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NBC television's relationship withMajor League Baseball technically dates back to August 26, 1939.[1] It was on that particular date that onW2XBS (an experimental television station in New York City which would ultimately become NBC'sflagship station,WNBC), the first-ever Major League Baseball game was televised. WithRed Barber announcing, theBrooklyn Dodgers and theCincinnati Reds[2] played a doubleheader atEbbets 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.
Gillette,[3] which produced World Series telecasts[4] from roughly1947-1965 (before1966, local announcers, who were chosen by the Gillette Company, theCommissioner of Baseball, andNBC television, exclusively called the World Series), paid for airtime on DuMont'sowned-and-operated Pittsburgh affiliate,WDTV (now KDKA-TV) to air the World Series. In the meantime, Gillette alsobought airtime onABC,CBS, andNBC. More to the point, in some cities, the World Series was broadcast on three different stations at once. For example, the1947 World Series (for which DuMont only televised Games 2, 6–7 withBill 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 firsttelevised World Series.[8] The games were broadcast in theNew York City area by NBC'sWNBT,CBS'sWCBS-TV andDuMont'sWABD and sponsored byGillette andFord. The October 1947Billboard 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 ofTime magazine reported that PresidentTruman, who had just made the firstOval Office TV appearance on October 5, 1947 and received the first TV for theWhite 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 onWRGB inSchenectady/Albany,WPTZ inPhiladelphia,WMAR-TV inBaltimore andWTTG in Washington, D.C.
| World Series year | Network | Play-by-play announcers |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | NBC,CBS,DuMont andABC | Jim Britt[9] |
| 1948 | NBC,CBS,DuMont andABC | 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 |
On April 16, 1948, Chicago'sWGN-TV (run by Jake Israel) broadcast its first big-league game, withJack Brickhouse calling theWhite Sox' 4-1 defeat of theCubs in an exhibition game atWrigley 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.
In1948, the World Series would be carried on the aforementioned stations, as well as onWBZ-TV andWNAC-TV inBoston,WNHC-TV inNew Haven andWTVR-TV inRichmond, Virginia.
To clarify, games inBoston were only seen in theNortheast. Meanwhile, games inCleveland were only seen in theMidwest andPittsburgh. 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, andToledo.
Tom Hussey helpedRed Barber call Games 1–2 and 6 inBoston, whileVan Patrick assisted Barber in calling Games 3-5 inCleveland.
CBS' first ever official Major League Baseball telecast occurred on July 12, 1949. It was16th annual All-Star Game fromEbbetts Field inBrooklyn and featuredRed Barber on the play-by-play. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game wasn't truly nationally televised until1952.
By1949, World Series games could now be seen east of theMississippi 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 andSt. Louis) that had been hooked up to network lines over the previous year.
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