The assumption was that home television would hurt live attendance. But opinion was mixed about home radio, with most teams eventually reaching the conclusion that it increased fan interest but wasn't a substitute for actually seeing your team in action at the likes of "Beautiful Wrigley Field" (which Bill Veeck says was what the Cubs' broadcasters were instructed to call the place back when he was running the White Sox). And of course broadcasts then and now always promoted tickets for future games
Occasionally the broadcasts would also promote tickets for the current game, actually. There are a number of 1950 Dodgers broadcasts where Red Barber comments on all the empty seats that are still available during the early innings.
I can't recall when exactly I heard my first radio broadcast, but it was probably in 1955 or 1956--Oakland Oaks or San Francisco Seals. I do recall my first television game, it was in second grade when a teacher, I think, brought in a small b/w TV to my second-grade class in Reno, Nevada—Yankees-Dodgers, of course. I have no idea which game.
The assumption was that home television would hurt live attendance. But opinion was mixed about home radio, with most teams eventually reaching the conclusion that it increased fan interest but wasn't a substitute for actually seeing your team in action at the likes of "Beautiful Wrigley Field" (which Bill Veeck says was what the Cubs' broadcasters were instructed to call the place back when he was running the White Sox). And of course broadcasts then and now always promoted tickets for future games
Occasionally the broadcasts would also promote tickets for the current game, actually. There are a number of 1950 Dodgers broadcasts where Red Barber comments on all the empty seats that are still available during the early innings.
I purchase CDs from Baseball Direct. One of the best is the 1949 World Series
I can't recall when exactly I heard my first radio broadcast, but it was probably in 1955 or 1956--Oakland Oaks or San Francisco Seals. I do recall my first television game, it was in second grade when a teacher, I think, brought in a small b/w TV to my second-grade class in Reno, Nevada—Yankees-Dodgers, of course. I have no idea which game.