Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-10
HEGH ATHRd
Giants Baseball
Kills BurIesque
BY MORRIS SIEGEL

IN ITS NANE-CALLING spat with football which
sport deserves the high honor of being called
tonal pastme, baseball recently gained the reluctant
support of San Francisco's last burlesque house.
The joint had to close 1t wasn't taking in enough to
pay those hired to take it Off Its demise claimed Laura
Eden who escaped Hollywood To pursue her fascinating
art in the cultured atmosphere of San Francisco due
to night baseball
Alvin Darks Giants, unsuccessful defending champs
were too much competition. Although any number Of
observers often predicted night baseball some day would
replace SEX this is the first recorded Of where it
actually happened.
In Washington the opposite is true Our 14th street
strip joints had good The Senator'S vino sue
cessfully defended 10th place, had it bad OBJ
viously there is a relation.
BRoADCAsTING MAGAZINE, a sicked-up weekly
which is to TV and radio what The Sporting News is to
baseball felt happy about the unfortunate developments
in San Francisco.
1t of the few times since the coaxial cable
installed that something besides TV blamed for
business failure Broadcasting also seemed happy about
this.
The magazine has discovered finally that sports are
becoming increasingly important This apparently never
occurred to Broadcasting until researcher
set of figures which revealed the networks spending
more money and devotng time to sports than
other single field.
This, of course is not true in Cuba where F1de
Castro is not only the national pastime but also the
questioned champ in the rating battle He has slight
advantage He controls all the stations which is not
bad edge to have.
.*+*
IN THE PIONEER days of the picture tube when Alan
DuMont outranked Gen. Sarnof wrestling and boxing
were the beginning and end Of TVS sports offerings
there was dropo in these two old perennials Then
baseball football and the rest
Today networks devote almost 10 per cent of their
broadcast time to teevisng sports which still have long
way to 60 to match the early record of alone
who once replaced the ball games on Washington
channel
OF the 1880 hours programmed by the networks this
year, 1O5l hours will be devoted to sports There would
be more but NBC, ABC and CHS actually running out
Of sports to televse.
As Broadcasting points out duck-caling bridge drag
are now included in the general sports picture Still the
cry is for more
People like them and advertisers fight to sponsor
sports The networks can't get enough They're
some of the few live events on the air.
THE NETWORKS SUDDEN love for sports needs an
explanation Despite the rising costs in rights money
sports still cost generally less than any other major pro-
gram the air.
There no Jack Bennys Judy Garlands Jackie
Geasons or Danny Hayes to sx-figured talent
fees The athletes those who actually are paid outright
by the networks work for peanuts compared to the
bankros the big stars bring yet sports audi
ences often outrate the super spectacuars
The public whose demands usually pigeon hoIed
never seems to tire OF sports shows particularly live events
Sponsors claim they reaching the audiences they seek
through sports Where viewers once were mostly men,
women are fast closing ranks, especially in football
AS Broadcastng says, TV happy about its new mar
rage II so, 1t should show its appreciation by adding
buresque to the sports lineup
We real sports firing Of baseball football and the
rest, would watch, even If San Francisco didn't.