The LSD No-hitter....great story....

It doesnt have to be a broadcast ----- just game film. You've seen sports clips from the 50s and 60s right? Hell we've all seen sports clips from the 30's and 40s. Not tv broadcasts, but just regular game film. So obviously old stuff exists. How else would we have footage of Johnny Unitas and Lou Gehrig and etc, etc from decades ago. Hell they even have footage of Babe Ruth's supposed "called shot" homerun at Wrigley in the 20s. Now I know those are all marquee players that were bound to be videotaped every time they played but haven't you ever seen baseball documentaries like Ken Burns' stuff? Hours upon hours of old footage of obscure players nobodys heard of. And many of that is well before 1970. Who knows.

 

As someone who is one of those "underground" guys who collects these games, let me share some information.

Smasher, the oldest complete game is game 6 of the '52 World Series. There are a few complete games from that point forward, including all seven games of the '65 World Series. Most games that are available from this era, however, are partials, and there is only a very small percentage of games available. For example, Game 3 of the '61 World Series is just the bottom of the eighth inning through postgame. But anyway, Dock Ellis' no-hitter does not exist (of which anyone is aware).

The oldest color MLB broadcast is the Reds-Cubs game from 1965, Jim Maloney's no-hitter (where he threw 187 pitches!). It is only the ninth and 10th innings. The oldest complete color game is the Twins-Red Sox game from 1967. This was released not so long ago by the New England Sports Museum, which I believe has a plethora of old games, including Bruins, and I pray that one day they'll make these available.

Most games in the 50s and 60s were Kinescopes, as Smasher said (the camera was pointed at a TV screen). In the early 70s, U-matics came on the market (looked like Beta), and starting in 1977, when VCRs became available, that's when you really see a plethora of games come available. But guys do indeed get their hands on games from TV stations, which is why there is a fair number of MNF games available beginning in 1970. The first complete color broadcast of an NFL game, for example, is a Giants-Steelers preseason game from 1970 that is actually the first ABC Monday Night Game. There are also two Super Bowls that aren't available, I and II. Super Bowl III exists in nearly its entirety - it's missing the last two minutes, but includes the pre-game - and recently Super Bowls IV and V were pieced together using broadcast and game film. VI is where they become available in complete form, up to last year's.

When I got into this hobby about six years ago, all I had were three games from the Giants' playoffs in 1986 plus the final round of the '86 Masters - my father had taped all four. Now, through trading, I have more than 200. You don't buy them, you trade for them (still need to honor the disclaimer that is read during each game.) And it is MUCH easier to make copies of DVDs to trade rather than VHS.

Hope this helps.

 

You'd be surprised. There are some completely random games out there ... for example, I have a Cardinals-Lions regular-season game from 1970. All that exists is the final minute of the first half, plus the entire second half. Why would anyone have this CBS broadcast of a 16-9 game? Well, I don't know why it was saved, but I'm glad it was.

First, it's in pristine condition. Second, it's football on a cold, windy day in Tiger Stadium. Third, Jack Whitaker is doing the play-by-play, which if you don't know (or remember), he was a real lyricist in doing sports. And although this particular game doesn't have them, most still have the commercials. It's really fascinating.

(Edit to show these two clips)

Here's a game in my collection ... the 1975 NFC Divisional between the Cowboys and Vikings (the Hail Mary Game). Hearing the CBS announcer, and watching the NFL Today, really takes me back to watching the Giants with my father. That's why I really like this hobby.

Pre-game:

NFL Today:

 

Who was Bradshaw passing to at the 1:21 mark?! There wasn't even a Steeler around, and his arm wasn't hit. Weird.

 

And then Phyllis talking about how Chuck Foreman had to miss a game because he was hit in the eye with a snowball in Buffalo.

Great stuff.

 

Corky -

Thanks for those posts. That is really good stuff.

 

If you want to get a good idea of what is out there, go here:

http://oldtimesports.net/users/ots/index.asp

For what it's worth, I host my collection here. If you've been looking for a specific game, chances are you'll find someone here who has it ... especially if it's after 1977. But you can at least see what's available.

 

The Cotton Bowl parade, with grand marshal William Conrad!

And as for the argument as to what exists and what doesn't, the NFL is a totally different animal because of NFL Films. They've been shooting EVERY minute of EVERY game since the mid-1960s. MLB had no such foresight, though admittedly the logistics would have been difficult given the sheer volume of games every day for six months.

 

Stereotypical but clever video.
You don't have a good time on LSD. You're high.

 

"You don't have a good time on LSD. You're high."

Huh???

 

I was talking specifically about game broadcasts. Clips have been around forever. Sports highlights used to be part of newsreels that were shown in theaters before movies. I believe baseball had its first WS film in the '40s.

 

1943. Lew Fonseca made the World Series films for the armed forces. A lot of them are being shown again on MLB Network throughout the offseason.