The Infamous Ron Swoboda Catch

Got an email from a good friend of ours, Tim Hanley.

Hanley's the guy who took that famous catch of Ron Swoboda's and we featured him here at Mack's Mets about a year ago.

He's got great news. Seems he's... well... let me have him tell you:



Hey Mack,


"Heads up!"



That's what they say in baseball when you are about to be conked on the head with a…baseball.



So, here's your "Heads up!" for an upcoming TV event on, well,…baseball.

You may have heard that Ken Burns has produced a sequel to his landmark PBS documentary "Baseball," which first aired in 1994. The new program is called "Baseball: The Tenth Inning" and it is scheduled to premiere on consecutive nights (September 28-29) on Channel 13 (WNET) and Channel 21 (WLIW).



Around that time, those local stations will also present a multi-part series called "Baseball: A New York Love Story." Starting the evening of September 26, the five episodes will air at various times on each station. (There is one hour-long episode and four half-hour programs.)



I will appear in the episode called "Brushes with History." In it I will recount, among other things, my particular "brush" in capturing on 8mm film the iconic Ron Swoboda catch during Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. That tale has already been written about by the New York Post 's sports media columnist Phil Mushnick ( http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/one_amazin_film_cMX4DX9hT0ah1NM6nv89tJ  ).

Of course, baseball fans should enjoy both the Burns documentary and all of the local programs. But, in the spirit of "Heads up!", my episode will air at the following times: Channel 13 on September 26 at 10:30 pm, with reruns at midnight (early 9/27), 9/30@2:30 am and 10:30 pm, 10/3@11:30 pm, and on Channel 21, early 9/28@midnight.


The press release for "Baseball: A New York Love Story" mentions that it will be hosted by sportscaster Bob Costas, and that "…notables interviewed include: Joan Hodges (widow of Gil Hodges) and Gil Hodges, Jr., radio personality Mike Francesa, writer Roger Kahn, former Dodger Joe Pignatano, award-winning actor Peter Reigert, and ne'er-do-well Tim Hanley." O.K., one of those names did not appear in the press release. Read it for yourself:


http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100908005474/en/THIRTEEN-Premieres-Baseball-York-Love-Story-September


In the meantime, here is a link to Channel 13's website with some video promos and a Q & A with Ken Burns: http://www.thirteen.org/baseball/



And, lastly, if you miss any episodes of the local programs, they will be available shortly after broadcast for viewing online at the same link as above: http://www.thirteen.org/baseball/



Thanks for reading all of this and, if you get a chance, please let me know what you thought of the programs.



Regards,


Tim