Baseball Over the Air: The National Pastime on the Radio and in the Imagination

by Tony Silvia

This narrative contains the documentation and interpretation of two imaginative pastimes (radio and baseball) and illuminates each in a unique manner. It integrates radio and baseball historically, sociologically, and culturally using the common themes of imaginative expression. This book is a unique approach into the magic of radio's imaginative power. Broadcasting baseball on the radio has brought many millions of Americans an imaginative link to a game that is built upon recollections of athletic achievement that ring far truer in our "sweet imaginations." Through the use of our imaginations, we can see the game itself as more than just a game, but a gateway to an imaginative realm beyond the reality of everyday life.

230 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2007

Reviews

[Ron Kaplan]

Ever since baseball held the first World Series night game in 1971, sports pundits have complained that the late starting times dictated by avaricious television broadcasters would preclude kids with early bedtimes from becoming future fans. James R. Walker and Robert V. Bellamy Jr. take a deeper look at this sometimes-stormy marriage in Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television (Nebraska). It s hard to believe that there once was a time when team owners didn t want their product shown on TV for fear it would keep fans from buying tickets. Little did they know how rich they would become from network and cable contracts.[return][return]Of course, a previous generation said the same thing about broadcasting on the radio. In Baseball Over the Air: The National Pastime on the Radio and In the Imagination (McFarland), Tony Silvia chronicles how that medium made countless fans out of those who heretofore had no way of accessing the game in real time. Radio, an aural enterprise, allowed listeners to use their imaginations, as the title suggests. Both books pay homage to the pioneers and personalities such as Mel Allen, Red Barber, Harry Caray, and their broadcast descendants who brought baseball into kitchens, living rooms, and cars, and helped extend the lineage of fans.