Up in New York, the Yankees have just announced that they will be moving their package of 21 free TV games to WWOR-TV Channel 9.
To those of you who aren't from the New York area, I'm sure the announcement is meaningless. But for somebody who grew up on New York baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, it's a pretty significant shift, because in my youth the Yankees were on WPIX-TV Channel 11, while the Mets made their home on Channel 9.
Back then, this was a significant part of the identities of both stations. In a real sense, Channel 11 was as much Yankees territory as their neighborhood in the Bronx. And broadcasting the Yankees was an indelible part of Channel 11's identity -- something that seemed to extend far beyond the game telecasts and the endless promos promising that, "those Yankees are alive."
It was much the same at Channel 9, which had broadcast the Mets from their birth in 1962. Every once in a while, the sports department at Channel 9 would break out the videotapes of old games from 1969 and 1973, and run them together as a montage on the channel's also-ran evening newscast. I'd kill for a look at those original videos today.
Alas, those days are long gone, and the world has turned upside down. The Mets kept their free television games on Channel 9 until 1999, when they flipped to the former Yankees home on Channel 11. And after a sojourn that took the Yankees from 11 to WNYW-TV Channel 5 and WCBS-TV Channel 2, they've somehow found themselves back at the Mets old home.
Wow, this IS shocking…
Well, first off — only 21 free games?
Anyway, I grew up in New York and Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver were the voices of reason during a very unreasonable time for the Mets (Al Harazin’s Worst-Team-Money-Can-Buy and Joe McLlvane’s rebuilding)… I moved to FLorida in the late 1980’s but WWOR was a super-station at the time and it was on my cable package so I got to continue following the Mets…
When WOR stopped broadcasting as a super station / on my cable system, I was heartbroke even with MLB coming to Tampa Bay (if you can call it MLB now :p )… And it was just when things were getting interesting too (Bobby Valentine and the Mets fo the late 90’s).
When I learned the Mets jumped to WPIX I was shocked. And now? WOR a YANKEES station?! Sacriledge indeed!!!
Yeah, this is very weird to someone who grew up with the Yankees on WPIX. I can still hear Rizzuto’s voice “Every time a Yankee hits a home run, Dave Winfield, this Bud’s for you” and the theme song still rings loud.
But WOR? I mean, I they show “Jersey” news (they still do, right? well, if not, they used to). This just seems wrong.
From the article:
WOR is a UPN station, but Fox owns and operates it? I understand that when UPN started their network some years ago obviously there will be many different companies owning the stations, but there’s no mention of UPN in the article, only Fox. Odd.
This is disconcerting. For me, the Yankees and the Yule Log *were* WPIX. WOR, as you wrote, was “Kiner’s Corner,” Lindsey Nelson’s sports jackets and “Million Dollar Movie.” You would think that 20-plus years in the DC area, a family and a career would have immunized me against change-induced disequilibrium but not in this case.
WOR was part of the Chris-Craft group of television stations (10 in all, I believe) that Fox Television Studios acquired in 2001. Fox got a special waiver that allowed it to own two broadcast stations in the same market. Even though Fox bought the stations, they retained whatever network affiliation they had previously — in Channel 9’s case, UPN.
Speaking of channel eleven in the ’80s, does this ring any bells with anyone?:
“PIX PIX PIX PIX PIX PIX PIX PIX PIX PIX!”
I’m sorry. This is just wrong.
For those who really go back, WOR was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers until they left town in 57. Us older folk would watch Happy Felton and the Knothole gang before each game hoping our Little League or school team would get invited to come on the show. Red Barber was teamed with Vince Scully before the Redhead moved to the Yankees. Red was the first announcer to do Baseball on TV in 1939, but that was even before my time.