September 22, 1966: Red Barber Gets Himself Fired

September 22, 1966: The New York Yankees lose to the Chicago White Sox, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle does not play.

It is a Thursday afternoon, when many people who might have gone to the game are at work, and it was rescheduled from the game that was rained out the preceding Tuesday night. Many fans hadn't heard of the rescheduling. This was, after all, the age before social media, and even before 24-hour sports TV would be able to let people know that the game would be played, and when. And the weather still wasn't great: It was cloudy throughout the game, and rain drizzled during it.

Also, the game was available on television, on WPIX, New York's Channel 11. As you can see by the photo, the station was then owned by the New York Daily News, which advertised itself as "New York's Picture Newspaper." Hence, the call letters, WPIX. Although the newspaper has since moved to new locations, the station still broadcasts out of the Daily News Building on East 42nd Street, as it has since it first went on the air in 1948.

And the Yankees were wrapping up an awful season: They would finish 70-89, in 10th place, last in the American League. It was their fewest wins in 41 years, and their lowest winning percentage and their 1st last-place finish in 54 years.

Put it all together, and the attendance was predictably low. But no one could have predicted how low: 413. That is not a typographical error: Only four hundred and thirteen fans paid to attend this Major League Baseball game. Aside from the games played behind closed doors during the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, this is the smallest crowd in Yankee history, home or away.

Walter "Red" Barber had broadcast for the Cincinnati Reds from 1934 to 1938, the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1953, and the Yankees from 1954 onward. He had also done national broadcasts, first on radio and then on television, for both NBC and CBS.

But, on this day, Barber asked the TV cameras to pan the empty stands, as he commented on the low attendance. WPIX refused to do so, on orders from the Yankees' head of media relations. Undeterred, Barber said, "I don't know what the paid attendance is today, but whatever it is, it is the smallest crowd in the history of Yankee Stadium, and this crowd is the story, not the game."

A week later, Barber was invited to breakfast with Yankees team president Mike Burke, who told him that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season. In his memoir, Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat, Barber admitted that he was tired of broadcasting the Yankees, and, with Mel Allen having been fired after the 1964, he did not like his new broadcast partner, Joe Garagiola. He admitted that he did it on purpose, so that he would be fired. Essentially, the greatest broadcaster in baseball history "committed suicide by cop."

Barber wrote a few books, occasionally participated in radio broadcasts, and sat for an interview for Ken Burns' documentary Baseball. He died in 1992, before the documentary could be finished and broadcast.

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September 22, 1966, as I said, was a Thursday. There were 5 other baseball games played that day, including a doubleheader:

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 14-1 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) Hank Aaron, Gene Oliver and Mack Jones hit home runs. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4.

* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers in the opener, 5-3. Al Kaline went 2-for-4, then sat out the nightcap. The Tigers won it, 7-0. Johnny Podres, hero of the Brooklyn Dodgers' 1955 World Series Game 7, pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Pete Rose went 1-for-4.

* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Athletics, 6-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. This game clinched the American League Pennant for the Orioles. It was the 1st Pennant for a major league team from Baltimore since the National League version of the Orioles in 1896 -- 70 years. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Frank Robinson went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs.