Making Waves

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - The first radio broadcast of a major league baseball game was heard today in baseball history (1921). Studio announcer Harold Arlin became the first play-by-play man as he described the Pittsburgh Pirates' 8-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies from Forbes Field on radio station KDKA.

Not everyone in major league baseball welcomed the exposure on this new medium called "radio." Many were concerned games on radio would keep fans at home rather than at the ballpark, an observation that seems shortsighted today. Staff at KDKA looked at that first broadcast as a one-time thing; baseball would be too slow moving to become regular programming.

It turned out radio's intimacy made it and baseball an ideal match. Radio's portability helped too; at home, in the car, at the office, a transistor radio under the pillow. Still, it took years for many teams to recognize the marketing ability of broadcasting games. It was 1938 before major league games were regularly broadcast in New York City, the country's largest market.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Radio's impact on sports
Why baseball is booming

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