Giants-Cardinals Fox Telecast Gets the 1950s Treatment at Historic Rickwood Field

The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals squared off in the first-ever regular season Major League Baseball game in Alabama on Thursday night at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham.

The game was the league’s way of commemorating Juneteenth and the Negro Leagues, as well as former Negro League player Willie Mays, who died on Tuesday.

Mays broke into the majors with the then-New York Giants and went on to become probably the greatest all-around baseball player who ever lived.

During Thursday’s game, the Fox telecast returned from commercial with a clip of Mays’ ridiculous catch in the 1954 World Series. With that game tied 2-2 in the eighth, Mays chased down a drive to center field by Vic Wertz and made an over-the-shoulder grab to preserve the tie. The Giants eventually won the game in extra innings and later the series.

When the telecast resumed to start the top of the fifth inning, the picture remained in black and white and retained the old 4:3 aspect ratio.

“This is how the game was shot,” color commentator John Smoltz said.

“This is how it sounded,” said play-by-play man Joe Davis, noting the 1950s-esque audio quality.

Later in the inning, Smoltz told viewers, “And if you’re just tuning in, you haven’t lost your mind.”

The broadcast returned to its modern, colorized default state after the top of the fifth.

The Cardinals went on to win the game 6-5.

Opened in 1910, Rickwood Field is the oldest extant professional baseball stadium and served as the home of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues. The park is two years older than Fenway Park and four years older than Wrigley Field.

Last month, MLB announced it would include Negro League statistics in the official record books.

Watch above via Fox Sports.