Baseball

1994 - 1994

Inning One: Our Game

18th September 1994

Episode 1

In New York City, in the 1840s, people need a diversion from the "railroad pace" at which they work and live. They find it in a game of questionable origins. On June 19th, 1846, at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, a team of well-dressed gentlemen, the Knickerbockers, play the first game of baseball. By 1856, the game is already being called "the national pastime," or simply, "Our Game." But the nation is about to be torn apart. And, in the midst of the Civil War, there is one thing that Americans North and South have in common: baseball.

Inning Two: Something Like a War

19th September 1994

Episode 2

It is a decade of revolution. In China, in Central America. At Kitty Hawk. In Henry Ford's factory. And on America's baseball fields. In 1894, a sportswriter named Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson takes over a struggling minor league - the Western League - and turns it into a financial success. In 1900, he changes its name to the American League and begins talking about challenging the big city monopoly held by the National League. The revolution takes only three years. In 1903, the first World Series is played between the American League Boston Pilgrims and the National League Pittsburgh Pirates.

Inning Three: The Faith of Fifty Million People

20th September 1994

Episode 3

Examine the century's second decade, which was dominated by the Black Sox scandal. George Herman “Babe” Ruth makes his first major league appearance (as a member of the Boston Red Sox) and a wave of immigration helps fill the stands with new fans, eager to “become American” by learning America's game.

Inning Four: A National Heirloom

21st September 1994

Episode 4

This episode concentrates on Babe Ruth, whose phenomenal performance thrilled the nation throughout the 1920s and rescued the game from the scandal of the previous decade.

Inning Five: Shadow Ball

22nd September 1994

Episode 5

The story of the Negro Leagues in the 1930s. “Shadow Ball” refers to a common pre-game feature in which the players staged a mock game with an imaginary ball. Though unintended, the pantomime was an apt metaphor for the exclusion of blacks from major league play at that time.

Inning Six: The National Pastime

25th September 1994

Episode 6

This episode covers the 1940s and includes Joe DiMaggio's celebrated hitting streak, the awe-inspiring performance of Ted Williams and what Burns calls “baseball's finest moment” — the debut of Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Inning Seven: The Capitol of Baseball

26th September 1994

Episode 7

Viewers are taken through the 1950s when New York City had three successful baseball teams and dominated the World Series. By the end of the decade, the Giants and Dodgers had left New York, a signal that the old game was changed forever.

Inning Eight: A Whole New Ball Game

27th September 1994

Episode 8

The field is moved to the 1960s. This episode traces the emergence of television, the expansion to new cities and the building of anonymous multipurpose stadiums that robbed the game of its intimacy and some of its urban following.

Inning Nine: Home

28th September 1994

Episode 9

The final episode looks at baseball from the 1970s to the present, including the establishment of the free agent system, the rise in player salaries, the continued expansion, the dilution of talent, the ongoing battles between labor and management and the scandals.

Top Cast

John Chancellor•Daniel Okrent•Buck O'Neil

Writer

Geoffrey C. Ward

The history of the sport of baseball in America, told through archival photos, film footage, and the words of those who contributed to the game in each era. Writers, historians, players, baseball personnel, and fans review key events and the significance of the game in America's history.

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Full Cast

John Chancellor Image

John Chancellor

Narrator (voice)

Daniel Okrent Image

Daniel Okrent

Self

Buck O'Neil

Self

Studs Terkel Image

Studs Terkel

Self / (voice)

Full Crew

Ira Spiegel

Supervising Sound Editor

Marjorie Deutsch

Sound Editor

John W. Walter Image

John W. Walter

Sound Editor

Elliot Deitch

Sound Editor

Zeborah Tidwell

Assistant Sound Editor

Michael Balabuch

Assistant Sound Editor

Marlena Grzaslewicz

Assistant Sound Editor

Jennifer Dunnington

Apprentice Sound Editor

Camilla Rockwell

Production Manager

Mike Hill

Coordinating Producer

Bruce Alfred

Coordinating Producer

Stephen Ives Image

Stephen Ives

Consulting Producer

Susanna Steisel

Associate Producer

David Schaye

Associate Producer

Matthew Landon Image

Matthew Landon

Assistant Editor

Erik Ewers

Assistant Editor

Stephen Petegorsky

Still Photographer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Director of Photography

Buddy Squires Image

Buddy Squires

Director of Photography

Allen Moore

Director of Photography

Christopher M. Fisher

Assistant Camera

Roger Haydock

Assistant Camera

Mead Hunt

Additional Director of Photography

James Madden

Title Designer

Geoffrey C. Ward

Writer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Writer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Executive Producer

Paul Barnes

Supervising Editor

Lynn Novick Image

Lynn Novick

Producer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Producer

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