1968 MLB Season
As originally written by Tim Brulia:
The Kansas City Athletics take their white spikes to Oakland.
The Phillies finally take part in the network package, so for the first time, all MLB clubs are part of NBC's coverage.
National Television
APRIL
Saturday 4/13:
Cardinals-Cubs, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Phillies-Astros, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 4/20:
Indians-Red Sox, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Tigers-White Sox, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 4/27:
White Sox-Twins, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Red Sox-Orioles, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
MAY
Saturday 5/4:
Cardinals-Giants, 4:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Orioles-Senators, 4:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 5/11:
White Sox-Athletics, 4:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Phillies-Pirates, 4:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek (rained out)
Saturday 5/18:
Reds-Pirates, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Orioles-Indians, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 5/25:
Red Sox-Twins, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Giants-Cubs, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
JUNE
Saturday 6/1:
Cardinals-Mets, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Orioles-Red Sox, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Monday 6/3:
Tigers-Red Sox, 7:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Cardinals-Astros, 7:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Note: There was no telecast on 6/8 as NBC chose to join CBS and ABC in coverage of the funeral of Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), who was shot in Los Angeles on June 4th and then died on June 6th. The scheduled games for 6/8 were STL-CIN and ATL-CHC at 2:15 ET.
Saturday 6/15:
Tigers-White Sox, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Red Sox-Indians, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 6/22:
Braves-Cardinals, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Tigers-Indians, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 6/29:
Indians-Red Sox, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Cardinals-Cubs, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
JULY
Saturday 7/6:
Cardinals-Giants, 4:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Twins-Red Sox, 4:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Tuesday 7/9:
Baseball All-Star Game from Houston:
American-National, 8:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax, Gene Elston
Saturday 7/13:
Dodgers-Braves, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Phillies-Pirates, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 7/20:
Orioles-Tigers, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Athletics-Twins, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Monday 7/22:
Phillies-Cardinals, 7:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Angels-Twins, 7:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 7/27:
Yankees-Indians, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Cardinals-Pirates, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
AUGUST
Saturday 8/3:
Tigers-Twins, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Athletics-Indians, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 8/10:
Red Sox-Tigers, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Pirates-Astros, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 8/17:
Tigers-Red Sox, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Orioles-Twins, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 8/24:
Tigers-Yankees, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Indians-Senators, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 8/31:
Orioles-Tigers, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Astros-Cubs, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
SEPTEMBER
Monday 9/2:
Cardinals-Reds, 7:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Red Sox-Twins, 7:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 9/7:
Giants-Cardinals, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
White Sox-Orioles, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 9/14:
Athletics-Tigers, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Cardinals-Astros, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 9/21:
Cardinals-Dodgers, 4:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Braves-Giants, 4:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
Saturday 9/28:
Astros-Cardinals, 2:15, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax
Senators-Tigers, 2:15, NBC. Jim Simpson, Tony Kubek
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WORLD SERIES
Wednesday 10/2:
Game 1, Tigers-Cardinals, 2:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Harry Caray, Tony Kubek
Thursday 10/3:
Game 2, Tigers-Cardinals, 2:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Harry Caray, Tony Kubek
Saturday 10/5:
Game 3, Cardinals-Tigers, 1:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, George Kell, Tony Kubek
Sunday 10/6:
Game 4, Cardinals-Tigers, 1:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, George Kell, Tony Kubek
Monday 10/7:
Game 5, Cardinals-Tigers, 1:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, George Kell, Tony Kubek
Wednesday 10/9:
Game 6, Tigers-Cardinals, 2:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Harry Caray, Tony Kubek
Thursday 10/10:
Game 7, Tigers-Cardinals, 2:00, NBC. Curt Gowdy, Harry Caray, Tony Kubek
Note: WJBK-Detroit also provided coverage, using the NBC feed.
Local Radio Info
Originally written by garretta
National League
Now let's examine 1968 in the National League. We begin with radio:
Phillies: WCAU-AM has acquired the radio rights and will be the flagship of a twenty-three-station network. It will air twenty exhibition games in addition to all regular season games. Atlantic-Richfield and Ballantine Beer will each sponsor three innings a game on radio; other sponsors include B.F. Goodrich and Tastykake. Most of the network stations will also air both ten-minute pregame shows and the five-minute postgame show. Your announcers are Byrum Saam, Bill Campbell, and Richie Ashburn.
Cardinals: KMOX-AM will once again head the one of the largest radio networks in baseball: over a hundred stations. The network will carry 182 games, including twenty exhibitions. Pre- and postgame shows will be sold locally. Anheuser-Busch and General Finance will each sponsor a third of each game; other sponsors are D-X Sunray and B.F. Goodrich. Harry Caray and Jack Buck will call the games.
Cubs: WGN-AM will air all regular season and exhibition games. A regional radio network is a possibility, but nothing was set at press time. Sponsors are Heileman Brewing, Martin Oil, Oak Park Federal, Montgomery Ward, Serta Mattress, and the Buick Dealers of Metro Chicago. Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau will be on the call.
Braves: WSB-AM is the head of a forty-seven-station network that covers six states: Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Pre- and postgame shows will be sold locally. Sponsors are Coca-Cola, P. Lorillard, Pure Oil, and Falstaff Brewing. Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson will describe the action.
Reds: WCKY-AM projects that the network it heads will reach a hundred stations. it will carry all regular season games and approximately twenty exhibition games. Wiedemann Brewing owns all of the advertising time at the moment but will sell some before the season begins. Jim McIntyre and Joe Nuxhall will call the action.
Giants: KSFO-AM, which is in its eleventh consecutive year of covering the Giants, heads an eighteen-station network in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Games will also be carried by the Alaska Broadcasting System in Anchorage. Sponsors include Standard Oil of California, Roos/Atkins, Burgermeister Beer, and Pacific Telephone. The pregame show will be sponsored by Armour and Company, Wheaties, Western Airlines, and Kaemper & Barrett. Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons, and Bill Thompson are your announcers.
I Googled Kaemper & Barrett, and I found pictures of a building but nothing about the company itself. Who or what were they and what did Packard-Bell have to do with it?)
Pirates: KDKA-AM is the flagship of a thirty-station network in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. It will carry thirty exhibition games plus all regular season games. Atlantic-Richfield and Pittsburgh Brewing will each sponsor three innings of each game; other advertisers are Foodland Supermarkets and the local Chrysler-Plymouth Dealers. Bob Prince, Nellie King, and Jim Woods will call the games. Tom Bender joins the booth for the pre- and postgame shows, which will air on KDKA only.
Astros: KPRC-AM heads a thirty-two-station network that covers Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico and will broadcast the entire regular season schedule plus approximately twenty exhibition games. Sponsors are Schlitz Brewing, Duncan Foods, Coca-Cola, and Texaco. Pre- and postgame shows will be co-sponsored by Monsanto Chemical and a sponsor to be named. There is also a Spanish-speaking network that includes about eighty stations in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Rene Cardenas and Orlando Sanchez Diago will call the action in Spanish, while Gene Elston, Loel Passe, and Harry Kalas do the honors in English.
Fun fact: The Astros' English-speaking network has four 50,000-watt affiliates: KRLD-AM Dallas, WWL-AM New Orleans, WOAI-AM San Antonio, and KWKH-AM Shreveport, Louisiana.)
Mets: The Mets are the only team in baseball whose station in their market isn't their flagship station, The Mets can be heard in New York this year on WABC-FM, but their flagship is WNRJ-AM, formerly of Newark, New Jersey but now broadcasting out of Hackensack, New Jersey. WNRJ will head a network that currently numbers thirty-one stations either signed or in negotiations, with more expected before the season starts. The network covers New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut. Massachusetts. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Separate from the network but also receiving the games as part of a five-year contract signed before last season is WGLI-AM Babylon, New York.
Sponsors signed at press time include Rheingold Brewing and Household Finance. Bob Brown will host the pregame Mets Intro and the postgame Scoreboard. Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner will call the games.
Dodgers: KFI-AM will head a nine-station network (eight in California, one in Nevada) that will carry the entire regular season plus twenty-seven exhibition games. In addition, KWKW-AM, the team's Spanish-language station, will broadcast KFI's feed of most road games while producing its own broadcasts of home games. Other stations that could broadcast games this year are KHAI-AM Honolulu and KOY-AM Phoenix, which would head a seven-station Arizona sub-network.
Game sponsors include Union Oil of California, Burgermeister Beer, and Security First National Bank. Pre- and postgame shows will be simulcast on radio and television; Packard-Bell will sponsor the pregame show while the Chevrolet Dealers Association of Southern California and Knudsen Creamery will co-sponsor the postgame show. Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett will describe the action.
American League
Now let's look at the American League in 1968, We begin with radio:
Orioles: WBAL-AM will head a sixty-seven-station network in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. National Brewing will sponsor a third of each game; other sponsors include Central Savings Bank, Commercial Credit Company, the Baltimore News-American, General Mills, and Allegheny Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company. Pregame and postgame shows will be sold locally. Chuck Thompson and Bill O'Donnell will call the action. WBAL will also carry fourteen exhibition games exclusively.
Indians: WERE-AM has signed a new five-year contract to lead a network of twenty-five stations. All regular season games will be broadcast, plus ten preseason exhibitions and two midseason exhibitions. Sponsors signed at press time are Pure Oil, Stroh's Beer, General Mills, and General Cigar. Bob Neal and Herb Score are your announcers.
Senators; WTOP-AM will carry all regular season games plus ten exhibition games. Sponsors include Atlantic-Richfield, B.F, Goodrich, and Household Finance. The rest of each game is sold on a spot basis. Pre- and postgame shows are possible, but nothing was decided at press time. Dan Daniels and John MacLean will describe the action. A regional network is a possibility, but nothing was final at press time.
Tigers: WJR-AM, which had just picked up its option for the next two years, will be the flagship of two separate networks: an eleven-station hookup in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and a twenty-station hookup in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Sponsors include Stroh's Beer, B.F. Goodrich, Pire Oil, and National Bank of Detroit, Ernie Harwell and Ray Lane will be on the call.
Yankees: WHN-AM is the flagship of a thirty-eight-station network in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. All regular season games plus twenty-eight exhibitions will be broadcast. Sponsors at press time include Krueger Brewing and Atlantic-Richfield. Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, and Jerry Coleman will call the games.
Marv Albert will host the fifteen-minute Warmup Time. sponsored by Pontiac and STP Ol Treatment, and the postgame Scoreboard, sponsored by the Supphose Division of Kayser-Roth (No Nonsense pantyhose) and Household Finance.
Red Sox: WHDH-AM will head a forty-three station New England network that will carry all regular season games plus at least four exhibition games. This is the second year of a three-year contract. Sponsors are Narragansett Brewing, Atlantic-Richfield, General Cigar, and the local Chrysler-Plymouth Dealers. Ken Coleman, Ned Martin, and Mel Parnell will call the games.
Coleman will also host the pregame Dugout Interviews, sponsored in part by Dutch Boy Paints. Also before each game is Warmup, a five-minute show hosted by Don Gillis and sponsored by Household Finance. After the game, Bob Wilson hosts the postgame Sports Extra, sponsored by Community Opticians and Capitol Bank and Trust.
White Sox: WMAQ-AM leads a network of over ninety stations that will broadcast 187 games, including twenty-five exhibitions. This is the second year of a two-year contract. General Finance will sponsor three innings of every game on WMAO and more than seventy-five other network stations, up ten percent from last year, Other sponsors include G. Heileman Brewing Company, Zenith Distributing, and the Chicagoland Oldsmobile Dealers. Bob Elson and Red Rush are your announcers.
Angels: KMPC-AM, the only station ever to broadcast Angels games, begins its eighth year as the team's flagship station. This year, the radio network expands from twenty stations to twenty-two covering California, Nevada, and Arizona. The network will carry the entire regular season plus twenty-two exhibition games. KMPC will air a pre-pregame show sponsored by Bonanza Airlines and a show that will air between games of every doubleheader sponsored by Shulton. Game sponsors are Standard Oil of California, Anheuser-Busch, P. Lorillard, and Continental Airlines. Pre- and postgame shows will be sold locally. Sponsors on KMPC are Wheaties, Alpha Beta Markets, and the Chrysler Dealers of Southern California. Buddy Blattner and Don Wells will call the action.
Twins: WCCO-AM is the flagship of a network consisting of over a hundred stations in fourteen states and two Canadian provinces. This is the second year of a three-year contract. The network will broadcast 171 games, including nine exhibitions. Hamm's Brewing and Twin City Federal will each sponsor three innings of each game, while Pure Oil sponsors two. The other inning has yet to be sold. Pre- and postgame shows will be sold locally. Merle Harmon, Herb Carneal, and Halsey Hall will call the action.
Oakland Athletics: KNBR-AM, the NBC-owned station in San Francisco, has signed a five-year contract to be the flagship station for the newly arrived A's. It will head an eight-station network (six in northern California, two in Nevada). Atlantic-Richfield will be a half-sponsor of every game; the other half remains unsold. Pre- and postgame shows will go to selected network stations; sponsors are Smith's Clothing and the Bay Area Pontiac Dealers (also known as the Pontiackers). Monte Moore and Al Helfer will call the games and handle all adjacent shows.
Local TV Info
Originally written by garretta
National League
Now let's examine television in the National League for 1968. Sponsors and announcers are the same as radio unless otherwise indicated:
Giants: KTVU-TV Oakland-San Francisco, which has televised the Giants for seven years, will air nineteen color telecasts, including two exhibitions, Last year, eighteen of the nineteen telecasts were in color. Nine of these telecasts, as usual, will be the team's games in Los Angeles. Additional sponsors are Phillip Morris and Allstate Insurance. The pregame show will be sponsored by the local Volvo Dealers, while the postgame show will be sponsored by United Vintners and Household Finance.
Dodgers: KTTV-TV. which has televised the Dodgers since their arrival in Los Angeles in 1958. will televise thirteen games this year, an increase of two over last season. The increase is in the number of exhibition games, from two last year to four this year, Regular season telecasts are still limited to the team's nine games in San Francisco. All thirteen games will be in color, and the article quotes KTTV as saying that it's "entirely possible" that more games are added as the season progresses.
Braves: WSB-TV will lead a twenty-three-station network that will televise twenty games on stations in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina. Tennessee, and Florida. A postgame show will be produced for local sale. Carl Sell will join the broadcast team for televised games, and Dizzy Dean will make six special guest appearances in the television booth. At least nineteen of the twenty telecasts will be in color, with the twentieth still a possibility' last year, fifteen of the nineteen telecasts were in color.
Astros: KTVT-TV Fort Worth-Dallas heads a sixteen-station network that will televise at least fourteen road games. All telecasts will be in black and white because the cost of color telecasting was deemed too high.
Reds: WLWT-TV will televise forty-two games, all in color. Hudepohl Brewing will sponsor three innings of each game; the rest is still for sale. Ed Kennedy and Frank McCormick will call the action. Other stations in the Reds network include:
WLWC-TV Columbus (Ohio)
WLWD-TV Dayton (Ohio)
WLWI-TV Indianapolis (Indiana)
WLEX-TV Lexington (Kentucky)
WSAZ-TV Huntington (West Virginia)
Pirates: KDKA-TV will televise thirty-eight road games, all in color. Games will be fed to two other Pennsylvania stations; all three stations will carry the pre- and postgame shows in addition to the games. Additional participating sponsors are Allstate Insurance and R.J. Reynolds.
(As a Pittsburgher, I'm racking my brain trying to come up with the ither two network stations for the Pirates. One is almost certainly WJAC-TV Johnstown; as for the other, my dad guessed Altoona when I asked him, but since Johnstown and Altoona are the same market, I'm thinking it has to be Erie. I have no idea which station, but the one who carried the games a few years later while I was growing up was WSEE-TV.
As an aside, It's really strange for the Pirates to have no broadcast outlet, radio or TV, anywhere in Ohio.)
Phillies: WFIL-TV will lead a five-station network that will air fifty-nine regular season games plus two exhibitions. R.J. Reynolds and Allstate Insurance are additional participating sponsors. The network will air three ten-minute pregame shows with Stan Hochman, Les Keiter, and Richie Ashburn plus a ten-minute postgame show with Bill Campbell.
Mets: WOR-TV will televise 117 regular season games (seventy-four home, forty-three road) plus three exhibitions. Fifty-five night games will be televised this year, down from last year's seventy. The article seems to imply that all regular season games will be in color and the three exhibitions all be in black and white, but this isn't expressly stated. Kiner's Korner will serve as both a pregame show and a postgame show, and it will be sponsored by Benjamin Moore Paints and Chrysler. Additional sponsors include Allstate Insurance, R.J. Reynolds, Sun Oil, and General Tire.
Cardinals: KSD-TV is the flagship of a sixteen-station network in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Arkansas. R.J. Reynolds and Shell Oil will sponsor three innings of each game; additional sponsors include Union Electric, Kroger, Allstate Insurance, and Pontiac. KSD is selling twenty minutes of advertising time per game.
(No other affiliates in Missouri for the defending world champions? Either Broadcasting made a mistake or something screwy was going on.)
Cubs: WGN-TV has signed a new three-year contract to televise the Cubs. and they'll be able to televise more games since they don't have to split their baseball schedule between the Cubs and the White Sox. This year, they'll show 146 games (144 regular season, two exhibitions). Only the West Coast games (Los Angeles and San Francisco) will be untelevised due to the high cost of telephone lines. All telecasts will be in color.
This is the twentieth straight year that WGN has carried the Cubs, and all home games have been in color since 1960. Additional sponsors are R.J. Reynolds, Schlitz Beer, Pure Oil, Allstate Insurance, Zenith Distributing, United Airlines, and Household Finance. Jack Brickhouse and Lloyd Pettit will call the action.
Thirty-three games will be carried over a seven-station network that covers Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The major difference between these games and the WGN-only games is that Pabst Brewing has bought four minutes of airtime per game on the network feed only. (Schlitz ads will still be seen on WGN.)
American League
Now let's examine television in the American League for 1968. Sponsors and announcers are the same as radio unless otherwise indicated:
Orioles: WJZ-TV will air fifty-two games (forty-six road, six home); there will be no regional network. All games will be in color. The five-minute pregame show will be sponsored by Household Finance and Hauswald Bakery. The article doesn't mention any sponsors for the five-minute postgame show. Additional game sponsors include Sun Oil, General Cigan, and Tastykake.
Red Sox: WHDH-TV will lead a seven-station New England network that will televise fifty-six games (twenty-nine home, twenty-seven road). The March 17 exhibition game against the Cardinals will also be televised. All telecasts will be in color. Play-by-play announcer Ken Coleman and Don Gillis will host the pregame show; the postgame Scoreboard will be hosted by Johnny Most and sponsored by General Mills. R.J. Reynolds is an additional game sponsor.
Indians: WJW-TV heads a six-station network in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia that will televise forty-eight games in color. Sun Oil will sponsor a third of each game; the other two-thirds remains unsold. Harry Jones will call the play-by-play; a color commentator has yet to be named.
Tigers: WJBK-TV is the head of a six-station network that will televise forty games. all in color. Sixteen minutes of commercial time has been sold per game, the highest amount in the four years that the Tigers have controlled their own television sales. Sponsors include Pabst Brewing, Sun Oil, R.J. Reynolds, General Cigar, Allstate Insurance, AC Spark Plugs, and Oldsmobile. George Kell and Larry Osterman will call the action.
Two other stations outside the network will also receive Tigers games: WSPD-TV Toledo (Ohio), which will carry all forty games and sell them locally, and WKJG-TV Fort Wayne (Indiana), which will carry seventeen games and sell them locally.
Yankees: WPIX-TV is in its tenth consecutive year of carrying Yankees games. It will televise115 games, including three exhibitions. All home games will be in color; road games will be in color if stadium facilities are adequate. Plans for a regional network weren't yet final at press time. No pregame or postgame shows are planned. Sponsors signed at press time are Pabst Brewing, General Cigar, and American Airlines.
WPIX plans to resume use of its center field camera, which was discontinued last year because several teams complained that it was being used to steal signs.
Senators: WTOP-TV will televise thirty-five games (twenty-four road. eleven home). All telecasts will be in color. Carling Brewing will sponsor a third of each game; other sponsors include R.J. Reynolds, General Cigar, Allstate insurance, and Volvo. There will not be a postgame show, or there will be a regional network. As for a pregame show, before seven games WTOP will rerun a segment of the sports documentary series The Professionals. There is no word about whether baseball-specific episodes will be aired or not.
Twins: WTCN-TV Minneapolis-St. Paul will be the flagship of a fifteen-station network in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin that will televise fifty games in color. Additional sponsors include Allstate Insurance and Schweigert Meat Company.
Angels: KTLA-TV, which is owned by the same group that owns KMPC Radio and the Angels (Golden West Broadcasters), will televise thirty games this year, the same number they did last year. The difference is that twenty-four of this year's games will be regular season games. All telecasts will be in color. Additional game sponsors are Allstate Insurance and Volkswagen Pacific. Household Finance will sponsor one-third of the postgame show; the rest of both the pre- and postgame shows are still unsold.
White Sox: WFLD-TV is beginning a five-year contract. The station will televise 144 regular season games plus two exhibition games. The West Coast games (Anaheim and Oakland) will not be televised due to the cost of the telephone lines required. Jack Drees will do play-by-play, with Dave Martin handling the color. The two exhibition games will be televised from Florida with the help of WFLD's new color remote unit, which cost $900,000. No sponsors had signed as of press time. The games will also be televised on WVTV-TV Milwaukee.
(This helps to explain why the White Sox played ten home games in Milwaukee in both 1968 and '69.)
Athletics: KBHK-TV San Francisco, which has only been on the air since January 2, will televise twenty-five road games. Other California stations receiving the games are KOVR-TV Sacramento and KMJ-TV Fresno. A fourth station in Reno, Nevada is a possibility. There will definitely be a pregame show; a postgame show is possible but not yet set, If it happens, it will be hosted by KBHK-TV sports director Bob Fouts.
National TV Info
Originally written by garretta
Here's the story on NBC's coverage for 1968:
Coverage begins on April 13. Pregame is at 2PM Eastern with first pitch at 2:15 PM Eastern. Curt Gowdy, Pee Wee Reese, and Sandy Koufax, the A team, will be at Wrigley Field in Chicago to watch the Cardinals face the Cubs, while Jim Simpson and Tony Kubek, the B team, will be at the Astrodome in Houston to see the Astros take on the Phillies, who make their first NBC appearance in almost four calendar years. (Their last NBC game was May 2, 1964 in Milwaukee.)
All games will start at 2:15 with the exceptions of May 4, May 11, July 6, and September 21, when the games will start at 4:15 to accommodate West Coast teams. There will be no B game on May 11. There will be no games at all on June 8 because of the coverage of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's funeral procession.
(I read in the 1968 Commentators thread that Braves-Cubs would have been the B game on June 8. What would have been the A game. if anyone can find it?)
There will be three prime time telecasts, all on Mondays: June 3 (Tigers-Red Sox and Cardinals-Astros), July 22 (Phillies-Cardinals and Angels-Twins) and September 2 (Cardinals-Reds and Red Sox-Twins). Pregame for each is at 7PM Eastern, with first pitch at 7:15.
The All-Star Game will be at the Astrodome in Houston on Tuesday, July 9. Pregame is at 8PM Eastern, with first pitch at 8:15. Curt, Pee Wee, and Sandy will be joined by Astros broadcaster Gene Elston, whose main function will be to familiarize viewers with the Astrodome and its differences with other Major League parks. Elston will also join Jim Simpson and Tony Kubek in the NBC Radio booth.
The World Series will begin on Wednesday, October 2 at Busch Stadium, where the National League champion Cardinals host the American League champion Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 2PM Eastern. The schedule is the same for Game 2 the next day (Thursday, October 3). The series shifts to Tiger Stadium in Detroit for Game 3 on Saturday, October 5, Game 4 on Sunday, October 6, and Game 5 on Monday, October 7. First pitch for these three games is 1PM Eastern.
The series moves back to St. Louis for Game 6 on Wednesday, October 9 and the decisive Game 7 on Wednesday, October 10. First pitch for those two games is 2PM Eastern. Curt will be joined by Cardinals voice Harry Caray for the games in St. Louis and Tigers television voice George Kell for the games in Detroit. On NBC Radio, Tigers radio voice Ernie Harwell called the action alongside Pee Wee Reese in St. Louis; Cardinals voice Jack Buck did the same in Detroit. Jim Simpson did the final two innings of Game 7 so Harwell could do the trophy presentation in the victorious Tigers locker room. Tony Kubek will act as a field reporter. Simpson and Sandy Koufax will co-host the pregame show on television.
WKBD-TV (the Tigers' flagship station) joined the NBC feed for the World Series.
Sponsors of NBC's coverage include Gillette, Chrysler, Schlitz Beer, Phillips Petroleum, and R.J. Reynolds.
In a related tidbit, sentiment is growing for more prime time telecasts, both in the regular season and in the World Series. Tigers owner John Fetzer. one of the main people who handle the broadcasting aspect of baseball. said that there have been talks about moving World Series games to prime time, but nothing is imminent. As far as the regular season goes, Fetzer says that if NBC should decide to move some of their Saturday games to prime time, there would be no objections from baseball, The All-Star Game is being televised in prime time for the second consecutive year.