BILL STERN'S SPORTS NEWSREEL

OLD TIME RADIO - CD - 146 mp3 - Total Playtime:34:19:51

Bill Stern (July 1, 1907 - November 19, 1971) was a U.S. actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a Major League Baseball game. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame (1988) and has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Career

Born in Rochester, New York, Stern began doing radio play-by-play commentary in 1925, when he was hired by a local station, WHAM, to cover football games. Shortly after that, he enrolled at Pennsylvania Military College, graduating in 1930.

Stern was hired by NBC in 1937 to host The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as Friday night boxing on radio. Stern was also one of the first men to do commentary on televised boxing bouts.

Stern broadcast the first televised sporting event, the second game of a baseball double header between Princeton and Columbia at Columbia's Baker Field on May 17, 1939.

During his most successful years, Stern engaged in a fierce rivalry with Ted Husing of the CBS Radio Network. They competed not only for broadcast position during sports and news events, but also for the rights to cover events themselves. Both Stern and Husing served for many years as their networks' sports directors as well as on-air stars.

According to the book Sports on New York Radio by sportscaster and Westwood One executive David J. Halberstam, Stern's remarkable career flourished despite a physical handicap. In 1935, while Stern was in a car riding home from a football game in Texas, the auto got into an accident, injuring Stern badly enough that his left leg had to be amputated just above the knee.

Many observers consider Stern's style to have provided a blueprint in the 1940s for the career of Paul Harvey, the ABC Entertainment Network social commentator. Fellow ABC newcaster Paul Harvey adopted both Stern's newscasting Reel One (to Page One) and Stern's stories about the famous and odd to Harvey's Rest Of The Story, although Stern made no effort to authenticate his stories and, in later years, introduced that segment of his show by saying that they "might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting." Paul Harvey, on the other hand, states he only tells stories that he has authenticated in some way.
Motion pictures

Stern occasionally appeared in feature films as himself. Two of his more familiar credits are Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper, and Here Come the Co-Eds, starring Abbott and Costello. Stern also narrated a long-running series of 10-minute short subjects for Columbia Pictures, "Bill Stern's World of Sports."
Controversies

Bill Stern caused controversy on September 15, 1944, when he reported that a Chicago newspaper had broken word of an arrangement that would enable the St. Louis Browns of baseball's American League to lose the World Series that year. Stern later expressed regret about writing the article; the Browns nevertheless did lose the World Series that year, 4 games to 2, to their hometown rivals, St. Louis Cardinals.

One day, while doing radio play-by-play for a football game, as a player broke away towards a long run for a touchdown, Stern misidentified the runner several times as he proceeded towards the score. Noticing the error just before the runner crossed the goal line, Stern announced he had lateraled the ball to the correct player, who then scored. Sometime later, Clem McCarthy, that era's most prominent announcer for horse racing, described the wrong horse as having won a race. The verbose Stern chided him for this error, and McCarthy replied, "You can't lateral a horse, Bill."

Stern also waded into "The Great Curveball Debate" about who invented the curveball in the 19th century, Candy Cummings or Fred Goldsmith? In his 1949 book, Bill Stern's Favorite Baseball Stories, Stern came down solidly in Goldsmith's corner.
Bill Stern on the curveball

Stern waded into the debate in 1949 with a "favorite story" crediting Fred Goldsmith as the inventor of the curveball:

Some 80 years ago, an obscure kid pitcher on the Connecticut sandlots made a discovery that revolutionized baseball. He discovered that he could perform an amazing trick. He could actually pitch a baseball in such a way as to make it curve! In 1870, before a large but skeptical crowd, Freddy Goldsmith gave a demonstration of his new invention. The test was made by drawing a chalk line along the ground for 45 feet. Poles were set upright at each end of the line, and another was placed midway between these two. Freddy Goldsmith stood at the first pole and his catcher at the end other end. To the amazement of the crowd, Freddy demonstrated that he could throw a baseball so that it went on the outside of the center pole and the inside of the others, in a curve. Thus the baseball world came to know of Freddy Goldsmith and his invention -- "the curve ball." Freddy Goldsmith became nationally famous. Big league clubs fought for his pitching services. He became a star with the Chicago White Stockings. With his "curve ball," pitcher Goldsmith was soon the most talked-about ballplayer in America! But there is a curious ending to this story. For years, long after his days of baseball glory were over, Freddy Goldsmith lived happily in the knowledge that posterity would always know him as the inventor of the curve ball. However, another pitcher named Arthur Cummings popped up, claiming to be the inventor, and quite a few baseball men believed him. When Freddy Goldsmith heard about this, it broke him up completely. Ill and bed-ridden at the time, he died a broken-hearted man, pathetically maintaining to the end that he, and only he, was the original inventor of "the curve ball."
Later years

After many years with NBC, he joined ABC, where he lasted until 1956. While at ABC, Stern was a regular panelist on the game show The Name's the Same. Most of the program was played for laughs but Stern, with his reporter training, could always be counted on to ask shrewd, probing questions that speeded the show along.

According to the Halberstam book, Stern's tenures at both networks were cut short due to health problems caused by his addiction to painkillers, which dated back to the period after his leg was amputated.

After retiring from television broadcasting, Stern did radio sports reports and commentaries for the Mutual Broadcasting System in the late 1950s and 1960s. During this period, he settled in Rye, New York, where he spent his last 15 years.
 

SHOWS LIST

Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 42-09-12 (xxx) Guest - Harry James
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 42-10-24 (xxx) Guest - John Whelchel
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 43-04-17 (xxx) Guest - Madeline Carroll
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 43-11-01 Guest-Lou-Little
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 44-03-17 (231) Guest - Constance Bennett
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 44-05-12 (239) Guest - J Edgar Hoover
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 44-08-18 (252) Guest - Ellery Queen
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 44-09-08 (255) Guest - Dunninger
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-03-02 (279) Guest - Lawrence Tibbett
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-03-09 (280) Guest - Jane Withers
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-03-30 (283) Guest - Lena Horne
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-04-06 (284) Guest - Milton Berle
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-04-20 (285) Guest - Larry McPhail
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-04-27 (286) Guest - Henny Youngman
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-06-15 (293) Guest - Kathleen Windsor
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-06-22 (294) Guest - Alan Jones
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-07-06 (296) H. V. Kaltenborn Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-07-13 (297) H. V. Kaltenborn Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-07-27 (299) Guest - Byron Nelson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-08-03 (300) Guest - Joan Edwards
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-08-17 (302) Guest - Eddie Rickenbacker
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-08-31 (304) Guest - Charlie Spivak
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-09-06 305 Guest Danny Kaye
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-09-14 (306) Guest - Brace Beemer
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-10-05 (309) Guest - Pat O'Brien
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-11-09 (314) Guest - Tommy Dorsey
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-11-23 (316) Guest - Frank Sinatra
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-12-07 (318) Guest - Joe Louis
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-12-14 (319) Guest - Elsa Maxwell
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-12-21 (320) Guest - Ezra Stone
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 45-12-28 (321) Guest - Jack Benny
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-01-04 (322) Guest - Abbott And Costello (323 announced)
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-02-01 (326) Guest - Kay Kyser
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-03-01 (330) Guest - Linda Darnell
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-03-08 (331) Guest - Jack Carson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-03-15 332 Episode 332
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-03-22 (333) Guest - Babe Ruth
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-03-29 (334) Guest - Bonita Granville (Show 333 Announced)
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-04-12 (336) Guest - Xavier Cugat
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-05-10 340 Guest Sammy Baugh
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-05-17 341 Guest Guy Lombardo
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-05-24 (342) Guest - Lucille Ball
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-06-07 (344) Guest - Eddie Anderson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-06-14 (345) Guest - Dave Elman
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-06-21 (346) Guest - Robert Ripley
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-06-28 (347) Guest - Orson Welles
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-08-02 (352) Guest - Joan Edwards
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-08-09 (353) Guest - Dinah Shore
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-08-16 (354) Guest - Vivian Blaine
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-08-23 (355) Guest - Cab Calloway
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-08-30 (356) Guest - Mischa Auer
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-09-06 (357) Guest - Sammy Kaye
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-09-13 (358) Guest - Ann Rutherford
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-09-20 (359) Guest - Drew Pearson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-10-04 (361) Guest - Connie Mack
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-10-11 (362) Guest - Elizabeth Scott
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-10-18 (363) Guest - Roddy McDowell
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-10-25 (364) Guest - Gene Autry
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-11-01 (365) Guest - Lou Little
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-11-22 (368) Guest - Mickey Rooney
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-12-06 (370) Guest - Sammy Baugh (Miscalled as 340)
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-12-13 (371) Guest - Guy Lombardo (Miscalled as 341)
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 46-12-27 (373) Guest - Eddie Cantor
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-01-17 (375) Guest - Morton Downey
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-01-24 (376) Guest - Rudy Vallee
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-01-31 (377) Guest - Bucky Harris
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-02-07 (378) Guest - Spike Jones
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-02-14 (379) Guest - Frankie Frisch
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-04-11 (385) Guest - Dizzy Dean
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-05-16 (390) Guest - Eddie Arcaro
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-05-23 (390) Guest - Craig Wood (Episode Number Called Twice)
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-06-13 (393) Guest - Roy Rogers
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-06-20 (394) Guest - Perry Como
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-07-04 (396) Guest - George Jessel
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-07-11 (397) Guest - Bob Feller
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-07-25 (399) Guest - Eddie Cantor Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-08-01 (400) Guest - Frank Sinatra Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-08-08 (401) Guest - John Garfield Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-08-22 (414) Guest - Paul Whiteman
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-09-19 (417) Guest - Babe Didrikson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-10-03 (418) Guest - Bucky Harris
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-10-10 (419) Guest - Gene Autry
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-10-17 (420) Guest - Hildegarde
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-10-31 (422) Guest - Frank Leahy
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 47-12-28
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-01-02 431 Guest Ronald Reagan
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-01-09 (432) Guest - Eddie Cantor
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-03-19 442 William Powell Is Guest Host
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-04-02 (444) Guest - Jack Dempsey
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-04-16 (446) Guest - Canada Lee
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-04-23 (447) Guest - Maxie Rosenbloom
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-04-30 (448) Guest - Tony Martin
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-05-07 (449) Guest - Jane Froman
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-05-14 (450) Guest - Fred Waring
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-06-04 (451) Guest - Jim Thorpe
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-07-09 (454) Frank Sinatra Substitutes
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-07-16 (455) William Powell Substitutes
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-07-23 (456) Jimmy Stewart Substitutes
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-08-27 (461) Guest - Dick Powell
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-09-01 462 Guest Lou Ness
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-10-15 (468) Guest - Rex Harrison
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-11-26 (474) Guest - Frankie Carle
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-12-17 (477) Guest - Marie MacDonald
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 48-12-31 (479) 1948 in Review - George Raft
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-01-07 (480) Guest - Eddie Cantor
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-01-21 (482) Guest - Horace Heidt
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-01-28 (483) Guest - Jerry Colonna
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-02-04 (484) Guest - Hoagy Carmichael
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-02-18 (486) Guest - Casey Stengel
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-03-04 (488) Guest - Zachary Scott
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-03-18 (490) Guest - Susan Hayward
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-04-08 (493) Guest - Jesse Owens
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-05-20 (499) Guest - Ida Lupino
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-06-03 (501) Guest - Mrs. Lou Gehrig
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-06-17 (503) Guest - Connie Mack
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-07-15 (507) Frank Sinatra Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-07-22 (508) Guest - Pat O'Brien Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-07-29 (509) Ronald Reagan Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-08-19 (512) Guest - Dizzy Dean
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-09-02 (514) Guest - Herbert Hoover
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-09-23 (517) Guest - George Raft
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-09-30 (517) Guest - Pancho Gonzales
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-10-07 (518) Guest - Billie Burke
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-10-28 (521) Guest - Red Grange
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-11-04 (522) Guest - Peter Lawford
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-11-25 (525) Guest - The Four Horsemen
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-12-02 (526) Guest - Grantland Rice
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-12-23 (529) Guest - Joe Louis
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 49-12-30 (530) Guest - Morton Downey
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-01-13 (532) Guest - Boris Karloff
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-01-20 (533) Guest - Sammy Kaye
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-02-03 (535) Guest - Tommy Henrich
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-02-10 (536) Guest - Bob Feller
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-02-17 (537) Guest - Sonja Henie
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-03-10 (540) Guest - Kirk Douglas
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-04-07 (544) Guest - Jack Carson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-05-12 (549) Guest - Laraine Day
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-05-19 (550) Guest - Ted Williams
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-05-26 (551) Guest - Jackie Robinson
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-06-16 (554) Guest - Shelley Winters
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-07-07 (557) Franchot Tone Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-07-14 (558) Basil Rathbone Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-07-28 (560) Fredric March Subs
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-10-13 (571) Guest - Ann Sheridan
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 50-10-20 (572) 12th Anniversary Show
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 51-06-29 (606) Final Show For Colgate
 

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