Classic Baseball Radio

The Chairman's Masterpiece, Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees, May 6, 1956

1956 is a year that Yankees fans have fond memories of... Mickey Mantle will take the triple crown, Don Larsen will pitch a perfect game in the World Series, and Whitey Ford will lead the American League in ERA and winning percentage. Today, let's listen to Ford in action. The Chicago White Sox are visiting the Bronx for a doubleheader. Ford will face a line-up that includes a young Luis Aparicio and the hot bat of Minnie Miñoso, and he's going to use his mix of calm efficiency and ruthlessness that will lead the Yankees to the World Series. Bob Elson is behind the microphone to take you through the game. You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA195605061.shtml This game was played on May 6, 1956.

Can Ted Williams Save The Day? Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, September 17, 1953 (Recreation).

The Boston Red Sox are in trouble. They are 36-37 at home, and have three games left to avoid the losing record; and they've just lost the first game in a two-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Locked in fourth place, they are playing for pride and to avoid a losing season in Fenway Park.But they have an ace in the line-up. Ted Williams, returning from military service in Korea, is coming back into the Boston lineup and batting .400 for the season. Ahead of him in he line-up is Jim Piersall, finding his form after spending most of 1952 being treated for bipolar disorder.In the Red Sox way is soon to be crowned Rookie of the Year Harvey Kuenn, and Mr Tiger himself Al Kaline… however, at this point in his storied career, Kaline is a rookie who’s only been playing in the Majors for three months.Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1953. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS195309170.shtmlThis game was played on September 17, 1953.We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call.

Waite Hoyt's Other Final Game, Cincinnati Reds at SF Giants, October 3, 1965.

The SF Giants have just lost a place in the World Series, with arch rivals the Dodgers taking the National League's spot the previous evening. The Giants' 94-67 record with one game to go is not enough. Game 152 has become one to win for the pride of the club and to end the season with a W.The Cincinnati Reds were even further back in the National League. The core trio of Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, and a young Pete Rose was promising, but as a team, the Reds fell short of the Dodgers' power or the Giants' finesse. Coming into this final game at 89-72, the totemic 90-win mark is within reach and a chance to overhaul Pittsburgh to finish third in the NL. High above Candlestick Park is another final moment, as Waite Hoyt prepares to call the game for the listening Reds fans back home. Following a career that included three World Series rings over twenty-one years and seven teams, he became one of the first players to transition into broadcasting. Now, after 24 years of calling strikes, balls and fouls, this would be Hoyt's commentating swansong. Featuring around two-thirds of the game, today's classic game is not a complete record of Hoyt's last game, but it is a record. And with so much of the early days of broadcasting lost to time, it's an excellent record of a baseball legend You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196510030.shtml This game was played on October 3, 1965.

Elston Howard Takes Charge In The Bronx, Washington Senators at New York Yankees, June 19, 1963 (Recreation)

The records credit Jim Bouton with the win, but everyone who followed the Yankees' 1963 season knows that the driving force in the middle of the year was Elston Howard.Stepping up into a leadership role after Mickey Mantle broke his foot and moved to the Injured List for ten weeks, the Yankees catcher would shepherd the rotation through the summer months with performance like this one, taking the young Bouton through 8 scoreless innings.Howard earned his American League MVP award by putting the Yankees on his broad shoulders.Neither should we ignore opposing pitcher Claude Osteen. The left-hander packed heat alongside an arsenal of breaking pitches. Already established as the Senators' ace, the offence would rarely back him up, and 1963 would end with a 9-14 record. The Dodgers would offer him a lifeline, and in 1965, he would join Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, and Johnny Podres in a devastating rotation in Los Angeles.Today? Today, you can see the difference Howard makes when supporting a young pitcher.Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1963. Just as radio stations recreated baseball games from ticker-tape messages, we can research this classic game and present it to you as if you were listening to the radio in 1963. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.You can find the boxscore here:https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196306190.shtmlThis game was played on June 19, 1963We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call.

What If Nolan Ryan Struck Out Denny Doyle? Phillies at Mets, April 18, 1970.

You can’t talk about Nolan Ryan without talking about the moments he flirted with Baseball Immortality. In a career that lasted 27 seasons, he threw a record seven no-hitters, three more than the number two on the list, Sandy Koufax. He also threw twelve one-hitters, sharing that record with Bob Feller.Today, we turn back the clock to 1970, as Nolan Ryan returns to Major League Baseball after a stint in the National Guard. The “Miracle Mets” of 1969 have a World Series under their belt, and their young fire-throwing rookie is on the bump, facing the wily legend of Jim Bunning, to bring that momentum into the seventies.You never know when your name is going to be written into the history books; you never know why, you just play the game as best you can. Will this be a memorable day for Nolan Ryan? For Jim Bunning? Or the Phillies' opening batter, Denny Doyle?Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner, and Lindsey Nelson are on Mets Radio to take you through the game. And if you want a bit of broadcast trivia, Ralph Kiner’s future broadcast partner Tim McCarver is in the Phillies line-up.You can find the boxscore here https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197004180.shtmlThis game was played on April 18, 1970.