You don’t have to watch the full thing by any stretch but just check this out for a few minutes for an original WGN broadcast from 1965. It came up on my algorithm this morning and I ended up going 30 straight minutes before I realized this game ended 60 fuckin years ago.
Even so the takeaways are powerful:
- Everyone sitting behind home plate is fuckin DIALED on the game. Watch tomorrow and you’ll see the complete opposite. Heads are the clouds. Phones are in the hands. And there’s no sign of an attention span anywhere.
- I liked watching the RF lay up on a ball he could have dove for and caught. In the modern game, that was a guaranteed out. Back then? Take the safe play at all times. If you dive, it could roll to the wall and he could get an inside the park HR. So don’t be afraid to Cadillac yourself to the gap and catch it on the big hop. That’s the smart safe play.
- Camera work is sensational. Behind home plate was used masterfully and the ball in play transition was sensational.
- The commercials are so much better from that time period. Each one’s a short film with a jingle and a storyline. We need to bring that shit back.
- The umpire is so in control of this game I honestly thought he would stab someone for looking back at him on a check swing call. Even I felt intimidated by his presence
- Reds pitcher Jim Maloney led his club with an 8.2 WAR in 1965
- Johnny Bench was just a junior in high school at the time of this game
- There were 6 hall of fame position players in this game and that’s preposterous
- Ron Santo
- Ernie Banks
- Billy Williams
- Pete Rose
- Frank Robinson
- Tony Perez
- The Big Red Machine started 4 hall of famers in their everyday lineup and I think that’s the most I can remember of any NL roster in the live ball era
- I watch this and all I can think about is going back in time and getting on the ground floor of a front office. I can’t even imagine the metrics used to evaluate players in 1965. Probably how much hair is on the chest and the ratio of dick:ball size and a bunch of other weird stuff.
- THIS GUYS GOT A GREAT ASS
- The Cubs needed 51 years to win a World Series from the time this game was played and that kinda stinks. Most of the people in that stadium died before seeing it. Not everybody, but probably more than 51% of the attendees in 1965 didn’t get a chance to see the boys win it in 2016 and that’s kinda sad to think about. It’s a hard game.
- It really bothered me to see people compare Rory McIlroy’s Masters victory to the Cubs. That’s such trash when you consider how many people lived and died without seeing the Cubs even play in a world series? While Rory’s in how many late Sunday groups over the last 14 years? Yeah you can suck my dick on that point.
- Debate me: Those kinda golf people belong at the bottom of Lake Michigan
- Scoreboard looks so good
Anyways I thought that footage was really cool and I haven’t seen it before. So i wanted to share with you guys because that’s how this blog works. I like sharing things.
Now if you excuse me, I have to go watch my dog take a poop.