Major League Baseball on Mutual was thede facto title of theMutual Broadcasting System's (MBS) national radio coverage ofMajor League Baseball games. Mutual's coverage came about during theGolden Age of Radio in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. During this period, television sports broadcasting was in its infancy, and radio was still the main form of broadcasting baseball. For many years, Mutual was the national radio broadcaster for baseball'sAll-Star Game andWorld Series.
Mutual started its baseball coverage in1935, when the network joinedNBC andCBS in national radio coverage. The three networks continued to share coverage of baseball's "jewels" (the All-Star Game and World Series) in this manner through1938, with Mutual gaining exclusive rights to the World Series in1939[1] and the All-Star Game in1942. In1949,CommissionerHappy Chandler[2] negotiated a seven-year, US$4,370,000 contract with theGillette Safety Razor Company and the Mutual Broadcasting System for radio rights to the World Series, with the proceeds going directly into the pension fund. In1957, NBC replaced Mutual as the exclusive national radio broadcaster for the World Series and All-Star Game.
Following the lead of the rivalLiberty Broadcasting System, Mutual also aired regular-seasonGame of the Day broadcasts (a precursor to television'sGame of the Week concept) to non-major-league cities throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
In1950, Mutual acquired the television broadcast rights to the World Series and All-Star Game for the next six years. The network may have been re-indulging in TV network dreams or simply taking advantage of a long-standing business relationship; in either case, the broadcast rights were sold toNBC in time for the following season's games at an enormous profit.
† Mutual also broadcast the1948 American League tie-breaker game nationally.[8] However, the network's coverage did not air in Cleveland[9] due to Indians ownerBill Veeck refusing to grant permission to Mutual affiliateWHK[10]: 168 afterMLB commissionerHappy Chandler selectedMel Allen for its Series coverage instead of either Cleveland announcer.[11] Indians flagshipWJW originated coverage of its own for the tie-breaker game.[12]
Two nights following the1942 All-Star Game, the American League All-Stars traveled toCleveland Municipal Stadium inCleveland, Ohio, to play a special benefit game against a team of players from the U.S.Army andNavy. The contest, which the American Leaguers won 5–0, attracted a crowd of 62,094 and netted $70,000 for the Army Emergency Relief Fund and the Navy Relief Society. Mutual Radio broadcast the second game, withBob Elson,Waite Hoyt, andJack Graney announcing.
Crack of the Bat: A History of Baseball on the Radio.
In the schools, the voices of Jimmy Dudley and Jack Graney could be heard coming from rooms where teachers were supposed to be expounding an arithmetic or grammar. Many teachers brought portable radios to class.