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Despite its severe financial straits , by 1953 , DuMont appeared to be on its way to establishing itself as the third national network . DuMont programs aired live on 16 stations , but it could count on only seven primary stations – its three owned @-@ and @-@ operated stations ( " O & Os " ) , plus WGN @-@ TV in Chic... |
By this time , DuMont had begun to differentiate itself from NBC and CBS . It allowed its advertisers to choose the locations where their advertising ran , potentially saving them millions of dollars . By contrast , ABC operated like CBS and NBC even though it was only a fourth as large , forcing advertisers to purcha... |
ABC 's fortunes were dramatically altered in February 1953 , when the FCC cleared the way for UPT to buy the network . The merger provided ABC with a badly needed cash infusion , giving it the resources to mount " top shelf " programming and to provide a national television service on a scale approaching that of CBS a... |
Realizing that the ABC @-@ UPT deal put DuMont near extinction , network officials were receptive to a merger offer from ABC . Goldenson quickly brokered a deal with Ted Bergmann , DuMont 's managing director , under which the merged network would have been called " ABC @-@ DuMont " until at least 1958 and would have ... |
However , Paramount vetoed the plan almost out of hand due to antitrust concerns . A few months earlier , the FCC had ruled that Paramount controlled DuMont , and there were still some questions about whether UPT had really separated from Paramount .
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With no other way to readily obtain cash , DuMont sold WDTV to Westinghouse Electric Corporation for $ 9 @.@ 75 million in late 1954 . While this gave DuMont a short @-@ term cash infusion , it eliminated the leverage the network had to get program clearances in other markets . Without its de facto monopoly in Pittsbu... |
In August , Paramount , with the help of other stockholders , seized full control of DuMont Laboratories . The last non @-@ sports program on DuMont , the game show What 's the Story , aired on September 23 , 1955 . After that , DuMont 's network feed was used only for occasional sporting events . DuMont 's last broad... |
DuMont spun off WABD and WTTG as the " DuMont Broadcasting Corporation " . The name was later changed to " Metropolitan Broadcasting Company " to distance the company from what was seen as a complete failure . In 1958 , John Kluge bought Paramount 's shares for $ 4 million , and renamed the company Metromedia in 1960 ... |
For 50 years , DuMont was the only major broadcast television network to cease operations , until CBS Corporation and Time Warner shut down two other struggling networks , UPN and The WB , in September 2006 to create The CW Television Network – whose schedule was originally composed largely of programs from both of it... |
= = Fate of the DuMont stations = =
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All three DuMont @-@ owned stations are still operating and coincidentally , all three are owned @-@ and @-@ operated stations of their respective networks , just as when they were part of DuMont . Of the three , only Washington 's WTTG still has its original call letters .
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WTTG and New York 's WABD ( later WNEW @-@ TV , and now WNYW ) survived as Metromedia @-@ owned independents until 1986 , when Metromedia was purchased by the News Corporation to form the nucleus of the new Fox Broadcasting Company . Clarke Ingram , who maintained a DuMont memorial site , has suggested that Fox can be... |
Westinghouse changed WDTV 's call letters to KDKA @-@ TV after the pioneering radio station of the same name , and switched its primary affiliation to CBS immediately after the sale . Westinghouse 's acquisition of CBS in 1995 made KDKA @-@ TV a CBS owned @-@ and @-@ operated station .
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= = DuMont programming library = =
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DuMont produced more than 20 @,@ 000 television episodes during the decade from 1946 to 1956 . Because the shows were created prior to the launch of Ampex 's electronic videotape recorder in late 1956 , all of them were initially broadcast live in black and white , then recorded on film kinescope for reruns and for We... |
= = Affiliates = =
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At its peak in 1954 , DuMont was affiliated with around 200 television stations . In those days , television stations were free to " cherry @-@ pick " which programs they would air , and many stations affiliated with multiple networks , depending mainly on the number of commercial television stations available in a ma... |
In its later years , DuMont was carried mostly on poorly watched UHF channels or had only secondary affiliations on VHF stations . DuMont ended most operations on April 1 , 1955 , but honored network commitments until August 1956 .
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= = = Kinescopes = = =
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Kinescopes of DuMont Network programs , from the Internet Archive : The Adventures of Ellery Queen , Captain Video and His Video Rangers , Cavalcade of Stars , Life Is Worth Living , Miss U.S. Television 1950 Contest , The Morey Amsterdam Show , The Old American Barn Dance , Okay Mother , On Your Way , Public Prosecut... |
= Bodyline =
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Bodyline , also known as fast leg theory bowling , was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932 – 33 Ashes tour of Australia , specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia 's Don Bradman . A bodyline delivery was one where the cricket ball was bowled towards the bod... |
Although no serious injuries arose from any short @-@ pitched deliveries while a leg theory field was set , the tactic still led to considerable ill feeling between the two teams , with the controversy eventually spilling into the diplomatic arena . Over the next two decades , several of the Laws of Cricket were chang... |
The occasional short @-@ pitched ball aimed at the batsman ( a bouncer ) has never been illegal and is still in widespread use as a tactic .
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= = Genesis = =
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The Australian cricket team toured England in 1930 . Australia won the five @-@ Test series 2 – 1 , with Don Bradman scoring 974 runs at a batting average of 139 @.@ 14 , an aggregate record that still stands . By the time of the next Ashes series of 1932 – 33 , Bradman 's average hovered around 100 , approximately tw... |
The idea of bodyline had originated in the Oval Test of the 1930 Ashes series . While Bradman was batting , the wicket became briefly difficult following rain . Bradman was seen to be uncomfortable facing deliveries which bounced higher than usual at a faster pace , being seen to step back out of the line of the ball ... |
When Jardine was appointed England 's captain for the 1932 – 33 English tour of Australia , a meeting was arranged with Nottinghamshire captain Arthur Carr and his two fast bowlers Harold Larwood and Bill Voce at London 's Piccadilly Hotel to discuss a plan to combat Bradman 's extraordinary skills . Jardine asked Lar... |
A cordon of close @-@ in fielders would be arrayed behind the wicket and on the leg side to exploit batting errors elicited by this bowling line . In these circumstances , a batsman can either duck and risk being hit , or play the ball . Defensive shots rarely score runs and risk being caught in the cordon , while the... |
However , there had been instances of what would later be recognised as bodyline prior to 1932 . In 1925 , Australian Jack Scott first bowled a form of bodyline in a state match for New South Wales , but his captain Herbie Collins disliked it and would not let him use it again when he was captain . Other Australian ca... |
Larwood and Voce practised the plan over the remainder of the 1932 season with varying but increasing success and several injuries to batsmen . Ken Farnes experimented with short @-@ pitched , leg @-@ theory bowling but was not selected for the tour . Bill Bowes also used short @-@ pitched bowling , notably against Ja... |
= = Antipathy between Australians and Jardine = =
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Jardine 's first experience against Australia came when his Oxford University team played against the 1921 Australian touring side . In the second innings , Jardine was 96 not out when the game ended , having batted his team to safety . The tourists were criticised in the press for not allowing Jardine to reach his hu... |
Regardless of what happened in 1921 , Jardine 's conflicts with Australia solidified after he was selected to tour the country in 1928 – 29 . He began the tour with three consecutive hundreds . During the first century , the crowd engaged in some good @-@ natured joking at Jardine 's expense , but he was jeered by the... |
During the journey to Australia , some players reported that Jardine told them to hate the Australians in order to defeat them , while instructing them to refer to Bradman as " the little bastard . " At this stage , he seemed to have settled on leg theory , if not full bodyline , as his main tactic .
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Once the team arrived in Australia , Jardine quickly alienated the press by refusing to give team details before a match and being uncooperative during interviews . The press printed some negative stories as a result and the crowds barracked as they had done on his previous tour , which angered him .
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= = In Australia = =
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Although English bowlers did aim at the batsmen 's body in the opening tour matches , they did not follow through by packing the leg @-@ side field until Bill Woodfull led an Australian XI against the tourists in Melbourne on 18 – 22 November , in what was effectively a Test rehearsal . Jardine was rested from that ma... |
The English players and management were consistent in referring to their tactic as fast leg theory considering it to be a variant of the established and unobjectionable leg theory tactic . The inflammatory term " bodyline " was coined and perpetuated by the Australian press ( see below ) . English writers used the ter... |
During the season , Woodfull 's physical courage , stoic and dignified leadership won him many admirers . He flatly refused to employ retaliatory tactics and did not publicly complain even though he and his men were repeatedly hit .
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Australia lost heavily by ten wickets in the first Test at Sydney , when the bowling spearhead of bodyline , Harold Larwood , took ten wickets . Bradman missed the first Test due to illness , although Jardine refused to believe this and thought the real reason was that the batsman had suffered a nervous breakdown due ... |
Before the second Test in Melbourne , Woodfull had to wait until minutes before the game before he was confirmed as captain by the selectors . This caused the toss to be delayed and fomented speculation that the Australian Board of Control was considering the possibility of removing Woodfull because of his absolute re... |
There is no way I will be influenced to adopt such tactics which bring such discredit to the game . I know Tim could do it but I am not going to participate in actions that can only hurt the game .
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The media advocated the selection of Eddie Gilbert , an indigenous bowler of extreme pace , in order to return the bodyline barrage . In one tour match , Gilbert had bloodied Jardine and left a bruise the size of a saucer . Another suggested means of retaliation was Laurie Nash , whose notoriously abrasive personality... |
On the opening day , Bradman wildly hooked at Bill Bowes ' first ball ( a non @-@ bodyline ball ) and was dismissed for a golden duck , leaving the entire stadium in shock . Jardine , who was known for being extremely dour even by the standards of the day , openly exulted and danced wildly upon Bradman 's demise . Aus... |
The controversy reached its peak during the second day of the Third Test . On 14 January , an all @-@ time record Adelaide Oval crowd of 50 @,@ 962 watched Australia finish off England 's first innings . Shortly after the start of Australia 's innings , Larwood , bowling to a conventional field setting , struck Woodfu... |
Jardine then ordered his team to move to bodyline positions immediately after Woodfull 's injury . Jardine wrote that Larwood had asked for the field , while Larwood said that it was Jardine 's decision . The capacity Saturday afternoon crowd viewed this as hitting a man when he was down . Journalist – cricketer Dick ... |
During the over , another rising Larwood delivery knocked the bat out of Woodfull 's hands . He battled it out for 89 minutes , collecting more bruises before Allen bowled him for 22 . Later in the day , the English team manager Pelham Warner visited the Australian dressing room to express his sympathies to Woodfull .... |
I don 't want to see you , Mr Warner . There are two teams out there , one is playing cricket . The other is making no attempt to do so .
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Woodfull reportedly added " This game is too good to be spoilt . It 's time some people got out of it " , hinting that he might withdraw his team from competition in protest . Australia 's Leo O 'Brien later reported that Warner was close to tears following Woodfull 's rebuke .
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The leaking to the press of Woodfull 's comments to Warner angered the Australian captain . He had intended the comments to be private , and ill feeling grew in the Australian camp as speculation about who leaked the incident to the press grew and many of the team privately pointed the finger at Bradman . ( Bradman st... |
The next day , Larwood fractured wicket @-@ keeper Bert Oldfield 's skull . This occurred when Oldfield mis @-@ hit a hook , which flew from the top edge off a traditional non @-@ bodyline ball ; Oldfield later admitted it was his fault . As a result of the injuries , the costs of insurance cover for players doubled .... |
Bodyline bowling has assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game , making protection of the body by the batsman the main consideration . This is causing intensely bitter feeling between the players , as well as injury . In our opinion it is unsportsmanlike . Unless stopped at once it is likely... |
Jardine however insisted his tactic was not designed to cause injury and that he was leading his team in a sportsmanlike and gentlemanly manner , arguing that it was up to the Australian batsmen to play their way out of trouble . He also secretly sent a telegram of sympathy to Oldfield 's wife and arranged for present... |
The situation escalated into a diplomatic incident between the countries as the MCC — supported by the British public and still of the opinion that their fast leg theory tactic was harmless — took serious offence at being branded " unsportsmanlike " and demanded a retraction . Many people saw bodyline as fracturing an... |
The English team continued to bowl bodyline in the remaining two Tests , but slower pitches meant the Australians , although frequently bruised , sustained no further serious injuries . England won the last three Tests to take the series 4 – 1 .
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In the Test matches , Bradman countered bodyline by moving toward the leg side , away from the line of the ball , and cutting it into the vacant off side field . While this was dubious in terms of batting technique , it seemed the best way to cope with the barrage , and Bradman averaged 56 @.@ 57 in the series ( an ex... |
= = In England = =
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Bodyline continued to be bowled occasionally in the 1933 English season — most notably by Nottinghamshire , who had Carr , Voce and Larwood in their team . This gave the English crowds their first chance to see what all the fuss was about . Ken Farnes , the Cambridge University fast bowler , also bowled it in the Univ... |
Jardine himself had to face bodyline bowling in a Test match . The West Indian cricket team toured England in 1933 , and , in the second Test at Old Trafford , Jackie Grant , their captain , decided to try bodyline . He had a couple of fast bowlers , Manny Martindale and Learie Constantine . Facing bodyline tactics fo... |
In 1934 , Bill Woodfull led Australia back to England on a tour that had been under a cloud after the tempestuous cricket diplomacy of the previous bodyline series . Jardine had retired from International cricket in early 1934 after captaining a fraught tour of India and under England 's new captain , Bob Wyatt , agre... |
In a match between the Australians and Nottinghamshire , Voce , one of the bodyline practitioners of 1932 – 33 , employed the strategy with the wicket @-@ keeper standing to the leg side and took 8 / 66 . In the second innings , Voce repeated the tactic late in the day , in fading light against Woodfull and Bill Brown... |
= = Origin of the term = =
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Although Jack Worrall claimed that he had invented the term " bodyline " , it is more likely that it was coined by Sydney journalist Hugh Buggy who worked for The Sun in 1932 , and who happened to be a colleague of Jack Fingleton . Buggy sent a telegram to his newspaper from the Test after a day 's play . As a substit... |
= = Changes to the laws of cricket = =
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As a direct consequence of the 1932 – 33 tour , the MCC introduced a new rule to the laws of cricket for the 1935 English cricket season . Originally , the MCC hoped that captains would ensure that the game was played in the correct spirit , and passed a resolution that bodyline bowling would breach this spirit . When... |
Later law changes , under the heading of " Intimidatory Short Pitched Bowling " , also restricted the number of " bouncers " which may be bowled in an over . Nevertheless , the tactic of intimidating the batsman is still used to an extent that would have been shocking in 1933 , although it is less dangerous now becaus... |
= = Legacy = =
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Following the 1932 – 33 series , several authors , including many of the players involved , released books expressing various points of view about bodyline . Many argued that it was a scourge on cricket and must be stamped out , while some did not see what all the fuss was about . The series has been described as the ... |
Outside the sport , there were significant consequences for Anglo @-@ Australian relations , which remained strained until the outbreak of World War II made cooperation paramount . Business between the two countries was adversely affected as citizens of each country avoided goods manufactured in the other . Australian... |
In 1984 , Australia 's Network Ten produced a television mini @-@ series titled Bodyline , dramatising the events of the 1932 – 33 English tour of Australia . It starred Gary Sweet as Don Bradman , Hugo Weaving as Douglas Jardine , Jim Holt as Harold Larwood , Rhys McConnochie as Pelham Warner , and Frank Thring as Ja... |
To this day , the bodyline tour remains one of the most significant events in the history of cricket , and strong in the consciousness of many cricket followers . In a poll of cricket journalists , commentators , and players in 2004 , the bodyline tour was ranked the most important event in cricket history .
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= Waterfall Gully , South Australia =
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