In Bing Crosby’s Wine Cellar, Vintage Baseball

NYT ^ | Sept. 23 2010 | Richard Sandomir

[malkee]

How a near pristine black-and-white reel of the entire television broadcast of the deciding game of the 1960 World Series — long believed to be lost forever — came to rest in the dry and cool wine cellar of Bing Crosby’s home near San Francisco is not a mystery to those who knew him.

Crosby loved baseball, but as a part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates he was too nervous to watch the Series against the Yankees, so he and his wife went to Paris, where they listened by radio.

“He said, ‘I can’t stay in the country,’ ” his widow, Kathryn Crosby, said. “ ‘I’ll jinx everybody.’ ”

He knew he would want to watch the game later — if his Pirates won — so he hired a company to record Game 7 by kinescope, an early relative of the DVR, filming off a television monitor. The five-reel set, found in December in Crosby’s home, is the only known complete copy of the game, in which Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski hit a game-ending home run to beat the Yankees, 10-9. It is considered one of the greatest games ever played.

[who knows what evil?]

Meh...I actually paid money to see the Washington Senators a couple of times back in the 60’s...

[martin_fierro]

	It's a 'Burgh >> PING << Thing.ô
Send FReepmail if yunz want on/off BPT list, 'n'at
Learn Pittsburghese! Free Streaming 'Burgh Radio
The List of Ping Lists

[MarineBrat]

Perhaps the best game ever, for Pittsburgh fans anyway. I was an infant in Hawaii, my father stationed at Kaneohe.

Interesting fact about the game regarding the radio call of that play. Ralph Terry was the Yankee pitcher, and Art Ditmar was warming up in the bullpen. Chuck Thompson was the announcer.

"Well, a little while ago, when we mentioned that this one, in typical fashion, was going right to the wire, little did we know…Art Ditmar throws—here's a swing and a high fly ball going deep to left, this may do it!…Back to the wall goes Berra, it is…over the fence, home run, the Pirates win!…(long pause for crowd noise)…Ladies and gentlemen, Mazeroski has hit a one-nothing pitch over the left field fence at Forbes Field to win the 1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of ten to nothing!…Once again, that final score…The Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1960 world champions, defeat the New York Yankees. The Pirates ten, and the Yankees NINE!"

Presumably Chuck Thompson was going to say that Ditmar was throwing "in the bullpen," and he was caught by surprise by the Mazeroski home run. Game over, and the errant call was enshrined forever, along with his gaff of the final score.

[xp38]

Until 1993 it was the only world series ending walkoff homerun. There have only been two. It’s an exclusively club. Mazeroski and Carter are the only members.