On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game
was broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become
WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in
Brooklyn, New York.
At the time, television was still in its infancy. Regular programming
did not yet exist, and very few people owned television sets—there
were only about 400 in the New York area.
Not until 1946 did regular network broadcasting catch on in the
United States, and only in the mid-1950s did television sets
become more common in the American household.
In 1939, the World’s Fair—which was being held in New York—
became the catalyst for the historic broadcast.
Red Barber doing an interview with Dodgers manager
Leo Durocher.
Walter Lanier "Red" Barber
(February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992)
1939 Radio Corporation of America T.V.
Restored 1939 GE HM-171 TV.
Place your comment