The story of the first televised World Series

While my beloved Red Sox failed to make the playoffs, I’ll be watching this year’s World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies (and rooting for the underdog Phillies). I’ll probably stream a couple of the games from my laptop, and I might meet up with some friends at a bar to watch the others. If I miss a game, I’ll be able to pull up the highlights on my phone.

So much about the viewing experience has changed since the first televised World Series, 75 years ago. Communication scholar James Walker takes readers back to that seminal moment in sports broadcasting history – from the behind-the-scenes drama of negotiating the broadcasting rights, to the crowds that amassed in pubs and storefronts to catch a glimpse of the action between the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers.

The viewing conditions were terrible by today’s standards – tiny screens, poor resolution and no instant replay. But the millions who tuned in for the dramatic seven-game series were as sure a sign as any that television was here to stay.

At the time of the 1947 World Series, there were between 50,000 and 60,000 television sets in the entire country. A decade later, more than 38 million households would own one.

This week we also liked articles about a new way to research baby sea turtles, a prominent American Indian who probably faked her Native heritage and what recovery looks like for stroke survivors like Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman.