Baseball Forever!: 50 Years of Classic Radio Play-by-Play Highlights from The Miley Collection

by Jason Turbow, John Miley (Commentary), Bob Costas (Narrator)

A homage to the history of baseball during the Golden Age of Radio. An avid collector, John Miley has what is thought to be the largest private collection of baseball radio broadcasts. In Baseball Forever!, bestselling author Jason Turbow (The Baseball Codes) mines the collection with John Miley for the most memorable highlights from the 1930s through the 1970s. With astute commentary from Turbow and classic clips from the radio broadcasts of these games, this audio is not only a collector’s item, but also a great introduction for anyone interested in the history of the sport. Includes discussions of:

All–Star classics
Classic ballparks
Firsts (first games for the Angels, Expos, etc.; first games at new ballparks; first Mets grand slam, etc.)
Great feats (Carl Hubbel strikes out five Hall of Famers in a row, Sandy Amoros' catch, Larsen, Mazeroski, various no-hitters)
Great players
Pennant races
Great moments in World Series history
Strange cases (fans pelt Joe Medwick with garbage; Leo Durocher bunts for an All–Star home run; Stu Miller blown off the mound)
The broadcasters (samples from the great ones, and recreations, a la Ronald Reagan)

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Audiobook, Nonfiction, History

4 pages, Audio CD

First published March 12, 2013

Reviews

[Gary Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawn from the collection of John Miley, this is an exciting audio compilation of baseball moments that are historic, interesting, or entertaining. What a thrill to hear the all-time greatest baseball announcers calling the World Series games featuring so many of the legendary players from the 1930s to the 1970s. My favorite clips include Bill Mazeroski’s World Series-winning home run for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960, Jimmy Piersall running the bases backwards to celebrate his 100th home run, Willie Mays’s epic basket catch, and Harry Caray in his prime calling the St. Louis Cardinals winning the National League pennant in 1964 with owner “Gussie” Busch going nuts in the background. The context of these recordings was written by Jason Turnbow and narrated by Bob Costas. If you’re a baseball fan, you are likely to be grateful that such a collection exists.

[PennsyLady (Bev) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 audio discs

“Aug. 5, 1921,
First Radio Broadcast of a Baseball Game
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Play-by-Play by Harold Arlin at KDKA
(Pirates 8 - Phillies 5) broadcast not preserved

Using only a converted telephone as a microphone and some jerry-rigged equipment set up behind home plate, Arlin called the world's first baseball game broadcast--on KDKA, the nation's first commercial radio station.
-----
"On March 9, 2011, the Library of Congress announced its acquisition of John Miley’s vast collection of sports broadcast recordings made prior to 1972.
The Miley Collection represents the largest and most significant collection of sports broadcasts in America."
Miley's recordings, pre-dating 1972, were not protected by federal copyright law and will reside in in the world's largest library.

Miley and author Jason Turbow have carefully selected highlights to form Baseball Forever (4 audio discs)
Their work is informational, entertaining and richly contributes to what I call Americana.
Bob Costas is narrator

If you appreciate nostalgia and are willing to listen carefully and bear with some early recording quality, I think you'll enjoy their offering.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a somewhat enjoyable review of highlights of old-time radio broadcasts of baseball games. The choices were pleasingly varied, and focused on topics such as famous announcers, famous plays, interviews, and famous game endings. Many of the snippets of audio were chosen for historic significance of the events, such as three (!) versions of the play where “The Giants win the pennant!” from different radio networks, an interview with Roger Maris right after tying the home run record, and Carl Hubbell striking out 5 of the best hitters in history in the 1934 All Star Game. One weakness of the collection is that, due to the technology of the era, many of the pre-1960 game recordings are a bit hazy from static and can be difficult to listen to, and that covers a good percentage of the content in this collection. A highlight for me was hearing Harry Caray calling a Cardinals World Series game with owner Gussie Busch cheering like crazy right next to him in the broadcast booth. Comparing these older broadcasts to the current day, you understand the massive change in content provided by the analytic data now available. There also seems to be two eras before the current “analytic” era. The earliest recordings are just play-by-play announcing – nothing flowery, lots of silence and crowd noise, occasional emotion. The big change you notice in the 50s or so, with Red Barber, Vin Scully, Harry Caray, and the like, was that the announcers were more willing to “wax poetic” about the game. Seems like game calling has gone from reporting to literature to science. Makes you wonder what’s next.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrated by Bob Costas, ‘Baseball Forever: 50 Years of Classic Radio Play-By-Play Highlights’ by Jason Turbow is a fascinating collection of some of the greatest play-by-play calls in baseball history. From Russ Hodges’ legendary call of “the shot heard round the world,” to Carl Hubbel striking out the heart of the 1934 AL All Star line up, to “the catch” by Willie Mays, to Mel Allen’s call of Roger Maris’ 61st home run to break the Babe’s home run record in 1961, this collection, compiled by John Miley, is a must read (listen) for any true fan of the game. I absolutely loved listening to this.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be an automatic 5-star for me as I love the history, and the many play-by-play pieces available, including many that I've never heard. I took one star off because the publisher did not include a track listing to name the individual announcers. John Miley -- whose collection is the very reason for this -- also wanted the names of the announcers included. Beyond that, it's a wonderful way to learn the work of the very well-known, and those who you've likely never heard of. Keep in mind this is not a book but a four-CD set.

[Samwell Raleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was surprised this had such low reviews, because this seems like an interesting book.

But I quit only 40% of the way through. Surprisingly, I didn't care for Costa's narration.

It's a loosely connected string of radio clips throughout baseball's history. I was so excited to listen to it. But there was so little context and so little narration, that it really just felt like a bunch of radio clips. I had no idea what to listen for or why a certain announcer was so beloved, etc. It needed some historical support.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cool to hear audio clips of past moments which I’ve mostly just read about before.

[JBP · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an audio release only I believe because it is a collection of famous & not-so-famous play-by-play calls in baseball history. I loved listening to things I'd never heard before and one thing that makes this terrific is the fact it isn't just the known play, entire innings are heard to set-up the drama. Most of the recordings are from the 1950s and 1960s but there are some dating back to the 1930s. You realize very quickly when listening how much broadcasting styles has changed over the decades. Now, all the announcers sound incredibly similar and they talk, talk, talk, talk and talk. Modern announcers will not shut up whereas the announcers from decades back use silence and pauses and other artful craft as an aide to the drama on the field. Current announcers should take a clue from these masters of bygone days such as Scully, Barber, Allen, Harwell, Buck, Hodges and many others included in this wonderful collection of audio nuggets from baseball's past.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

THis is a wonderful CD of original Baseball Radio Broadcasts highlighting different areas of the sport such as World Series games and some of the more well-known announcers. It is made for someone who enjoys baseball. However, I felt too many of the segments dealt with the Yankees.

[Paula Schumm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook from the library. It was read by John Kostas. This collection of baseball game recordings is phenomenal. I really enjoyed hearing some of these highlights. Recommended to any baseball fan.