The fame of the Yankees was such that star outfielder Joe DiMaggio landed an offseason gig in 1950, hosting a Saturday afternoon show for kids. Unfortunately, The Joe DiMaggio Show, sponsored by Lionel Trains, lasted just 1 season of 13 episodes. The fact that it was tailored specifically for boys wouldn't work in today's market, to be sure.
Future game show legend Jack Barry was DiMaggio's sidekick, doing the shilling for Lionel, for example.
The series got off to a flying start, as DiMaggio brought in teammate Phil Rizzuto as his first guest. Unfortunately, that episode doesn't appear to be available at the moment, but the topic in this sampler, which appears to be from December 1950, is dogs. Courtesy of Ira Gallen's TVDays channel.
All the boys on the show were issued Lionel logo apparel, as you can see.
Could something like this work today? You'd have boys & girls in the audience, and, since The Baseball Bunch ended a few years ago, there is a void for programming of this sort. MLB Network's Play Ball, like Bunch, is more specifically designed for baseball. Today, you need someone who transcends sports in general. This is the sort of thing Peyton Manning should be looking to do. Just sayin'.
Rating: A.
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