Rare Baseball Films Return to OSU Wexner Center
It was once said that Grateful Dead concerts were like baseball games - no two are ever alike.
And seeing Rare Baseball Films at the Wexner Center for the Arts is like catching the Dead at soundcheck.
Now in its 12th year, the 2015 edition of the films consists of newsreel footage culled mostly from the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The oldest clip is from the 1917 World Series; the most recent from the ‘66 Fall Classic.
In addition to players, venues like old Comiskey Park, the Polo Grounds, Fenway Park and then-new Busch Stadium make appearances. Shea Stadium’s 1964 dedication is also featured.
Highlights include FDR standing to throw out the first pitch at the 1935 Senators season opener; a slew of candid Babe Ruth footage; Willie Mays smacking home run No. 512; Jim Thorpe warming up for the ‘17 Series; and Jackie Robinson’s first time on the base path.
This year’s crop also features novelties like Soviet farmers swinging bats in Iowa in 1955; Michigan State players trying to play in canoes on a flooded field in 1952; and a game of donkey baseball in Mexico City, also in '52.
The clips are short, ranging from one to three minutes, but, like hearing the Dead working up arrangements, fascinating because of their rarity.
The program will be shown again at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11. More information at: http://wexarts.org/film-video/rare-baseball-films-newsreels-1