Major League Baseball on television in the 1940s

Baseball culture

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Main articles: Major League Baseball on television, List of World Series broadcasters, and List of Major League Baseball All-Star Game broadcasters

NBC television's relationship with Major League Baseball technically dates back to August 26, 1939.[1] It was on that particular date that on W2XBS (an experimental television station in New York City which would ultimately become NBC's flagship station, WNBC), the first-ever Major League Baseball game was televised. With Red Barber announcing, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds[2] played a doubleheader at Ebbets Field. The Reds won the first game 5–2 while the Dodgers won the second, 6–1. Barber called the game without the benefit of a monitor and with only two cameras capturing the game. One camera was on Barber and the other was behind the plate. Barber had to guess from which light was on and where it pointed.

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

[edit]

### 1947

[edit]

Gillette,[3] which produced World Series telecasts[4] from roughly 1947-1965 (before 1966, local announcers, who were chosen by the Gillette Company, the Commissioner of Baseball, and NBC television, exclusively called the World Series), paid for airtime on DuMont's owned-and-operated Pittsburgh affiliate, WDTV (now KDKA-TV) to air the World Series. In the meantime, Gillette also bought airtime on ABC, CBS, and NBC. More to the point, in some cities, the World Series was broadcast on three different stations at once. For example, the 1947 World Series (for which DuMont only televised Games 2, 6–7 with Bill Slater on the call)[5] was only seen in four markets[6][7] via coaxial inter-connected stations: New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Schenectady, New York; Washington, District of Columbia; and, environs surrounding these cities. Outside of New York, coverage was pooled.

1947 also saw the first televised World Series.[8] The games were broadcast in the New York City area by NBC's WNBT, CBS's WCBS-TV and DuMont's WABD and sponsored by Gillette and Ford. The October 1947 Billboard reported over 3.9 million viewing the games, primarily on TV sets located in bars (5,400 tavern TV sets in NYC alone). The October 13, 1947 edition of Time magazine reported that President Truman, who had just made the first Oval Office TV appearance on October 5, 1947 and received the first TV for the White House, watched parts of the Series but "skipped the last innings". In addition to New York City, live coverage of the Series was also seen on WRGB in Schenectady/Albany, WPTZ in Philadelphia, WMAR-TV in Baltimore and WTTG in Washington, D.C.

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

CBS' first ever official Major League Baseball telecast occurred on July 12, 1949. It was 16th annual All-Star Game from Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn and featured Red Barber on the play-by-play. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game wasn't truly nationally televised until 1952.

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

[edit]

1. ^ Moore, Jack. "What's Wrong With TV Baseball? Learning From Red Barber and MLB Classics". The Hardball Times.
2. ^ Harasta, Cathy (July 5, 1987). "Baseball Proves As Tough To Show As It Is To Play". Dallas Morning News.
3. ^ Gallant, Joseph. "Channel 12: Feedback". DuMont Television Network | Historical Website. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
4. ^ Pappas, Doug. "Summer 1997: 75 Years of National Baseball Broadcasts". Outside the Lines. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017.
5. ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (October 21, 2012). "A look back at first TV broadcasts of World Series in 1947". Philly.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. ^ Lewis, David L. (1976). The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 466.
7. ^ Stewart, B.W. (October 5, 1947). "BASEBALL ON VIDEO; Television, Despite Some Handicaps, Scores in World Series Coverage". New York Times. p. X11.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ "Mel Allen, Red Barber Named As Broadcasters". The Hartford Courant. October 5, 1949. p. 14.
10. ^ "Radio and Television". New York Times. October 8, 1948.
11. ^ Wolters, Larry (October 6, 1948). "CHICAGO TO SEE SERIES GAMES FROM CLEVELAND". Chicago Tribune. p. B3.
12. ^ Saunders, Dusty (October 1, 2001). "TV BUFFET: BONDS, BOATS, BRONCOS". Rocky Mountain News.
13. ^ Moore, Barbara; Bensman, Marvin R. (2006). Prime-time television: a concise history. Westport, Ct.: Praeger Publishers. p. 40\. ISBN 9780275981426.
14. ^ "Searchable Network TV Broadcasts – Syndication". rec.sport.baseball. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011.
15. ^ "NBC presents MLB coverage". NBC Sports History Page. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017.
16. ^ "Will Carry Series on 5 Networks". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. September 24, 1948. p. 21.
17. ^ Wolters, Larry (September 24, 1948). "All Chains Get Offer on Series TV". Chicago Tribune. p. C4.
18. ^ Buttefield, C.E. (September 19, 1949). "World Series Via Video Destined for 45 Stations". The St. Petersburg Independent. Associated Press. p. 8.
19. ^ Drebinger, John (October 5, 1949). "Reynolds to Face Newcombe (Maybe) in Opener of Series Today". New York Times. p. 38.

## External links

[edit]

* Summer 1997: 75 Years of National Baseball Broadcasts
* Museum TV - SPORTS AND TELEVISION
* Baseball History 1930 to 1939[usurped]
* Baseball History 1940 to 1949[usurped]
* Baseball History 1950 to 1959[usurped]
* Baseball History 1960 to 1969[usurped]
* Baseball History 1970 to 1979[usurped]
* Baseball History 1980 to 1989[usurped]
* Baseball History 1990 to 1999[usurped]
* 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 Archived July 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
* HERE IS HOW TV COVERED THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES IN THE EARLY YEARS

* v
* t
* e

Major League Baseball on television

Contract history|

* Blackout policy
* American broadcasting contracts
* Canadian broadcasting contracts
* Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961

| By decade|

* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

|

Over-the-air broadcasters|

* Fox
* ABC
* history

| Former|

* CBS
* DuMont
* NBC
* history

|

Pay television broadcasters|

* ESPN/ESPN+
* FS1
* Fox Deportes
* TBS/Max

| Former|

* USA
* Fox Family/ABC Family

|

Streaming media carriers|

* Apple TV+
* The Roku Channel

| Former|

* Peacock
* YouTube

|

MLB owned
and operated entities|

* The Baseball Network
* Extra Innings
* MLB Network
* MLB.tv

Broadcast days|

* Game of the Week
* broadcasters
* Monday Night
* broadcasters
* Tuesday Night
* Wednesday Night
* Thursday Night
* Friday Night
* Saturday Afternoon
* Saturday Night
* Sunday Afternoon
* Sunday Night

Local broadcasters|

* Current announcers
* Historical television broadcasters

| Regional sports networks|

* AT&T SportsNet
* Chicago Sports Network
* FanDuel Sports Network
* Fox Sports
* Marquee Sports Network
* MASN
* NBC Sports
* NESN
* Rangers Sports Network
* Root Sports
* SNY
* Space City Home Network
* Spectrum SportsNet LA
* Sportsnet
* SportsNet Pittsburgh
* SportsChannel
* YES Network

|

Superstations|

* TBS (Atlanta Braves)
* WGN Sports (Chicago Cubs and White Sox)

Pay-per-view services|

* GiantsVision

Owned-and-operated stations|

* Fox

Syndication arrangements|

* MLB Local Media
* Gray Television

News television series|

* Baseball Tonight
* Major League Baseball: An Inside Look
* Race for the Pennant
* This Week in Baseball

| MLB Network programs|

* Hot Stove
* Intentional Talk
* MLB's 20 Greatest Games
* MLB Network Showcase
* MLB Tonight
* Off Base
* Quick Pitch

|

Specialty programming|

* The Baseball Bunch
* Baseball IQ
* Baseball's Seasons
* Home Run Derby
* Kiner's Korner
* Yankeeography

| Reality television series|

* The Club
* The Franchise

|

Rebroadcasts|

* ESPN Classic
* Mets Classics
* Yankees Classics

|

Broadcasters by event|

* World Series (television ratings)
* ALCS
* NLCS
* All-Star Game
* ALDS
* NLDS
* Wild Card Round

International coverage|

* MLB International

| Australia|

* ESPN Australia
* Fox Sports
* One

|

United Kingdom and Ireland|

* TNT Sports
* Five
* BBC Sport (UK only)

Canada|

* Sportsnet
* TSN
* TVA Sports

Latin America|

* ESPN
* Fox Sports

Brazil|

* ESPN Brasil
* Fox Sports

Japan|

* Fuji TV
* NHK
* TBS

South Korea|

* SPOTV

Landmark events|

* Broadcasting firsts
* Telecasts technology
* Score bug

Miscellaneous|

* Instant replay
* TV markets

* v
* t
* e

Major League Baseball on CBS

Related programs|

* Major League Baseball Game of the Week (1955–1965; 1990–1993)
* Major League Baseball on CBS Radio (1927–1941; 1976–1997)
* Sunday Afternoon Baseball (1958–1965; 1990–1991)
* College World Series on CBS (1988–2002)
* The Franchise (2011–2012)

Related articles|

* World Series television ratings
* Television contracts
* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1990s

| 1964 season|

* Baltimore Orioles
* Chicago Cubs
* New York Yankees
* Philadelphia Phillies
* St. Louis Cardinals

|

CBS
TV stations|

* WJZ 13 (Baltimore Orioles, 1954)
* WBZ 4 (Boston Braves, 1948–1949; Boston Red Sox, 1948–1954)
* WCBS 2 (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1946–1949; New York Yankees, 2002–2004)
* KPIX 5 (Oakland Athletics, 1975–1981; 1985–1992)
* WPTZ 3 (later KYW) (Philadelphia Athletics, 1947–1954)
* KDKA 2 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1958–1995)

Sponsors|

* Falstaff Brewing Corporation

Commentators|

* All-Star Game
* ALCS
* NLCS
* World Series
* Game of the Week
* Prime time

World Series|

* 1947 (Games 3-4)
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

AL Championship|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

NL Championship|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

All-Star Game|

* 1949
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

Lore|

* 1951 National League tie-breaker series (Game 1)
* Nasty Boys (Cincinnati Reds) (1990)
* "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" (1991)
* "The Slide" (1992)
* Michael Jordan's first retirement (1993)
* "Touch 'em all Joe!" (1993)

Seasons|

| Early World Series coverage|

* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

|

Initial Game of the Week era|

* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965 (New York Yankees games only)

Exclusive network package|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

* v
* t
* e

Major League Baseball on NBC

Game coverage|

* Major League Baseball on NBC Radio (1927–1938; 1957–1975)
* Major League Baseball Game of the Week (1957–1964; 1966–1989)
* Sunday Afternoon Baseball (1959–1964)
* Monday Night Baseball (1967–1975)
* Baseball Night in America (1994–1995)
* MLB Sunday Leadoff (2022–2023)

| Miscellaneous
programs|

* Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
* Major League Baseball: An Inside Look (1979–1989) (pregame show)
* USA Network Thursday Night Baseball (1979–1983)

|

Related
articles|

* History
* The Baseball Network
* World Series television ratings
* Television contracts
* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s

| NBC's owned
and operated
TV stations|

* W2XBS (later WNBT) (New York Yankees, 1939–1945)
* WCAU 10 (Philadelphia Phillies, 2014–present)
* KCST 39 (later KNSD) (San Diego Padres, 1971–1972; 1984–1986)
* KNTV 11 (San Francisco Giants, 2008–present)

|

NBC Sports|

* Bay Area (San Francisco Giants)
* California (Athletics)
* Chicago (Chicago Cubs [2004–2019] and White Sox [2004–2024])
* Philadelphia (Philadelphia Phillies)
* New York (New York Mets)

Commentators|

* The Baseball Network
* All-Star Game
* ALCS
* ALDS
* NLCS
* NLDS
* World Series
* Game of the Week
* Prime time

Lore|

| Regular season
games|

* #715 (1974)
* "The Sandberg Game" (1984)

|

Tie-breaker games|

* 1951 National League tie-breaker series (Games 2–3)
* 1962 National League tie-breaker series

LCS games|

* "Go crazy folks!" (1985)
* Jeffrey Maier (1996)
* "Grand Slam Single" (1999)

World Series
games|

* Subway Series
* "The Catch" (1954)
* Don Larsen's perfect game (1956)
* Bill Mazeroski's home run (1960)
* "Shoe polish incident" (1969)
* "Fisk Waves it Fair" (1975)
* Michael Sergio (1986)
* "It gets through Buckner!" (1986)
* Kirk Gibson's home run (1988)
* All-Century Team (1999)

World Series|

* 1947 (Games 1 and 5)
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1978
* 1980
* 1982
* 1984
* 1986
* 1988
* 1995 (Games 2, 3, and 6)
* 1997
* 1999

AL Championship Series|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1977
* 1979
* 1981
* 1983
* 1985
* 1987
* 1989
* 1995 (Games 3–6)
* 1996
* 1998
* 2000

NL Championship Series|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1977
* 1979
* 1981
* 1983
* 1985
* 1987
* 1989
* 1995 (Games 3–4)
* 1997
* 1999

AL Division Series|

* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000

NL Division Series|

* 1981
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

All-Star Game|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959: First-Second
* 1960: First-Second
* 1961: First-Second
* 1962: First-Second
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1977
* 1979
* 1981
* 1983
* 1985
* 1987
* 1989
* 1994
* 1996
* 1998
* 2000

Seasons|

| Pre-Game of the Week|

* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956

|

Game of the Week era|

* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965 (All-Star Game and World Series only)
* 1966 (exclusive coverage begins)
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

The Baseball Network era|

* 1994
* 1995

No regular season
coverage|

* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000

MLB Sunday Leadoff era|

* 2022
* 2023

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template