Latest / Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History / 1949 • Baseball Clip • World Series Preview Show - Radio Broadcast

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1949 • Baseball Clip • World Series Preview Show - Radio Broadcast · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

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  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
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  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit Retro Sports Radio.
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  This is the opening of two of the world's greatest features.
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  Last night, the World's Heavyweight Battle, and tomorrow afternoon at Yankee Stadium, the Great World Series.
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  It's a bang-up week packed full of thrill. Two bucks, and you can look at your mutual station to bring it to you.
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  On this baseball preview tonight, we're swinging around the town to points of interest
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  to see how hectic this little village that is supposedly so large they can get over an event that hits the heart.
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  And what is more thrilling than a World Series, as you can undoubtedly hear in some of the celebrating noises that are coming into your loudspeakers.
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  A red flag up!
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  A red flag up!
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  A red flag up!
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  And the predominating hubbub in every state that is. Who's fixing for Brooklyn?
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  Will Rutting stop Medwick? Walker? Camille? Reecer & Company?
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  It's going to be a thriller. And you know, when the folks of New York City, which is Times Square,
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  is beating out a staccato of Dodgers, Yankees, Dodgers, Yankees, each of these teams is not going to let down this band of rooters.
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  So Times Square is wearing a gala face tonight. Started with visitors from all over the USA.
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  Its message for America is, New York will make you forget all your troubles with a grand old game at Yankee Stadium tomorrow at 1.15 p.m. New York time.
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  And speaking of the Yankee Stadium, no doubt you've often wondered what the guy who waited in line all night to get a good season of bleachers is like.
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  Well, you'll see there's nothing undone. So now let's find out what it's like at Yankee Stadium. Go ahead, Frank Danner.
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  I wouldn't believe it until I saw it.
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  Usually you can say there's nothing more loathsome than a ballpark along about midnight. But tonight, that is not exactly true.
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  For here outside the big American League Stadium, the home of the world-famous Yankees, the fans are beginning to form lines at the Bleacher Gate ticket window.
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  Thousands and thousands of World Series fans from the country over will march into the stadium tomorrow to see the start of the World Series.
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  Our buttons, as they are so lovingly called, are the Brooklyn Dodgers versus that powerful team, the X.
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  I apologize. You can put down the plugs that are holding over my head. I'm a Brooklyn fan myself. I'm a second-standard.
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  The first 75 people here in line are all Dodger fans.
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  And leading our baseball fans, let's go right up to the front of the line here and discuss the situation phone time for just a bit.
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  Standing before our mutual microphone right now is Mrs. Elizabeth Albert. Mrs. Albert is number one, number one in line.
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  And if she's lucky, she'll be number one in line tomorrow when the ticket window is open.
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  Mrs. Albert, where are you from?
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  520 East 84th Street.
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  520 East 84th Street here in New York City.
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  New York City.
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  Now is this your first World Series or have you been honored?
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  This is my first series.
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  This is your first World Series. Now guess when did you arrive at the Yankee Stadium?
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  About 6 or 6.30 this evening.
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  Now what are you going to do? You mean you're going to stay here all night long?
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  I'm going to stay here all night until the gates open in the morning.
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  You're going to sit right over there in number one position until the gates open in the morning?
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  Until the gates open in the morning.
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  Therefore we're going to make sure that you're going to be number one.
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  I'm going to be number one, God bless them.
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  And you're going to be number one too when they take out the tickets tomorrow morning.
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  Well thank you very much Mrs. Albert for your answers to questions about the World Series.
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  Well we've discussed the Dodgers a bit. Now let's hear from the Yankee side here.
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  A Yankee rotor. Here is Mr. John Zazette. B-Z-A-T-E-E. Is that correct, Mr. Zazette?
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  That's right. That's right. Where are you from?
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  Hartford, Connecticut.
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  You're from Hartford, Connecticut.
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  That's right.
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  Now tell me something. How long have you been here?
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  I've been here since half past three this afternoon.
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  Half past? How come you didn't get into first place? Women before gentlemen.
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  I have to say women before gentlemen.
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  Now tell me something else. Is this your first World Series game?
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  No, this isn't.
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  How many World Series games?
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  I've seen them with all the Reds and the Little Three Dancers.
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  All the Yankees. Yankees, yeah.
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  Well, you know, I've heard about people coming to the World Series games and events,
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  when you look at the play sandwiches, putting up tents around the stadium and the like,
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  to be sure that they can see one or more games.
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  Zazette, B-Z-A-T, you're not the champion of those people, are you?
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  No, I'm not. I even elected right across the street.
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  Who knows your seat while you're gone?
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  The Dodgers fans.
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  Oh, I see. Just another question.
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  Why do you think the Yankees are going to win the Series?
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  Why should they? They have the power and that's my key.
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  Well, thank you very much, Mr. Zazette, B-Z-A-T. You won't be alone in the Yankee voting section.
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  I mean, other people will be there too. Take your clubs away, will you fellas?
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  Well, that's a scene from here at the Yankee Stadium for now.
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  Now, down at town, Dave Biscoll is waiting to talk to the sports writers.
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  Go ahead, in the press room.
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  Good evening baseball fans. We're not quite in the press room,
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  but we're in the West Ballroom of the Commodore,
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  where many of the writers have gathered for a late sandwich
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  and reminisced after writing their stories on what the World Series scene is tonight.
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  I've heard about the press coverage of this historic series, which gets underway tomorrow afternoon.
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  It's certain, dear, that your local newspaper will have complete cover on Main Street or Broadway.
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  There are independent and rare servers of the nation,
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  from San Francisco to Boston and from San Antonio to Winnipeg.
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  There are here, too, from Cuba and Panama.
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  These are the sports writers that New York has probably ever seen at one time.
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  Wings of copy will pour through the color types of Western Union and post the telegraph during the next few days
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  and filter down to your newspaper.
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  It may be interesting to you if I mention how the press facilities are handled throughout the series.
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  Our arrangements are made by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers Association.
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  For example, here in the Commodore Hotel, the New York writers are the hosts.
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  Charlie Seager of the Daily Mirror, chairman of the local chapter, and his fellow writers have done a great job.
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  And right at this moment, Lee Scott, sports editor of Brooklyn the Citizen, and Jimmy Woods of the Eagle,
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  are working out the arrangements for the writers when the two teams move over to Brooklyn on Friday.
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  Speaking of Charlie Seager, let's have a word with him.
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  I just had a nice word for you, Charlie. Supposing you'd stop to say a word for us.
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  You've done a great job here. Supposing you say a word of greeting to the listeners in,
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  who will also be reading about the world series. How about it?
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  What should I say? I'm so tired.
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  How long have you been working on these arrangements for the writers?
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  Well, we've been working about two and a half weeks, and it doesn't seem to end that soon.
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  Every frame brings a new writers in. We have them from Mexico City, Panama, Cuba, and far west,
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  northwest California, and we have some from North Dakota.
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  How many writers have you all together, do you think?
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  Well, there'll be about around 500 writers that have been able to get press accommodations at the stadium.
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  I'd like to tell you to be swamped if it hadn't been for those Hinchman, Gus Bash, and Cappy Cafe,
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  who stand off the writers and storm into those precious buttons that get you into the press room
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  where you can sit around and reminisce as we are tonight.
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  Well, you ought to know, Dave, they kept you waiting an hour.
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  You're not kidding. Thanks a lot, Charlie Seger.
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  Now let's shoot around this table for just a moment and talk to some of the writers who have gathered here
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  in something of a board of experts.
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  After we talk to the writers assembled here, we're going to switch down to the street at Times Square
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  and also up to the bleacher line at Yankee Stadium, and give the fans who are at both sides an opportunity
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  to ask a question or two about the series. We don't know whether the experts can answer it,
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  but we're going to do our best. But first, before we do that, let's have a word with them.
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  Here is Bill Lee, the sports editor of the Hartford Corridor. Bill, what do you think of the World Series?
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  Well, I think, Dave, that this is going to be one of the greatest series ever played.
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  And my personal pick is the Yankees to win because of their slightly stronger infield defense.
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  How long do you think the series will go, Bill?
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  I think it will be at least a six-game series, Dave, and it may go to a full limit of seven games.
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  All right, thanks a lot. Let's step over on the other side of you and talk to Harry Grayson, sports editor of NEA.
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  Harry, how many World Series have you covered in your career?
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  Well, I don't know. I've probably covered 15, 16 World Series.
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  Do you think that this one will stack up as one of the most exciting on the basis of three World Series expectations?
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  Well, this one would have broken all attendance records had all the games been played in Yankee Stadium
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  or had Ebbets Field more seats. There's 30,000 seats at Ebbets Field, and they easily could play to 100,000 people.
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  I think one of the most stupid things I ever heard of is the Brooklyn games being played in Brooklyn.
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  When you have 40,000 or 50,000 more seats within a subway ride for five cents.
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  Well, maybe there's something to that. Thank you, Harry. Let's move on.
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  By the way, as we move around the table, we might take a moment to give the weather forecast
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  because many fans across the country, and particularly in New York, want to know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow.
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  Originally, the forecast was for rain, but a little while ago we called up our good friend, Dr. James H. Kimball,
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  the chief of the weather bureau in New York, and he said it may rain, probably will, early in the morning,
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  but it should be clear and windy in the afternoon with fair skies for the rest of the series later on in the week.
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  Now, on the other side of the table, Shirley Poverty of the Washington Post.
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  Shirley, how do you think the series may turn out?
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  Well, Dave, some of my best friends are Brooklynites, but I still can see only the Yankees in this World Series,
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  and if you offer me sufficient protection in the vicinity of the Kiwanis, I'll say the Yankees in four straight.
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  Well, that's putting it right on the line. We can't ask you another question after that because it's all made up in your mind.
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  How about Frank Gibbons of the Cleveland Press? Frank, how many World Series have you covered?
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  I believe this is my sixth.
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  What was the most exciting one you saw?
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  Oh, I would say the last time the Yankees beat the Reds. I would say that probably was the most exciting.
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  That slide of the Majos into the flight late in that last game with Cincinnati was really something to see.
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  I've watched the Yankees for a while.
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  We in the American League are always looking for someone, of course, to beat the Yankees, and over a season's play,
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  I think there's no question that the Yankees are a much better ball club than the Dodgers.
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  But on spirit and drive, I think the Dodgers have a chance in this series just like to keep the ball in the park.
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  Attaboy. Good for you.
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  Well, so much for the moment from the Conrad Oil. Let's have a whack at somebody else here.
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  Let's give someone else a whack at us.
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  We're going to switch down now to George Hogan down in Times Square and let him bring on some of the fans who may want to ask us a question.
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  Go ahead, George.
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  We'll all let him take it here. Here's a young fellow here who says he's quite a Yankee Rooter. His name is Pat Hall.
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  Well, Pat, you ask the question over there and find out what's going on.
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  Yeah, I'd like to know why don't the sports writers get together and just get together some plan whereby he can choose all the disappointed Dodger Rooters after the series.
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  Well, that's quite a question to really put into them there.
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  Can you make a more specific question for us?
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  More specific?
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  Anything in particular you want to know about tomorrow's game that we might be able to tell you tonight?
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  No, but how much of a chance do you think the Dodgers have?
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  Well, you've heard the experts here. They seem to agree that the Dodgers have a pretty good chance.
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  Well, Dave, here's the famous fan leader, Johnny Long here. He just stopped by and he thought maybe he'd like to put a little question to you over there.
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  Let's have it.
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  All right, Johnny. What do you think about the series tomorrow?
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  Well, just ask one of the sports writers over there anything you want to know. Dave, what do you think I should bet on?
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  Well, that's a good question. You're putting some pretty tough questions to us. Let's get down to technicalities.
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  Hasn't anybody a question down there that would deal with other than who's going to win?
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  Technicalities? Wait a minute.
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  I want to know what these writers might think about deciding hurlers for tomorrow's game.
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  Well, here's Fliriddy in here. He'd like to know something. What's your name?
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  My little man.
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  What would you like to know about the series?
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  Well, I would like to know why...
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  Well, I can't get these earphones on.
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  Well, you're all clapped up there. I don't know why.
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  Well, I would like to know why anyone should think that the Dodgers should win more than one game. And if they should, why would be the reason?
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  Harry Grayson wants to answer that.
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  Well, I think that the Dodgers might easily win all four games and four games in a row on pitching.
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  A good pitching will stop any ball club, including the Yankees.
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  That's enough for you, brother. Let's switch up to the Yankee Stadium. Go ahead, Frank Dunn, if you've got a question.
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  Hello, Dave. Yes, we have a question. A Yankee fan standing right here. Would you go ahead, sir?
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  Who picked the opening game for the Yankees?
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  Who picked the opening game for the Yankees? Mr. Shirley Povich.
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  All right, what's your question?
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  How many games do you think it would take the Yankees to win the series?
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  All right, Shirley's closing the answer.
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  Well, I don't intend to speak for the Yankees, but I can safely say for them that if they can't win it in less than four.
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  All right, I think our time is about up, so we're going to have to say that's all for baseball tonight.
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  But tomorrow afternoon at 1.15 Eastern Standard Time, it will be play ball between the Yankees and the Dodgers at the Yankee Stadium.
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  Don't forget the play-by-play broadcast by Bob Elton and Rick Barber.
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  It will flash throughout the world exclusively over the facilities of the Mutual Network.
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  This broadcast has been presented through the WOR Special Features Division. This is the Mutual Broadcasting Service.