BASEBALL LEGENDS
FOR GILLETTE
(approx 55 min)
From the 1950's thru the 1970's, some of the most effective advertising for razors and other shaving products were endorsements by major sports figures, and thru the early 1960's, sports to most people meant baseball.
The plugs were staged--and sound like they're being read off cue cards--and the endorsements were paid, and everyone except the kids watching really knew it, but you had to figure that these guys all shaved, and every razor company could bid for their endorsements if they wanted, so if they went for Gillette, and Gillette wanted them, and you were a fan of whoever the player was, well that spoke well for Gillette, and was another reason to use their razors.
These commercials, all done between 1954 and 1962, feature some of the most renowned and fondly remembered major leaguers of the 1950's and 1960's, guys whose exploits we followed daily for seven months out of the year.
Including home run kings Hank Aaron (who is shown in slow motion laying down a sacrifice bunt, oddly enough) and Willie Mays ("I try to look sharp because I feel sharp"), Yankees Jerry Coleman, Hank Bauer, and Bob Turley, Luis Aparicio, Billy Pierce, Nellie Fox, Marty Marion, and George Kell of the White Sox, Jackie Jenson and Lou Boudreau of Boston, base-stealing champ Maury Wills of the Dodgers
("There's nothing like the Gillette way"), the Phillies' Richie Ashburn, Curt Simmons, and Bill Mazeroski. The announcers featured who are feeding these guys the questions their lines are answering include Mel Allen and Jimmy Powers.
WRESTLING IN BUFFALO
VOLUME ONE
#485
(approx 60 min)
Professional wrestling from the War Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, circa the middle/late-1950's, under the auspices of promoter Pedro Martinez. Volume One features matches between Tony Marino of Rochester and Zabio, a piano playing "beatnik" (with goatee) from Greenwich Village.
A tag-team match is refereed by former boxing champion Jersey Joe Walcott. Prince von Eric goes up against Zabio; and Hank Valentino battles it out against Hard-boiled Haggerty.
WRESTLING IN BUFFALO VOLUME TWO
#486
(approx 60 min)
More pro-grapplers from the War Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. In the first match-up, Fred Atkins battles Luther Lindsey, and proceeds to place Lindsey in an arm-hold that lasts for more than six minutes. Wilbur Snyder goes up against Wally Greb.
The fastest, strangest match here is between Big Jim Bernard and Bo Bo Brazil, who tosses Bernard around the ring, jumps over him, and pins him in less than 26 seconds, before anyone knows what's happening, causing Bernard to attack the referee. Dick Hutton goes against Wally Grebs, and uses a custom hold called the cobra twist that looks like what its name sounds like. And Al Corman battles Louie McClarty in a bad-tempered match, featuring lots of closed fist punches and gouging.
LOST SPORTS CLASSICS
Volume One
(approx 60 min)
Fast-paced newsreel overview of sporting events from the 1920's to the end of the 1950's: 54th World Series with the Yankees Vs. the Milwaukee Braves, in which the Braves--thought to be outmatched--surprised everyone.
Advertisements for scuff-proof, waterproof Voit balls; the Indianapolis Auto Classic of 1949 and 1951, including a harrowing multiple car crack-up with lots of flames; John Cobb's fatal 1952 jet speedboat wreck; championship bowling highlights featuring Ray Schanen; Franklin Roosevelt sailing in the 1930's; Jack Dempsey in his prime during the 1930's (from the documentary THE JAZZ AGE).
The Harlem Globetrotters in action; advertisements for AMF balls, shoes, and bags; Mickey Mantle for Florida Orange Juice; Chris Evert pushes Borden Skim-American Cheese; Rocky Graziano as a befuddled traffic cop in a commercial for Post cereal; and Babe Ruth seen in 1920's footage in his prime and in his farewell appearance in 1947.
LOST SPORTS CLASSICS
Volume Two
(approx 60 min)
The most commercial and the least commercial side of sports, along with some miscellaneous highlights: St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a pitchiong duel between St. Louis's Larry Craig and Los Angeles' Roger Craig; Roger Maris lends his name to Papermate's three-sizes of pens and their special grips (he prefers the husky).
An account of postwar Little League Baseball and its introduction tothe town of Roslyn, Long Island, and its organization, fund-raising, the role of women (mostly as scorekeepers), and how the boys get their try-outs and their rankings, with an endorsement from the Yankees' Whitey Ford; a 1950's Universal-International newsreel present a football game between Seattle and Milwaukee; and a bloody 12-round fight between Kobayashi and Amaya, with a surprising amount of blood and obvious pain for both participants.
The international Little League championships. Joe DiMaggio and Jack Barry appear on Lionel Trains clubhouse, talking sports and trains. And we get a glimpse of the 1930's animated Aesop's Fables cartoon "The Ballgame." Casey Stengel, Jack Dempsey, and Betty Grable each appear separately in aearly 1970's Tabby catfood commercials; and Jerry Coleman, Bill Mazerowski, Richie Ashburn, Marty Marion, Bob Turley, Curt Simmons, and Hank Bauer all plug Gillette razors.
LOST SPORTS CLASSICS
Volume Three
(approx 60 min)
A look back at legends of the 1930's: Jesse Owens' 1936 Olympic victory, highlighted by his own overdubbed recollections, seen competing and accepting his gold medals; the breaking of sports barriers, beginning with Owens and moving onto Roger Bannister and the four-minute mile.
Archie Moore at age 44, defeating Ivan Durrel; Bobby Thompson's 1951 "shot heard round the world"; a look at Babe Ruth's various records; Tunney vs. Dempsey in 1927, complete with the controversial "long count" in the 7th round and Tunney's audio recollections; Lou Gehrig's various records in baseball; footage of heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in and out of the Ring; Joe Namath's breakthrough to fame as a Jet; the Ali-Liston fight; footage of Lousi Vs. Schmelling from Yankee Stadium.
Bobby Richardson plugs Gillette razors; and some real vintage material, Tommy Burns Vs. Bill Squires from 1907; and "The Knockout," a Keystone Kops comedy featuring Charlie Chaplin as a hapless referee.
LOST SPORTS CLASSICS
Volume Four
(approx 60 min)
"The Fence Buster," a short film biography of Babe Ruth, concentrating mostly on his post-Boston career with the Yankees from 1920 onward, up to his farewell in 1947, including a year-by-year look at his performance as a home-run hitter; "The King of Diamonds," a short documentary on the life and career of Lou Gehrig, from his childhood in New York to his premature death from ALS in 1941.
Joe Garrigiola takes us on a tour of Italy's baseball teams, and tells of how the sport took root there (it started witn the Allied landings at Anzio); "Broadway Handicap" shows the horse race in detail; and a videotape from Mexico City shows us a bullfight, from an old network telecast; Ralph Kiner plugs Gillette razors.
CLASSIC SPORTS COMMERCIALS OF THE 50s AND 60s
Volume One
"Joe DiMaggio's Dugout" pushes Buitoni macaroni; Richard Webb (Captain Midnight) pushes Ovaltine with help from Duke Snider; Frank Gifford and his first wife plug Lucky Strike; Rocky Graziano talks up Breakstone Yogurt; Roger Maris plugs the board game Roger Maris Action Baseball.
Football star Crazy Legs Hirsh pushes Ovaltine; Roy Campanella endorses Gillette razors, followed by similar plugs by Willie Mays (featuring old-time sports reporter Jimmy Powers), and Don Zimmer; Old Gold sponsors The Chicago Cubs, with an endorsement of the product by Red Barber; "any friend of Ovaltine is a friend of mine" says Joe Namath, in a color commercial from the early 70's (and sporting the longest hair of any male athlete in this collection); baseball fans enjoy a game with Ballantine Beer, which "won't fill you up" and "won't let you down."
Mickey Mantle talks up Karo Syrup; the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Lions push Vitalis; the Brooklyn Dodgers give their blessing to Lucky Strike; Camel cigarettes get the nod from Bob Lemon and Early Wynn; Roger Maris recommends Post Sugar Crisp; and Jonathan Winters does a wonderful baseball pantomime.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PRESENTS:
THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS VS.
THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
(approx 60 min)
(SP) Speed A hard-fought ten-inning game at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Dodgers, led by the legendary manager Walter Alston, fought their way to the two run lead, only to see the Cardinals tie up the game in the ninth inning and win it in the tenth with some good clutching hitting and great base running by Bill White. A good match up in regular season play, featuring Stan Musial, Duke Snider, Ken Boyer, Wally Moon, Gino Cimoli, Maury Wills, Roger Craig, Larry Jackson, Don Zimmer, Don Blasingame, Charlie Neal, Ron Fairly, and winning pitcher Lindy McDaniel. Jack Brickhouse is the announcer.
1955 WORLD SERIES -
New York Yankees vs.
Brooklyn Dodgers
(approx 60 min)
This beautifully edited film contains all of the highlights and drama of the 52nd World Series, the last "subway series" between these legendary New York teams. This series marked the highpoint in the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who finally defeated their age-old rivals from the Bronx in the last series they would play as New York opponents.
From the opening game at Yankee Stadium, and Dodger Junior Gilliam's first strike to the final out, the action comes across the screen swiftly, along with a lot of history and some very good baseball--Jackie Robinson, despite his gradually failing legs, stealing home for a much-needed Dodger run in the first game, which the Yankees won; the Dodgers fighting their way back into contention with an unprecedented three wins after that first game loss; the strong base-running of all of the games and the superb fielding, which saw the Dodgers stay in contention against the Yankee juggernaut by carrying out a record-setting 12 double-plays in the course of the seven game series; and the outstanding performances by the legendary players of both teams: Micky Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Phil Rizzuto, Peewee Reese, Sandy Amoros, Whitey Ford, and Roy Campanella. Sponsored by the Spaulding Company and the makers of the Louisville Slugger.
1957 WORLD SERIES -
New York Yankees vs.
Milwaukee Braves
(approx 60 min)
This historic first meeting between the Bronx Bombers and the Braves is filled with some superb baseball, all distilled down to 40 minutes of highlights from the seven game series. The Yankees overwhelmed the Braves in the first game at Yankee Stadium, but the Braves battled back, evening the series twice with some dazzling playing by home-run king Hank Aaron, powerhouse hitter Eddie Mathews, and veteran pitcher Lou Burdett, who became the only hurler ever to beat the Yankees three times in one World Series, and the first pitcher to rack up two shut-outs in a single World Series since 1905. The other stars and superstars featured in this legendary match-up--which put the Milwaukee Braves (then a four-year-old franchise, having moved to Wisconsin from Boston in 1953) on the map--include Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford, and Don Larsen.
MAIN EVENT WRESTLING
(approx 55 min)
Presented from Hollywood Legion Stadium, this 1950's program shows various exhibitions featuring wrestlers Bill Cody (from Cheyenne, Wyoming), Honest John Cretoria (Canton, Ohio), Sockeye Jack McDonald (Oregon), Dave Lewin (Brooklyn, (Reynolds New York), Juan Cepeda (San Jose, California), Sandor Szabo (Santa Monica, California), Wilbur Snyder (San Fernando, California), and Joe Pazandach (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Pro-wrestling from this era lacked the sheer outrageousness of the current game, but it still has its moments--the fighting, such as it is, is more restrained, but you can hear the stuff being said in the ring between wrestlers and the ref. Jules Strongbow and Bill Welsh are the hosts.
Back to TV Archives Page
Back to Front Page
(approx 55 min)
From the 1950's thru the 1970's, some of the most effective advertising for razors and other shaving products were endorsements by major sports figures, and thru the early 1960's, sports to most people meant baseball.
VOLUME ONE
#485
(approx 60 min)
Professional wrestling from the War Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, circa the middle/late-1950's, under the auspices of promoter Pedro Martinez. Volume One features matches between Tony Marino of Rochester and Zabio, a piano playing "beatnik" (with goatee) from Greenwich Village.
#486
(approx 60 min)
More pro-grapplers from the War Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. In the first match-up, Fred Atkins battles Luther Lindsey, and proceeds to place Lindsey in an arm-hold that lasts for more than six minutes. Wilbur Snyder goes up against Wally Greb.
Volume One
(approx 60 min)
Fast-paced newsreel overview of sporting events from the 1920's to the end of the 1950's: 54th World Series with the Yankees Vs. the Milwaukee Braves, in which the Braves--thought to be outmatched--surprised everyone.
Volume Two
(approx 60 min)
The most commercial and the least commercial side of sports, along with some miscellaneous highlights: St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a pitchiong duel between St. Louis's Larry Craig and Los Angeles' Roger Craig; Roger Maris lends his name to Papermate's three-sizes of pens and their special grips (he prefers the husky).
Volume Three
(approx 60 min)
A look back at legends of the 1930's: Jesse Owens' 1936 Olympic victory, highlighted by his own overdubbed recollections, seen competing and accepting his gold medals; the breaking of sports barriers, beginning with Owens and moving onto Roger Bannister and the four-minute mile.
Volume Four
(approx 60 min)
"The Fence Buster," a short film biography of Babe Ruth, concentrating mostly on his post-Boston career with the Yankees from 1920 onward, up to his farewell in 1947, including a year-by-year look at his performance as a home-run hitter; "The King of Diamonds," a short documentary on the life and career of Lou Gehrig, from his childhood in New York to his premature death from ALS in 1941.
Volume One
"Joe DiMaggio's Dugout" pushes Buitoni macaroni; Richard Webb (Captain Midnight) pushes Ovaltine with help from Duke Snider; Frank Gifford and his first wife plug Lucky Strike; Rocky Graziano talks up Breakstone Yogurt; Roger Maris plugs the board game Roger Maris Action Baseball.
(approx 60 min)
(SP) Speed A hard-fought ten-inning game at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Dodgers, led by the legendary manager Walter Alston, fought their way to the two run lead, only to see the Cardinals tie up the game in the ninth inning and win it in the tenth with some good clutching hitting and great base running by Bill White. A good match up in regular season play, featuring Stan Musial, Duke Snider, Ken Boyer, Wally Moon, Gino Cimoli, Maury Wills, Roger Craig, Larry Jackson, Don Zimmer, Don Blasingame, Charlie Neal, Ron Fairly, and winning pitcher Lindy McDaniel. Jack Brickhouse is the announcer.
(approx 60 min)
This beautifully edited film contains all of the highlights and drama of the 52nd World Series, the last "subway series" between these legendary New York teams. This series marked the highpoint in the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who finally defeated their age-old rivals from the Bronx in the last series they would play as New York opponents.
New York Yankees vs. Milwaukee Braves
(approx 60 min)
This historic first meeting between the Bronx Bombers and the Braves is filled with some superb baseball, all distilled down to 40 minutes of highlights from the seven game series. The Yankees overwhelmed the Braves in the first game at Yankee Stadium, but the Braves battled back, evening the series twice with some dazzling playing by home-run king Hank Aaron, powerhouse hitter Eddie Mathews, and veteran pitcher Lou Burdett, who became the only hurler ever to beat the Yankees three times in one World Series, and the first pitcher to rack up two shut-outs in a single World Series since 1905. The other stars and superstars featured in this legendary match-up--which put the Milwaukee Braves (then a four-year-old franchise, having moved to Wisconsin from Boston in 1953) on the map--include Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford, and Don Larsen.
(approx 55 min)
Presented from Hollywood Legion Stadium, this 1950's program shows various exhibitions featuring wrestlers Bill Cody (from Cheyenne, Wyoming), Honest John Cretoria (Canton, Ohio), Sockeye Jack McDonald (Oregon), Dave Lewin (Brooklyn, (Reynolds New York), Juan Cepeda (San Jose, California), Sandor Szabo (Santa Monica, California), Wilbur Snyder (San Fernando, California), and Joe Pazandach (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Pro-wrestling from this era lacked the sheer outrageousness of the current game, but it still has its moments--the fighting, such as it is, is more restrained, but you can hear the stuff being said in the ring between wrestlers and the ref. Jules Strongbow and Bill Welsh are the hosts.