Baseball Meets The TV Tube

(From The National Baseball Hall of Fame -- Inside Pitch)

Hall Of Famer LARRY MacPHAIL was an INNOVATOR. His CINCINNATI REDS were the first team to travel by AIRPLANE in 1934. He introduced NIGHT BASEBALL to THE MAJOR LEAGUES in 1935. He brought NEW YORK BASEBALL to the RADIO AIRWAVES. And on August 26th, 1939, he put together a marriage that would last until this day -- BASEBALL AND TELEVISION.

The 1:30 pm game between THE BROOKLYN DODGERS and THE CINCINNATI REDS was broadcast on NBC's EXPERIMENTAL TELEVISION STATION -- W2XBS. The station, which was located in NEW YORKS's famous EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, had a fifty mile broadcasting radius. At the time no one really knew what to expect.

WASHINGTON POST writer BOB CONSIDINE wondered what would happen if the television-baseball connection were to really take flight, "The beauty of players might have to be taken into consideration by bush-beating scouts, and the classic rejection slip, 'Good field, no hit,' may have to be revised to 'Good field, good hit, lousy complexion.'"

Today there are television sets in every home, but in 1939 they were a little hard to come by. It is estimated that fewer than 1,000 people saw BUCKY WALTER's two-hit gem on about 400 televisions in THE METRO NEW YORK AREA.

There were two cameras taking in the action, one was in the second tier box behind home plate, and the second was at ground level near third base. At least one player felt uncomfortable being on TV, REDS' Catcher ERNIE LOMBARDI.

"I felt as if someone was looking over my shoulder all afternoon,"
THE SCHNOZZ said.

As for the quality of the telecast, THE NEW YORK TIMES said it best -- "At times it was possible to catch a fleeting glimpse of the ball as it sped from the pitcher to home plate."

What a long way we have come.