This was Television on May 17
1939: The first telecast of a baseball game
Columbia University’s Baker Field hosted a contest between Columbia and Princeton, ultimately won 2-1 by the visitors. Approximately 400 TV sets in the New York City area received the game, which was aired by experimental station W2XBS, the precursor to WNBC. The successful seven-inning broadcast led the station to move on to the major leagues later that summer. -A.D.
Also on May 17
2000: Beverly Hills 90210, a show that helped define youth pop culture in the ’90s, also spanned the decade almost exactly. The teen soap, which debuted in 1990, concluded its 10-season, 296-episode run on Fox on this date.
Today’s Birthdays: Sasha Alexander, medical examiner (40); Jason Bernard, publisher (d. 1996); David Eigenberg, bartender (49); Craig Ferguson, late night emcee (51); Hill Harper, forensic investigator (47); Jim Nantz, sportscaster (54); Bill Paxton, polygamist (58); Sendhil Ramamurthy, geneticist (39); Bob Saget, single dad (57); Grace Zabriskie, character actress (72).
This Was Television 
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