Games 2, 6–7) |
Bob Stanton[14][15] Bob Edge Bill Slater |
1948
On April 16, 1948, Chicago's WGN-TV (run by Jake Israel) broadcast its first big-league game, with Jack Brickhouse calling the White Sox' 4-1 defeat of the Cubs in an exhibition game at Wrigley Field. WGN televised each Cubs and White Sox home game live. According to Brickhouse,
It worked because the Cubs and White Sox weren't home at the same time. You aired the Sox at Comiskey, or Cubs at Wrigley Field. Daytime scheduling gave the Cubs a decided edge, as Wrigley didn't have lights, so kids came home from school, had a sandwich, and turned the TV on.
In 1948, the World Series would be carried on the aforementioned stations, as well as on WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV in Boston, WNHC-TV in New Haven and WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia.
To clarify, games in Boston were only seen in the Northeast. Meanwhile, games in Cleveland were only seen in the Midwest and Pittsburgh. The games were open to all channels with a network affiliation.[16][17] In all, the 1948 World Series was televised to fans in seven Midwestern cities: Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Toledo.
Tom Hussey helped Red Barber call Games 1–2 and 6 in Boston, while Van Patrick assisted Barber in calling Games 3-5 in Cleveland.
1949
CBS' first ever official Major League Baseball telecast occurred on July 12, 1949. It was
By 1949, World Series games could now be seen east of the Mississippi River.[18] The games were open to all channels with a network affiliation.[19]
The World Series was also seen live in other Northeastern and Midwestern cities (Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis) that had been hooked up to network lines over the previous year.
References
- ^ Moore, Jack. "What's Wrong With TV Baseball? Learning From Red Barber and MLB Classics". The Hardball Times.
- ^ Harasta, Cathy (July 5, 1987). "Baseball Proves As Tough To Show As It Is To Play". Dallas Morning News.
- ^ Gallant, Joseph. "Channel 12: Feedback". DuMont Television Network | Historical Website.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jeff Kaye (October 14, 1989). "CBS, NBC Pinch Hitters to Go Up Against ABC's World Series Television". Los Angeles Times. Times Mirror Company. p. 1.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Searchable Network TV Broadcasts – Syndication". rec.sport.baseball. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22.
- ^ "NBC presents MLB coverage". NBC Sports History Page. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06.
- ^ "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.
External links
- Summer 1997: 75 Years of National Baseball Broadcasts
- Museum TV - SPORTS AND TELEVISION
- Baseball History 1930 to 1939
- Baseball History 1940 to 1949
- Baseball History 1950 to 1959
- Baseball History 1960 to 1969
- Baseball History 1970 to 1979
- Baseball History 1980 to 1989
- Baseball History 1990 to 1999
- Voices of The Game - MLBlog home of baseball author/historian and former presidential speechwriter Curt Smith
- Economic Values of Professional Sport Franchises in the United States
- All-Star Game - TV Analysis & Ratings
- World Series - TV Analysis & Ratings
- MLB TV/Radio History to Year 2000
- Going Inside MLB’s latest $3 billion TV agreements
- Searchable Network TV Broadcasts