The 1957 World Series is one of the few kinescope-era World Series that we have multiple complete or near complete broadcasts. In 2007, we discussed that Doak Ewing of RareSportsFilms had shown or sold the broadcasts of Games 3, 4 and 7. Later, in 2013, Doak began to sell a near-complete copy of Game 5. Game 6 has been part of a partial that he sells with a copy of the World Series Film. That update left only Game 1 and 2 from seeing the light of day.
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Game 1, however, has since made it's way out into the world in the last two weeks through an eye-raising series of events. How that game came out and how you can find it, after the jump.
On March 24, 2015, a consignment seller out of Bolingbrook, IL listed a 4 reel kinescope copy of the 1957 World Series Game 1. The description of the auction listed by the seller:
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The interesting thing about the seller is their location. They are located not 10 minutes away from Naperville, Illinois. Naperville is the base of operations for Doak's RareSportsFilms. Also, as the seller states in their listings:
Saturday afternoon, Raresportsfilms listed an offering on their site selling a complete copy of Game 1 kinescope on DVD. This DVD includes the original pregame, postgame and commercials from the original NBC broadcast.
Finding complete game broadcast source materials like this is extremely rare, however it is becoming more frequent. Especially in the case of private collectors, the unfortunate consequences of age and passage of time is leading to the liquidation of film collections by their estates or survivors.
The intrigue surrounding where the eBay auctioned kinescope came from or went, along with the timing of the release of this game on DVD leaves a lot of questions. One of the most important questions to me is who now possess the four reels of this game broadcast.
If you are the person who now owns it or you have any insight into where it has ended up, please feel free to comment below or email me privately.
One final editorial note: At this point, someone needs to make all the material from this Series available to the public. Much like 1965 and 1968, we have a complete or near-complete World Series that the general public doesn't have access to. That should not continue to be the case, especially in an age when we have instant access to content.
Game 1, however, has since made it's way out into the world in the last two weeks through an eye-raising series of events. How that game came out and how you can find it, after the jump.
On March 24, 2015, a consignment seller out of Bolingbrook, IL listed a 4 reel kinescope copy of the 1957 World Series Game 1. The description of the auction listed by the seller:
RARE AND OLD TV KINESCOPE WORLD SERIES BASEBALL GAME 16MM FILM. APPEARS TO BE THE ENTIRE GAME OF THE 1957 WORLD SERIES FEATURING YANKEES AND MILWAUKEE BRAVES. BLACK AND WHITE FILM WHICH STATES GAME #1 AND THE COMPLETE FOUR(4) OF FOUR(4) REELS ARE INCLUDED. APPROXIMATELY 4,000 FEET OF FILM TOTAL. FIRST REEL BEGINS WITH THE UMPIRES MEETING AT HOME PLATE WITH THE EXCHANGE OF LINEUP CARDS WITH THE OPPOSING MANAGERS (STENGEL & HANEY). GAME IS TAKEN PLACE AT YANKEE STADIUM. SOME OF THE PLAYERS SEEN IN THIS GAME ARE MICKEY MANTLE, HANK AARON, YOGI BEARA, CASEY STENGEL, EDDIE MATTHEWS TO NAME A FEW. THIS IS NOT THE COMMONLY SEEN 40 MINUTE HIGHLIGHT FILM. GREAT PIECE OF HISTORY TO OWN!!That sounds like the description of a complete game broadcast alright. In fact, with that amount of footage (4,000 feet) and the length of the actual game (2 hours and 10 minutes) it sounds like more than just game footage is included.
The interesting thing about the seller is their location. They are located not 10 minutes away from Naperville, Illinois. Naperville is the base of operations for Doak's RareSportsFilms. Also, as the seller states in their listings:
iSold It is not the owner or seller of these goods, but merely a bailee acting on behalf of the seller to facilitate the sale of the goods by holding the goods until such time as a sale is completed and the goods are shipped to the buyer.The auction would end on Thursday, with the high bid being over $1500.
Saturday afternoon, Raresportsfilms listed an offering on their site selling a complete copy of Game 1 kinescope on DVD. This DVD includes the original pregame, postgame and commercials from the original NBC broadcast.
Finding complete game broadcast source materials like this is extremely rare, however it is becoming more frequent. Especially in the case of private collectors, the unfortunate consequences of age and passage of time is leading to the liquidation of film collections by their estates or survivors.
The intrigue surrounding where the eBay auctioned kinescope came from or went, along with the timing of the release of this game on DVD leaves a lot of questions. One of the most important questions to me is who now possess the four reels of this game broadcast.
If you are the person who now owns it or you have any insight into where it has ended up, please feel free to comment below or email me privately.
One final editorial note: At this point, someone needs to make all the material from this Series available to the public. Much like 1965 and 1968, we have a complete or near-complete World Series that the general public doesn't have access to. That should not continue to be the case, especially in an age when we have instant access to content.