This was Television on April 16
1948: WGN airs its first baseball game
Less than two weeks after commencing regular broadcasts, local Chicago station WGN aired an exhibition game between the White Sox and the Cubs at Wrigley Field, a 4–1 Sox win with Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Brickhouse on the call. An extension of the Tribune Company’s media empire, which included newspaper and radio properties, WGN-TV grew into a national superstation in part thanks to its subsequent relationship with the Cubs. Broadcasting the games across the US, in particular to the many markets that lacked a home team in Major League Baseball, helped the superstation, the franchise, and their home ballpark all attain a nationwide fandom. -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Jon Cryer, dad (48); Martin Lawrence, comic (48); David Lyons, Cape (37); Sean Maher, doctor (38); Henry Mancini, composer (d. 1994); Peter Mark Richman, character actor (86); Billy West, voice actor (63).
This Was Television 
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