Classic Television - Prime Time

Monday Night Baseball

Original Network

NBC

Original Run

June 12, 1972 - September 1, 1975

Announcers

Curt Gowdy

Tony Kubek

Joe Garagiola

From 1972–1975, NBC televised Monday games under a contract worth $72 million. In 1973, NBC extended the Monday night telecasts (with a local blackout) to 15 straight. September 1, 1975 saw NBC's last Monday Night Baseball game, in which the Montréal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6–5. Curt Gowdy called the games for NBC with Tony Kubek in 1972–1974 (meanwhile, Jim Simpson and Sandy Koufax called the backup telecasts), being joined in the 1973 and 1974 seasons by various celebrity guests from both in and out of the baseball world (among them Dizzy Dean, Joe DiMaggio, Satchel Paige, Bobby Riggs, Dave DeBusschere, Howard Cosell, Mel Allen, Danny Kaye, and Willie Mays). Joe Garagiola hosted the pre-game show, The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola, and teamed with Gowdy to call the games in 1975.

On April 8, 1974, when Hank Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th career home run, Tony Kubek, who was calling the game with Curt Gowdy and Joe Garagiola, criticized Commissioner Bowie Kuhn on air for failing to be in attendance at Atlanta on that historic night. Kuhn argued that he had a prior engagement that he could not break.