On the Radio
If one went into the country, and not even too far into the country, other games came in at night. The Yankees games were on 1010 WINS, which was a powerful 50,000 watt station, but the Pirates games were on KDKA, 1020, another 50,000 watt station. The problem was that most AM radio tuners were not sensitive enough to pick up KDKA because it so close to WINS. Going fifty or sixty miles away from New York City solved that problem. The Tigers (WJR, 760), the Cubs (WGN, 720), the Reds (WLW, 700), and the White Sox (670) all could be heard.
Since 1960, teams have been created, teams have moved, and teams' flagship radio stations have changed. The Mets started play in 1962 and were broadcast on WABC, 770. As the years passed, it was possible to listen to the Braves on WSB, 750, the Twins on WCCO, 830, the Indians on WWWE, 1100, the Senators on WTOP, 1500, and the Blue Jays on CHML, 900.
It was a different America in the second half of the twentieth century. There was more stability and structure, or at least it seemed that way, and there was less homogenization. WBAL took the listener to Baltimore and putting on WGN took one to Chicago, each with its unique characteristics. There were no commercials for Maryland crab cakes on a White Sox broadcast and Chuck Thompson never mentioned the stock yards when he told fans that Boog Powell had hit yet another home run.
Each city had its own identity and the radio stations were different rom each other. New York fans could not get "EssKay quality meats" in New York, could not go to an Eckerd pharmacy, and could not listen to Baltimore disk jockeys, except at night. That no longer is the case.
Today, if one listens to the radio at night, one can still get the baseball games, and that has not changed, which is one of baseball's great attractions. Listening to the Orioles on WBAL or the Cubs on WGN in 2005, just as one listened to them on the same stations in 1960 produces a sense of comfort and stability, as false as that sense might be. But if one listens to the radio at night, the same programs (Art Bell?) can be heard on four or five stations located hundreds of miles apart.
Most commercials are homogenized fare for drugs, health aids, insurance,
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