- Major League Baseball on Mutual
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Major League Baseball on Mutual was the de facto title of the Mutual Broadcasting System's (MBS) national radio coverage of Major League Baseball games. Mutual's coverage came about during the Golden Age of Radio in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. 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's All-Star Game and World Series.
Contents
History of coverage
Mutual started their baseball coverage back in 1935, when the network joined NBC and CBS in national radio coverage. The three networks continued to share coverage of baseball's "jewels" (i.e. the All-Star Game and World Series) in this manner through 1938, with Mutual gaining exclusive rights to the World Series in 1939 and the All-Star Game in 1942. In 1949, Commissioner Happy Chandler[1] negotiated a seven-year, $4,370,000 contract with the Gillette Safety Razor Company and the Mutual Broadcasting System for radio rights to the World Series, with the proceeds going directly into the pension fund. In 1957, NBC replaced Mutual as the exclusive national radio broadcaster for the World Series and All-Star Game.
Following the lead of the rival Liberty Broadcasting System, Mutual also aired regular-season Game of the Day broadcasts (a precursor to television's Game of the Week concept) to non-major-league cities throughout the 1940s and '50s.
Attempts at television coverage
In 1950, MBS acquired the television broadcast rights to the World Series and All-Star Game for the next six years. Mutual may have been reindulging in TV network dreams or simply taking advantage of a long-standing business relationship; in either case, the broadcast rights were sold to NBC in time for the following season's games at an enormous profit.
Announcers
Game of the Day
- Rex Barney (1956)
- Bud Blattner[2] (1952; 1954)
- Dizzy Dean (1951-1952)
- Gene Elston[2] (1958-1960)
- Bob Feller (1958)
- Bob Fulton (1954)
- Art Gleeson (1950-1958)
- Al Helfer[2] (1950-1954)
- France Laux[2] (1939-1941; 1944)
- John MacLean (1955-1960)
- Bob Neal (1955-1956)
- Mel Ott (1955)
- Van Patrick (1960)
- Hal Totten[2] (1945-1950)
- Bob Wolff (1950-1951)
World Series
Main article: List of World Series broadcasters1950s
Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s) 1956 Bob Wolff Bob Neal 1955 Al Helfer Bob Neal 1954 Al Helfer Jimmy Dudley 1953 Al Helfer Gene Kelly 1952 Al Helfer Jack Brickhouse and Bill Corum 1951 Mel Allen Al Helfer 1950 Mel Allen Jim Britt 1940s
Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s) 1949 Mel Allen Red Barber 1948 Mel Allen Jim Britt 1947 Mel Allen Red Barber 1946 Jim Britt Arch McDonald and Bill Corum 1945 Bill Slater Al Helfer 1944 Bill Slater Don Dunphy and Bill Corum 1943 Red Barber Bob Elson and Bill Corum 1942 Red Barber Mel Allen 1941 Red Barber Bob Elson 1940 Red Barber Bob Elson 1930s
Year Play-by-play Color commentator 1939 Red Barber Bob Elson 1938 Red Barber Bob Elson 1937 Bob Elson John O’Hara and David Driscoll 1936 Bob Elson Gabriel Heatter 1935 Bob Elson Red Barber and Quin Ryan All-Star Game
Main article: List of Major League Baseball All-Star Game broadcasters1950s
Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Venue/Host team 1956 Bob Neal Bob Wolff Griffith Stadium, Washington Senators 1955 Bob Neal Earl Gillespie County Stadium, Milwaukee Braves 1954 Jim Dudley Al Helfer Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians 1953 Al Helfer Waite Hoyt Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds 1952 Al Helfer Gene Kelly Shibe Park, Philadelphia Phillies 1951 Al Helfer Mel Allen Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers 1950 Mel Allen Jim Britt Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox 1940s
Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Venue/Host team 1949 Mel Allen Jim Britt Ebbets Field, Brooklyn Dodgers 1948 Mel Allen Jim Britt and France Laux Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Browns 1947 Mel Allen Jim Britt Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs 1946 Mel Allen Jim Britt and Bill Corum Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox 1945 Not held because of World War II 1944 Don Dunphy Bill Slater and Bill Corum Forbes Field, Pittsburgh Pirates 1943 Mel Allen Red Barber and Bill Corum Shibe Park, Philadelphia Athletics 1942 Mel Allen Jim Britt and Bob Elson Polo Grounds, New York Giants 1941 Red Barber Bob Elson Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers 1940 Red Barber Bob Elson Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Cardinals Two nights following the 1942 All-Star Game, the American League All-Stars traveled to Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, to play a special benefit game against a team of players from the U.S. Army and Navy. 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, with Bob Elson, Waite Hoyt, and Jack Graney announcing.
1930s
Year Play-by-play Color Commentator(s) Venue/Host team 1939 Red Barber Bob Elson Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees 1938 Bob Elson Dick Bray Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds 1937 Mel Allen Jim Britt Griffith Stadium, Washington Senators 1936 Fred Hoey Linus Travers National League Park, Boston Bees 1935 Bob Elson Eddie Vander Pyl Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians References
Major League Baseball on Mutual Related programs Related articles Commentators Key figures Mel Allen · Red Barber · Buddy Blattner · Jack Brickhouse · Jim Britt · Dizzy Dean · Jimmy Dudley · Don Dunphy · Bob Elson · Gene Elston · Earl Gillespie · Art Gleeson · Gabriel Heatter · Al Helfer · Fred Hoey · Waite Hoyt · Gene Kirby · France Laux · Arch McDonald · Bob Neal · Van Patrick · Bill Slater · Bob WolffLore All-Star Game World Series Major League Baseball on the radio Major League Baseball owned and operated entities: MLB Network RadioLocal broadcasters: Atlanta Braves Radio Network · Baltimore Orioles Radio Network · Boston Red Sox Radio Network · Chicago Cubs Radio Network · Cincinnati Reds Radio Network · Detroit Tigers Radio Network · Los Angeles Angels Radio Network · Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network · Miami Marlins Radio Network · New York Yankees Radio Network · Philadelphia Phillies Radio Network · Pittsburgh Pirates Radio Network · Seattle Mariners Radio Network · Tampa Bay Rays Radio Network · Toronto Blue Jays Radio Network
Current broadcastersInternational broadcasters: BBC Radio 5 Live Sports ExtraCategories:- Major League Baseball on the radio
- American sports radio programs
- Mutual Broadcasting System
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