12-13-2014, 02:36 PM
Thanks for pointing this out, George Castle. Dick.
Quote:Cubs strike out on ABC 7 history
December 12, 2014 at 3:00 pm | Robert Feder
The stunning announcement that Chicago Cubs baseball would be airing next season on WLS-Channel 7 “for the first time in the 68-year television broadcast history” of the team made for a great story Friday.
Except that it isn’t true.
Contrary to the press release issued jointly by the Cubs and the ABC-owned station — and picked up in virtually every news report on the deal — this isn’t the first time the two have been partners.
In 1949, Cubs home games aired on Channel 7 (then under the call letters WENR-TV), with baseball legend Rogers Hornsby as announcer, according to George Castle, a Chicago baseball historian and author of nine books on the Cubs. “Same station, same owner, same channel, different call letters,” Castle said.
“It’s easy to overlook the WENR-TV role with the Cubs,” he said. “It was only one season. WGN-TV (Channel 9) and WBKB-TV (Channel 4) also did the Cubs that year with [Jack] Brickhouse and Whispering Joe Wilson, respectively, at the mic. P.K. Wrigley spent $100,000 of Cubs money to build new broadcast facilities for the three stations in 1949.”
A spokeswoman for ABC 7 attributed the error in the announcement to the Cubs.
“Cubs front office doesn’t know squat about team history,” Castle said. “That’s one of the glaring holes in that franchise.”
Friday night update: ABC 7 released the following statement: “The Cub Games have been on the air since 1946. In 1949, the Cubs aired on WENR-TV, a precursor to WLS-TV. 2015 will be the first time the Cubs have aired on an ABC owned station since 1949. WLS-TV would like to thank those who pointed out our station’s oversight, but the most important fact is correct — Cubs baseball is coming to WLS-TV in 2015.”