Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Saturtainment: This Week In Baseball (1977)

For years, the NFL had couple of weekly syndicated highlight reel series airing on Sunday mornings before the games were played. Major League Baseball, under a directive from then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn, created their own highlight series in 1977. This Week In Baseball recapped the previous week's action in an entertaining half-hour montage, narrated by iconic broadcaster Mel Allen, who served as the series host until his passing in 1996. Future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith took over as host for a time, but the series ultimately came to an end in 1998 after 22 seasons.

2 years later, This Week In Baseball was relaunched, this time airing on Fox as a precursor to their Game of the Week, and with a guest host each week, a la Saturday Night Live. Now, the series gives viewers an opportunity to see some of their favorite players at play off the field as well as on.

Now, let's take a trip back in time to 1977 with Mel Allen:



34 out of 35 seasons. As Mel Allen would say, "How about that!".

Rating: A.

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