Thank god. I was hoping they would show lots of footage of old games, but I had my doubts. This is an encouraging first step.

Also, I thought the entire operation was going to be in Harlem?

I imagine the footage of Larsen's perfect game is most likely a kinescope. Videotaping live sports events was still a few years off.

I imagine the footage of Larsen's perfect game is most likely a kinescope. Videotaping live sports events was still a few years off.

The first major U.S. sports event to be taped was that 1958 Sudden Death Colts-Giants game. I remember coming in at the end of the halftime break and seeing what I thought was another Colts' touchdown, only to discover that it was a "videotape" of the last score of the first half. What I most remember was that it looked exactly as it it were live action. Everyone knew before the second half started that this was something that was going to change sports coverage in a big way.

One only wonders what else is available. 1958 World Series Game 7 and 4 of the 7 games from the 1957 Series are known to exist as well.

That would be great, since that last 1958 game was a nailbiter up through the 8th, and games 4, 5, and 6 of 1957 were tight all the way as well. But the last two games of 1952 beat all of them, and they've been out there (with commercials) for nearly 15 years.

Any games from the 1959 World Series -- especially the ones at the Coliseum?

With Tim McCarver and Jack Buck announcing? Pass.

Any games from the 1959 World Series -- especially the ones at the Coliseum?

Those were the ones that drew such big crowds that they opened the CF bleachers to about 10,000 white shirted fans. Needless to say, it wasn't much fun hitting against Sandy Koufax under those conditions, especially since those were all day games.

I imagine the footage of Larsen's perfect game is most likely a kinescope. Videotaping live sports events was still a few years off.

The footage is a kinescope of the original broadcast. It was made for Armed Forces Network rebroadcast and was supposed to be destroyed after its use. Thank goodness someone didn't follow orders. The guy who had the copy has shown it a few times in private screenings. One of those screenings was at the Yogi Berra Musuem with Yogi and Larsen in attendence.

Those were the ones that drew such big crowds that they opened the CF bleachers to about 10,000 white shirted fans. Needless to say, it wasn't much fun hitting against Sandy Koufax under those conditions, especially since those were all day games.

Koufax lost that game. He didn't learn how to win until later.

studio shows – daily highlights, chatter and previews – will be the “backbone” of the schedule

Well, I won't be missing much, assuming it's the same as what one gets over the web site.

Yeah, it's going to be tons of fun to watch old games. I'm looking forward to it.

Jesus, I may actually have to get cable for this.

I remember catching a condensed version of Game 7 of the 1965 WS on ESPN Classic once. That was pretty awesome to see the Koufax curveball.

I would absolutely love if they aired at least one "classic" (pre-1990) game a day, but I would also hope that they would try to not make it as Northeast centric as the Ken Burns series.

I would absolutely love if they aired at least one "classic" (pre-1990) game a day, but I would also hope that they would try to not make it as Northeast centric as the Ken Burns series.

How about the famed 23-22 Phillies-Cubs game from May 1979 -- one day with the Phillies' broadcast, the next day with the Cubs'? I believe both versions are available.

How will we know whether this is coming to our area? We have Suddenlink expanded basic cable and I have no idea whether or not we'll be able to get this channel.

Koufax reportedly threw only a few curves in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series because he didn't think he get it over for strikes and it wasn't breaking enough, so he threw almost all fastballs.

Oh man. I would give my lefty teste just to see a video of Koufax pitching. That's something I've always wanted to watch.

I was friends and played ball with Tony Petitti at Haverford, and among other moments was with him at the mail slots when the Harvard acceptance letter came. MAN, I'm proud of that guy. He was such an engaging, New Yorker from a moderate means background, and to have made the career he has made is so darn impressive. Tony! Well done!

Now please fix the problems at MLB.TV... ; )

Koufax reportedly threw only a few curves in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series because he didn't think he get it over for strikes and it wasn't breaking enough, so he threw almost all fastballs.

I've read that since, but I remember a few years ago seeing the same version of Game 7 that Will mentioned, and I thought at the time that it was the best curveball I'd ever seen in my life. Which makes me wonder what Koufax's curve was like when it was working...

You know if they would put this building on the West coast, they would only have to run staff till 10 or 11 pm, occasionally midnight. By putting it on the east coast, they have to run staff till 2, 3 or 4 am.

After a few seasons, those guys in Jersey are going to hate the Padres, Dodgers and Giants.
They always run long.

Those were the ones that drew such big crowds that they opened the CF bleachers to about 10,000 white shirted fans. Needless to say, it wasn't much fun hitting against Sandy Koufax under those conditions, especially since those were all day games.

Koufax lost that game. He didn't learn how to win until later.

Good point. Koufax dug himself deep into a rut that day when he gave up two scratch singles and a double play grounder, and lost 1 to 0. It wasn't until 1962 that he figured out the key to his success---clutch triple plays.

Now if only he could have combined that patented triple play pitch with all those white shirts, a lot more day games, and an arthritis pill or two, the boy might have actually made himself into something more than a marginal Hall of Famer.

1958 World Series Game 7 and 4 of the 7 games from the 1957 Series are known to exist as well.

I'm surprised MLB hasn't worked harder on either acquiring or licensing these games. You can't tell me Bud wouldn't love to sit down on his couch and watch Milwaukee's only World Series win on the big screen.

I reckon there's more out there as well, maybe even the two holy grails of 1950s TV broadcasting: Game 7, 1955 and the last game of the 1951 NL playoff. They'd sell a bajillion DVDs of those two games.

Good point. Koufax dug himself deep into a rut that day when he gave up two scratch singles and a double play grounder, and lost 1 to 0. It wasn't until 1962 that he figured out the key to his success---clutch triple plays.

I'm sure the move out of the Coliseum and into Dodger Stadium (aside from the Astrodome, probably the best pitchers' park of the 1960s) played a role as well. Did Koufax's road stats significantly change from '61 (the last year at the Coliseum) to '62? (Especially if his games at expansion Houston and New York are taken out of the equation.)

You know if they would put this building on the West coast, they would only have to run staff till 10 or 11 pm, occasionally midnight. By putting it on the east coast, they have to run staff till 2, 3 or 4 am.

Like MLB even knows how to find the west coast.

For those who are willing to cut off vital male organs to watch Sandy Koufax pitch, you can watch a streaming version of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series on MLB's Baseball's Best website. I don't understand why that site hasn't been updated in four or five years.

For those who are interested in older games, you can easily find DVD copies of such games online. I've seen people who have all 7 games of the 1965 and 1968 World Series, all 5 of the 1969 and 1970 Series, and a few more odds and ends here and there. Personally, I've got all 5 from 1969 and 1970, plus game 4 of the '68 classic, games 6 and 7 of the 1952 Series (mentioned earlier on this thread), and quite a few games from the 70s and 80s.

Collecting these games is easier than you think (try ioffer.com), and there's a lot more out there than you'd think. It's also a lot cheaper than spending $40+ at Rare Sports Films for a World Series highlight tape. It's not quite as easy as it was back in 2001 or 2002, when full games would come up on EBay regularly. I got a copy of Game 5 of the 1982 ALCS that way, and I rarely see that game listed in collections.

There are people online who have absolutely amazing lists of old baseball games. I've seen lists filled with regular season games from the 1970s, for example. Most such collectors won't sell copies, though, and they tend not to be interested in anything from the VHS era. Unfortunately, I'm guessing that some interesting games won't ever be accessible to more than a handful of people.

I've heard rumors about Game 7 of the 1960 World Series being out there somewhere. I've also occasionally heard rumors about games from the '57 and '58 series, though I have my doubts. There are a few innings out there from some 1961 World Series games, but I'm not interested in collecting partial games.

As those who remember Danrick Enterprises' days of glory know, the surviving audio copy of the Don Larsen game is spliced with audio from the television feed. Makes me feel like more people knew about the leftover reel discovery before it got in the news a few years back. I sure miss Danrick and the days of cassette copies of old games for $14 a pop. The price is too high at MLB.com, and the catalog is incomplete. My dad bought a 1965 game the other month, and one of the tapes came blank. That never happened with Danrick.

There are still other good sources for audio games, of course. The Miley Collection is a bit expensive, but worth every penny. Games like Game 7 of the 1934 World Series and the 1941 All Star Game are unbeatable.

How about the famed 23-22 Phillies-Cubs game from May 1979 -- one day with the Phillies' broadcast, the next day with the Cubs'? I believe both versions are available.

I'd love to see the Phillies' broadcast. Like most collectors, I've got a copy of the WGN version.

I reckon there's more out there as well, maybe even the two holy grails of 1950s TV broadcasting: Game 7, 1955 and the last game of the 1951 NL playoff. They'd sell a bajillion DVDs of those two games.

Hell, I'd settle for an audio copy of any of the 1955 World Series games. MLB does a horrible job of marketing the audio copy they have of Game 3 of the '51 NL playoff. You can't find it on the website unless you know what you're looking for.

By the way, the two football equivalents are the 1972 Immaculate Reception game and the 1974 Sea of Hands game. I've got audio copies of both, but no video copies are known to exist. Nevertheless, it's a lot easier to find copies of old NFL games than old baseball games. You don't have to look too hard to find a complete copy of the 1985 Bears season (and at under $100, no less), and you can find just about anything dating back to 1969. I've always felt a bit upset that somebody bothered to tape the "middle finger" MNF game at the Astrodome in 1972, yet nobody bothered to save any regular season games that year.

As an end note to an already long post, did you know that the audio copy of the Mickey Owen 1941 World Series game is protected in the Library of Congress' "Recording Registry"? I've never really understood why, since I've never seen a copy of that game anywhere. Supposedly it's Red Barber doing the play-by-play. Read more about it here: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0404/natreg.html

I've heard rumors that all sorts of rare audio World Series broadcasts exist at the Library of Congress, going back to the 1930s. Sure wish I could get my hands on some of that.

As an end note to an already long post, did you know that the audio copy of the Mickey Owen 1941 World Series game is protected in the Library of Congress' "Recording Registry"? I've never really understood why, since I've never seen a copy of that game anywhere. Supposedly it's Red Barber doing the play-by-play. Read more about it here: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0404/natreg.html

The LOC has the wrong redhead pictured -- that's Arthur Godfrey in the photo.

Did Koufax's road stats significantly change from '61 (the last year at the Coliseum) to '62?

Not significantly. They were actually slightly worse in 1962 than in 1961; his road ERA went from 2.77 to 3.53 and his hits allowed, HR allowed, and BB allowed rates all increased slightly.

The big thing for Sandy at home was that he went from allowing 19 HR in 132 1/3 innings at home in 1961 to allowing 6 in 102 2/3 innings at home a year later. His hits allowed and walks allowed at home also declined substantially.

-- MWE

Dan you are right about people who collect games and will only trade. The collectors avoid selling anything in that they do not wish to get into trouble with copyright holders. There was a guy in Michigan who got caught selling games on the internet last year. It scared a lot of people in this hobby. They have worked for years and built up their collections and worry about losing it over a money transaction.

Although they do have a lot of stuff which is old, the best way to get in touch with them is to record current stuff. Sometimes they can't get a certain game because they can't a game or certain broadcast. For example, if someone was recording the Zambrano no-hitter last month, they could have made a few deals because collectors wanted that game. If you recorded that game you could have traded for an game from the 70's or 80's and your collection is starting. Most collectors started out this way and are always willing to help new collectors. Most don't care about what they trade from their collection, it's just quantity for quantity.

Garage sales and second hand stores often unveil old VHS tapes. There was a guy in the Pittsburgh area this spring who had a collection of 15,000 VHS tapes. He recorded everything (News broadcasts, Tonight Shows, sports) He passed the collection along and there are guys who are still going through it. A lot of Penguins hockey (circa 80's) has been unveiled. I have been hoping for some old Pirates stuff but nothing has appearred so far.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has a lot of stuff in their archives as well. Thanks to them, all of the 65 and 68 World Series exists as well as portions of the 70 series. There is also stuff in those archives which isn't available yet. There is a very good chance the first Expos game vs the Mets exists (plus other Jarry Parc circa Expos) but their IS A BYATCH AT THE CBC ARCHIVES THAT THINKS IT IS HER PERSONAL POSSESION!!! (Sorry I digress.)

And yes World Series games exist back to at least 1934. Game 7 of the 34 Series exists from CBS and NBC. Also some World Series games exist from 1936,37 and 38.

They were actually slightly worse in 1962 than in 1961; his road ERA went from 2.77 to 3.53 and his hits allowed, HR allowed, and BB allowed rates all increased slightly.

The big thing for Sandy at home was that he went from allowing 19 HR in 132 1/3 innings at home in 1961 to allowing 6 in 102 2/3 innings at home a year later. His hits allowed and walks allowed at home also declined substantially.

So if the Dodgers had played at the Coliseum from 1962-66, Koufax would still have been an outstanding pitcher with increased maturity and knowledge of the mound arts, but I'm not sure he would have been quite so dominant. (With that ultra-short left-field "fence," the Coliseum must have been an exceptionally tough venue for lefty pitchers.)

How will we know whether this is coming to our area? We have Suddenlink expanded basic cable and I have no idea whether or not we'll be able to get this channel.

You have to register and log in, but we have a listing published when the agreement for MLB Extra Innings was reached.

One of those screenings was at the Yogi Berra Musuem with Yogi and Larsen in attendence.

This would have been very cool to attend.