Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)
On 26th August, 1939, Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds played a doubleheader at the Dodgers' Ebbets Field. A doubleheader counting towards the 1939 MLB National League standings, the games made television history as the first televised MLB games and the first televised professional baseball games.
Background
Heading into the event, Cincinnati Reds were leading the 1939 MLB National League, and would ultimately end up as champions[1] before losing to American League champions New York Yankees 4-0 in the World Series.[2] Nevertheless, the team had lost their latest game to Brooklyn Dodgers two days earlier, losing 2-4 on home ground.[3] Therefore, the Dodgers, who would ultimately finish third in the standings, had a chance to close the gap between the two teams, this time on home soil.
Meanwhile, NBC had been making progress with broadcasting baseball games. The Dodgers-Reds event was not the first televised baseball game. Earlier that same year on 17th May, NBC had broadcast a college baseball game between Columbia Lions and Princeton Tigers. With that broadcast a success, NBC were looking to break further ground by televising a professional baseball game.[4] The doubleheader between the Dodgers and Reds was ideal, due to Ebbets Field's geographical proximity to the Empire State Building transmitter, which could pick up and re-broadcast the game on NBC's experimental W2XBS station from a 50-mile radius.[5] A small crew were on hand to capture the game, providing a mobile unit truck and two isometric cameras. One camera would be placed so that it could be aimed down the third-base line so that infield throws could be captured, while the other was situated above the home plate so that a view of the pitch could be clearly seen.[6]
Walter "Red" Barber was selected as the commentator, providing play-by-play analysis of the doubleheader. Commentating for television proved a challenge for Barber due to the absence of a monitor and with only two cameras to help capture footage. Barber stated that he had to watch to see which of the cameras had its red light on at that time, then determine its direction so as to provide useful commentary.[7] The games would be broadcast across New York City, including in the RCA Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. Indeed, organisers felt that the doubleheader was ideal to showcase the United States' television might and potential. Sources conflict on the number of television viewers; MLB claims that 3,000 viewed the game,[8] whereas History states that only 400 viewers did so. Considering that a televised NFL game between Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles on 22nd October that same year was estimated to have had around 500 to 1,000 viewers, the 3,000 viewership claim is likely inaccurate.
Overall, the broadcast proved to be a success for NBC. It was not without its challenges concerning picture quality, with a review by The New York Times criticising how the ball was seldom seen and that players resembled "flies". Nevertheless, it did contribute towards further development of television technology and broadcasting of other sporting events like NFL games.[9] While baseball owners initially objected towards televising games due to concern they would reduce stadium attendance, the chance for additional revenue through game exposure proved influential towards changing their minds. Televised baseball would therefore pick up by the Autumn of 1951, with further progress made towards it becoming primetime programming across America.
The Doubleheader
The doubleheader was played in front of 33,535 fans. In the first game, the Dodgers took the lead in the second innings thanks to runs from Babe Phelps and Gene Moore. However, after five consecutive innings without runs, the Reds gained control in the eighth with five runs. The Dodgers were unable to respond in the final innings, allowing the Reds to win the game 5-2.[10]
In the second game, the Dodgers assumed control thanks to scoring two and four runs in innings 2 and 3 respectively, with the Reds unable to respond. Art Parks and Dolph Camilli both successfully accumulated two runs each overall. The Reds did manage to secure one run in the eighth inning courtesy of of Ival Goodman, but after failing to score in the final inning, the game ended with the Dodgers winning 6-1 without having to bat.[11]
The New York Times report praised Reds' Bucky Walters for allowing just two hits in the opening game, and deemed Dodgers' Luke Hamlin responsible for his team blowing away a 2-0 lead. As for the second game, the report praised Camilli for his batting in the second inning, particularly for a twenty-second homer that allowed Hugh Casey to score, and for a double that allowed him to score.
Availability
Like all early television programs, coverage of the Dodgers-Reds game was broadcast live and were not directly recorded as there were no means of achieving this for television prior to the end of the Second World War.[12] Thus, all televised footage of this MLB doubleheader is now permanently missing. While some photographs of the game survive, no footage of the game itself in any format is known to exist.
Gallery
See Also
Professional Baseball Media
- Apache Baseball Academy (found Isao Takahata anime series based on manga; 1971-1972)
- Breaking into the Big League (lost sports drama film; 1913)
- D'Myna Leagues (partially found second season of Canadian animated series; 2002)
- Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball (lost build of unreleased Nintendo GameCube baseball game; 2005)
- Texas Rangers @ Cleveland Indians, June 4, 1974, (partially found "Ten Cent Beer Night" baseball game; 1974)
Early Sports Television Media
- 1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)
- 1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)
- 1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)
- 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
- Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947)
- Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)
- Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)
- Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)
- Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)
Early BBC Sports Television
- 1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)
- 1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)
- 1937 International Imperial Trophy Race (lost footage of motor race; 1937)
- 1937 Wimbledon Championships (partially found footage of tennis tournament; 1937)
- 1938 Ashes Series (partially found footage of international test cricket match; 1938)
- 1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)
- 1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)
- 1947 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1947)
- 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
- 1955 Scottish Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1955)
- Archery (lost early televised toxophily; 1937-1938)
- Arsenal 7-1 Hibernian (lost footage of charity football match; 1952)
- Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)
- Barnet 3-2 Wealdstone (lost footage of Athenian League football match; 1946)
- The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)
- Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
- Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)
- Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)
- England 0-1 Scotland (partially found international football match; 1938)
- England 1-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
- England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)
- England 3-0 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
- England 3-0 Rest of Europe (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)
- Falkirk 3-2 Newcastle United (lost footage of football match; 1953)
- Horace Lindrum vs Willie Smith (lost footage of televised snooker; 1937)
- Scottish Universities 1-1 English Universities (lost footage of international football match; 1952)
- Woods and Jack (lost early televised lawn bowls; 1937; 1946)
References
- ↑ Baseball-Reference providing the 1939 National League standings. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Baseball-Reference providing statistics for the 1939 World Series. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Baseball-Reference providing the statistics for the game prior to the doubleheader. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Sports Video detailing how the Lions-Tigers broadcast led to NBC deciding to broadcast an MLB game. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ American Sportscasters Online detailing how early American sports were televised, with emphasis on geographical proximity to the Empire State Building transmitter that likely influenced the decision to capture coverage from Ebbets Field. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ History detailing the first televised MLB game, including camera positions and the success of the broadcast. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Baseball Hall of Fame detailing the television broadcast of the game, and the challenges televising and commentating on it. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ MLB claiming the game was viewed by 3,000 television viewers. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ New York Times report on the game, including a review of the television coverage. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Baseball-Reference providing the statistics for the first game. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Baseball-Reference providing the statistics for the second game. Retrieved 10 Oct '21
- ↑ Web Archive article discussing how most pre-Second World War television is missing due to no means of directly recording television. Retrieved 10 Oct '21