Fans raved about Fox Sports’ broadcast of MLB at Rickwood Field, and for many, the game’s highlight came in the fifth inning, when the network went full retro to the early days of television.
Fox broadcast the top of the fifth in black and white, from a fixed camera angle high behind home plate. No scorebug, no instant replay, no center-field camera angle or superimposed strike zone — this was the way our forefathers watched the game in 1954.
Fans from 2024 absolutely loved it.
The broadcast began the inning with a shot of the game displayed in a vintage TV graphic, then zoomed in on the action. Play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and color analyst John Smoltz discussed some broadcast trivia, revealing that the use of the now-standard center-field camera for baseball broadcasts emerged later in the 1950s.
At one point, it seemed the broadcast totally broke character. San Francisco Giants infielder Brett Wisely walked, and Fox displayed a split screen, showing his lead off first base
“Do you think they had the split screen in ’54?” Davis asked. “They did, we’re told they did, with the dissolve in the middle. This is all authentic.”
Davis even snuck in a poignant tribute to the late Willie Mays, who passed away Tuesday at age 93. Regarded as one of the greatest players in MLB history, Mays got his start playing at Rickwood Field as a teen. His name came up frequently Thursday night.
“You know, television really becoming mainstream right around the same time as Willie Mays breaking in, that was kind of perfect timing for him to break in because his brilliance was able to be on display for people to see,” Davis observed.
Unfortunately, it was a rather quick inning — the Giants sent only three batters to the plate against the St. Louis Cardinals — but fans saw enough to know they wanted more.
[MLB on Fox]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.