Major League Baseball on television in the 1950s
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
1950
On July 11, 1950 the
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
On August 11, 1951
NBC aired the second and third games of the
The 1951 playoff between Brooklyn and the New York Giants and that year's
1952
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
On January 31, 1953 the
In 1953
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
1955
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 .
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
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
In 1957
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,
1958
In 1958 Dizzy Dean ruffled the feathers of CBS Sports head
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
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
References
- ^ 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.
- 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.
- ISBN 9781139826204.
- ^ "Searchable Network TV Broadcasts – NBC Sports (1950s)". rec.sport.baseball.
- ISBN 978-0803248250.
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette. August 26, 1989.
- 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.
- ISBN 9781599210940.
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