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The ageing empire of Casey Stengel’s Yankees is in a desperate three-way street fight for the American League against the Chicago White Sox (the defending champions) and the ‘Kiddie Krops’ of the Baltimore Orioles. With only half a game separating them in the loss column, every game is a make-or-break. In tonight’s game, the Yankees welcome the Orioles into the cauldron of the House that Babe Built. Stengel’s Yankees are still playing as they did during their dominant fifties with a platoon full of power that will reach the fence or fall short over nine innings. The team crumbled in 1959. Can the old ways still work? Meanwhile, Orioles manager Paul Richards has young arms aplenty, and playing small ball built around bunts, singles and aggressive base running. Will that take them through September and beyond?  The Orioles have their own aged war-horse. Hoyt Wilhelm, in his ninth year in the majors, is back where he belongs, pitching in relief with a knuckleball that seems to defy the laws of physics. It's paired with the comically oversized glove of Clint Courtney, because it's the only way any catcher has a hope of getting the ball into the back of the leather. Stengel is watching the sun set on his pinstripes, and Richards is welcoming the sun rise over his baby birds. Only one will stamp their authority in the race for the pennant… Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from September 28, 1950. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game. We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call. ** LINKS ** Boxscore: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196008150.shtml 1960 Major League Baseball season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Major_League_Baseball_season  Ron Hansen, by Jimmy Keenan for SABR https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ron-hansen/ Brooks Robinson at the Baseball Hall Of Fame https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/robinson-brooks Who Was the Better Third Baseman, Brooks Robinson or Clete Boyer? https://www.baseballhistorycomesalive.com/who-was-the-better-third-baseman-brooks-or-clete/  Hoyt Wilhelm’s Knuckleball (The Inside Pitch, with Bob Wolff) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5kdNI_gKLg  So long, 45-inch catcher's glove https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/happy-anniversary-so-long-45-inch-catchers-glove/  Art Ditmar Obituary https://ripbaseball.com/2021/06/19/obituary-art-ditmar-1929-2021/  Casey Stengel: The Most Colorful Manager in Baseball History https://www.cmgworldwide.com/2023/07/05/casey-stengel-the-most-colorful-manager-in-baseball-history/  Once upon a time, the Orioles had the ‘Kiddie Korps’ https://www.shepherdstownchronicle.com/sports/2018/06/22/once-upon-a-time-the-orioles-had-the-kiddie-korps/

Welcome to Classic Baseball Radio’s Clubhouse, where we step back from the hectic pace of the games and take some time to talk about the history of baseball. Consider these bonus episodes as the pre-recorded explainers and profiles you normally see on sports broadcasts. As always, we look forward to your feedback. Joining us in the Clubhouse is Liz Thompson from Diamond Scorecard Designs. Her mom taught her to score at an early age, and since then, she has tried various scorecards and books to find the right one. Finally, she decided to stop trying to settle and design the scorebook she always wanted.  Those scorebooks, and the opportunity to have a custom designs scorebook, are available through the Diamond Scorecard Designs website. As part of her personal mission to get people to keep score again, she visits the Classic Baseball Radio Clubhouse to talk with Ewan Spence on the beauty and history of our scorecard. FEATURING… Scorecards as a fundamental part of Baseball’s history. Learning Baseball through scoring and scorecards. The archaeology of scorecards. The earliest scorecard (Atlantics at Athletic, Oct 11, 1866). Various scoring systems from the 19th century to the present day. Why there’s no wrong way to score a game. A warning… keeping score may be habit-forming. LINKS Liz Thompson’s Diamond Scorecard Designs https://diamondscorecarddesigns.com/  ​​Baseball Basics: How to Keep Score (MLB) https://www.mlb.com/official-information/basics/score  Skeleton Key Unlocks Game (Washington Post, 1979) https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1979/08/17/skeleton-key-unlocks-game/979879db-0465-46d4-8d4d-471b26191546/  Brooklyn Atlantics at Philadelphia Athletics, October 11th, 1866. https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-1866-a-return-on-their-investment/  The tiny scorecard ballyhooing "The Great Game for the Championship of the United States" https://www.inquirer.com/philly/sports/phillies/20110914_A_chance_to_own_a_bit_of_baseball_history.html  Henry Chadwick, the Father of Baseball. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Chadwick_(writer)  The Man Who Made Baseball's Box Score A Hit. https://www.npr.org/2009/07/30/106891539/the-man-who-made-baseballs-box-score-a-hit  A. G. Spalding & Bros: Spalding Scorebook. https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A132213  Joe Posnanski’s Blog https://www.joeposnanski.com/  Stratomatic’s Baseball Board Game. https://www.strat-o-matic.com/baseball-board-games/  Harry Wright scorecard example. https://lelands.com/bids/1881-boston-scorecard-signed-by-scorer-harry-wright--psa  Cricket scorecards by Andy Zaltzman. https://thesportscommentators.com/collections/andy-zaltzman  SABR: Official Scoring Research Committee. https://sabr.org/research/official-scoring-research-committee/  ABOUT THE PODCAST If you’d like to get in touch with us, visit www.classicbaseballradio.com. Follow us online at BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/classicbaseball.bsky.social

The Philadelphia Phillies were meant to have the 1950 National League sewn up. With two weeks left in the regular season, they were seven and a half ahead of the Red Sox and nine ahead of the Dodgers. Then they collapsed. In the second-last series of the season, the Phillies travel to the Polo Grounds to take on a rampaging New York Giants who have won 15 of their last 25 games. The Phillies? Just three wins in the last ten games. The Giants are one win away from the sweep, which would force the Phillies into a win-or-go-home deciding series against the Dodgers. Things are going no better for pitcher Robin Roberts. This is the third game he has started with nineteen wins. No Phillies pitcher has won 20 games since 1917, and Roberts can’t get himself over the line. He lost 1-0 to Chicago, then 3-2 to the Dodgers.  Roberts is running out of starts, the Whiz Kids are running out of time, and Philadelphia is running out of patience. Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from September 28, 1950. This should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game. We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call. (Editor's note: Our commentary notes listed the Giants as winning 20 of the preceding 25 games; it is, in fact 15 from the last 25). LINKS Boxscore: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN197306190.shtml  Philadelphia Phillies in 1950 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Philadelphia_Phillies_season New York Giants in 1950 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_New_York_Giants_(MLB)_season  Robin Roberts profile: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/robin-roberts/  The Whiz Kids https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/whiz-kids/  The Whiz Kids at 75 https://ballnine.com/2025/06/19/whiz75/  The Ballparks: Polo Grounds https://thisgreatgame.com/ballparks-polo-grounds/  The colorful career of Wes Westrum, Bemidji State’s only World Series winner https://bsualumni.org/the-colorful-career-of-wes-westrum-bemidji-states-only-world-series-winner/  Eddie Stankey profile https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/eddie-stanky/   Bobby Thompson at the Scottish Sports Hall Of Fame https://sshf.sportscotland.org.uk/inductees/bobby-thomson/index.html

The San Diego Padres have lost their last nine games, and with rumours of the franchise moving to Washington, the management is looking for anything to bring the winning ways, and the fans, back to San Diego Stadium. Is the answer Dave Winfield? San Diego picked Winfield with the fourth overall pick in the first round draft. Winfield was a pitcher, but the Padres needed bats in the lineup, so they not only put Winfield out to left field, they also brought him straight into The Show. Winfield remains one of the handful of players to accomplish this feat. Winfield developed into an All-Star with San Diego before moving to the Yankees for a then-record 10-year, $23 million contract, popping up next with the Angels, before heading to the Blue Jays to get a World Series ring in 1992. We’re winding the clock all the way back to what is Dave Winfield’s first game. The Padres are anchored at the bottom of the National League, 20 games back behind the top spot held by the Dodgers. The Houston Astros are faring much better - third in the League and 4 and a half games back.  Can Winfield’s bat be the spark that lights up the Padres' season? Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1973. 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/SDN/SDN197306190.shtml  This game was played on June 19, 1973.. We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call. LINKS Box Score: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN197306190.shtml  Dave Winfield Profile, by Doug Skipper https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dave-winfield/ We Are, We Can, We Will: The 1992 World Champion Toronto Blue Jays; Foreword, by Dave Winfield. https://sabr.org/journal/article/foreword-1992-world-champion-toronto-blue-jays-by-dave-winfield/ No, Dave Winfield wasn’t traded for a dinner. https://www.mlb.com/news/dave-winfield-traded-for-dinner  Cito Gaston's contributions left a mark on the game; First African-American skipper to win the World Series built a strong legacy: https://www.mlb.com/news/cito-gaston-left-his-imprint-on-the-game-c215951760  Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Jerry Reuss: https://mosportshalloffame.com/inductees/jerry-reuss/ The 50-20 Club: https://tht.fangraphs.com/tht-live/the-50-20-club/ Looking back at… Cesar Cedeno: https://www.astrosdaily.com/history/cedeno.html

Following an injury at the 1937 All-Star Game, Dizzy Dean lost his fastball, and the St Louis Cardinals traded away one of the leading lights of The Gashouse Gang. The Chicago Cubs picked up Dean in exchange for three players and the then-legendary sum of $185,000, convinced that his arm would recover. The fastball never returned, but Dean equipped himself with a new arsenal of knuckles, screws and junkballs ahead of the 1938 season. Six games into the year, and the Cardinals visit the Cubs.  Everyone wanted Dizzy Dean on the mound to face his old team, and Cubs manager Charlie Grimm did not disappoint a Wrigley Field crowd of over 34,000. Facing Dean were familiar faces from the Gashouse Gang, including Pepper Martin and Johnny Mize. It’s time for a reckoning. Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1938. 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/CHN/CHN193804240.shtml  This game was played on April 24, 1938. We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call.

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.

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.shtml This game was played on September 17, 1953. We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call.

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.

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.shtml This game was played on June 19, 1963 We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and  Crafting The Call.

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.shtml This game was played on April 18, 1970.

Knuckleball pitcher Dick Fowler spent his entire career in the Majors with the Philadelphia Athletics. During the Second World War, he enlisted at the age of 22 and served three years with Canada’s 48th Light Highlanders, known as "The Ladies from Hell" thanks to wearing kilts on the battlefield. His first start on returning from service saw him face the St Louis Browns and hurl a no-hitter, the first Canadian to do so. Fowler is on the mound to face the Browns once more in today’s game. The Philadelphia Athletics are sitting in third place in the American League. Managed by 84-year-old legend Connie Mack, the Athletics are coming off 14 years without a winning record. Can the old-school tactic of manufacturing runs with small-ball batting and pitching bring back the glory years? They face a team fighting to escape a slump. The St Louis Browns have lost eight of their last ten games, but took the first game in this two-game series by 12 runs to 3. On the mound is Fred Sandford, who’s looking to find confidence in his fastball. This episode is a new approach to telling the history of America’s favourite game. Just as radio stations would recreate baseball games from tickertape messages, we can research this classic game and present it to you as if you were listening to the radio in 1947. Your comments are welcome. Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1947. 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/PHA/PHA194706250.shtml This game was played on June 25, 1947. We thank Retrosheet, Sports Reference, Sports Logos Net, Tom R Audio, and Crafting The Call.

The Boston Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates prepare to meet for the first time in the 1930 season, with the two clubs starting the campaign facing different challenges. The Pittsburgh Pirates, under manager Jewel Ens, have been playing inspired baseball. They have stormed out of the gate with a 9-3 record, establishing themselves as an early pennant contender alongside the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League standings. Meanwhile, the Boston Braves, guided by the steady hand of manager Bill McKechnie, are treading water. They arrive in Pittsburgh playing .500 ball through their first ten contests, holding a 5-5 record that places them in sixth. And while the two teams are preparing for the first of twenty-two meetings this year, rookie outfielder Wally Berger is looking to make his mark on the game. Ahead of him lie 11 years in the majors, four call-ups to the All-Star game, and reaching the World Series twice. This episode is a new approach to telling the history of America’s favourite game. Just as radio stations would recreate baseball games from tickertape messages, we can research this classic game and present it to you as if you were listening to the radio in 1930. Your comments are welcomed. This broadcast should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game. Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1930. We thank Crafting the Call, Retrosheet, and Sports Reference. You can find the boxscore here: ⁠⁠https://www.reddit.com/r/BaseballScorecards/comments/1oqumwq/boston_braves_4_at_pittsburgh_pirates_3_may_1/⁠⁠ This game was played on May 1, 1930.⁠

The 1969 World Series saw the Baltimore Orioles humbled by the Miracle Mets. The team carried that burden through the 1970 season, using it not to fall, but to rise. After 108 wins in the regular season, they stormed back to the World Series. Facing them were Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine." While the Orioles' offence delivered the runs, it's widely regarded that the defence won the World Series in 1970. And if the defence won the series, the MVP holding back the Reds was Brooks Robinson. For five games, Robinson put on a defensive clinic that has never been equalled. He repeatedly dove to his left and right, backhanded rockets down the line, and made seemingly impossible throws from foul territory to rob Johnny Bench and Lee May of base hits. And he hit.429 into the bargain. Today's broadcast is Game 5 of the series. The Orioles won two on the road and have split the first two games in Memorial Stadium. Can they seal the win, wipe away 1969, and lift the trophy? Jim Simpson calls the game. You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL197010150.shtml This game was played on October 15, 1970.

What options do you have when your Game 7 starting pitcher falls ill? For the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, the answer was to call back Lew Burdette from two days' rest to pitch in the winner-takes-all duel against the New York Yankees. Burdette had already pitched two complete games and a shutout in the second. Now the weight of facing the Yankees, who were looking to go back-to-back in the Fall Classic. Meanwhile, the ferocious arm of Don Larsen — who pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series — was waiting for the Braves. With the respective MVPs of Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle in the outfields, joined by Eddie Matthews and Yogi Berra offering back-up, the 1957 Series brings action, tension, and stars together. Bob Neale and Earl Gillespie are behind the radio microphones from Yankee Stadium. You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA195710100.shtml This game was played on October 10, 1957.

The 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs an the Detroit Tigers is all square heading into Game 3 game apiece. The Cubs starting pitcher is 36-year-old veteran Claude Passeau, and he's about to throw a near perfect game with just 28 plate appearances by the Tigers. While his name is not brought up in discussions of the best pitchers of the era, his performance in Game Three is one of the all-time pitching appearances in World Series history. When the Cubs return to Wrigley Field, the Curse of the Billy Goat would kick in, but for now sit back with Bill Slater and Al Helfer behind the microphone. You can find the boxscore here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET194510050.shtml This game was played on October 5, 1945.