Radio

Baseball made its debut on the radio on August 5, 1921, when KDKA broadcast a 8-5 win by the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. The first radio announcer was Harold Arlin, whose grandson would become a major league pitcher (Steve Arlin).

Radio coverage of baseball spread quickly from there. Many people in outlying areas used it as their primary means of connection to the game in the days before television; while its role fell with time, it remained a staple of MLB coverage throughout the remainder of the 20th Century. AM radio was the prime carrier of baseball broadcasts, and at night, powerful stations could be heard hundreds of miles away from their home city thanks to the particular nature of AM radio waves (this is not possible with FM stations, whose range is much more limited). In particular, the broadcasts of St. Louis Cardinals games on KMOX could be heard throughout the Midwest and all the way to Texas.

While many early radio announcers broadcast from the stadium, others relied on telegraph accounts that arrived during the game to re-create the distant contest. The latter group of announcers had to make up details as to what was transpiring at the ballpark to make their tale believable. When no details were forthcoming, announcers often made up repeated foul balls to keep listeners tuned in.

One famous recreator was Ronald Reagan, who would become known for blurring the facts later in life as President.

Further Reading

• George Castle: Baseball and the Media: How Fans Lose in Today's Coverage of the Game, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-6469-4
• Mike Fitzpatrick (Associated Press): "With the future of AM unclear, a look back at the powerful role radio plays in baseball history", Yahoo! Finance, September 22, 2023. [1]
• James R. Walker: Crack of the Bat: A History of Baseball on the Radio, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2015. ISBN 978-0-8032-4500-6