As the Washington, D.C. area descends into playoff fever, The Unwritten Record takes a look back to the last postseason match-up between the Nationals and the Giants, the 1933 World Series contest between the American League’s Washington Nationals (also known as the Senators) and the National League’s New York Giants.* The action was covered in two Universal newsreels, released October 4th and October 9th 1933. The soundtracks for these reels no longer exist, but the footage and supplemental material in the production files have survived.
Game one, played in New York October 3rd, 1933, is shown in Universal News Vol. 5, Rel. 186. According to the release sheet, we see “Mel Ott’s first inning homer, Goose Goslin’s four sacker and that famous sixth inning slaughter of the innocents.”
Game three was played October 5th at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C., with President Roosevelt throwing out the the first pitch. Washington beat New York 4-0. According to the cameraman’s “dope sheet,” Will Hays (most famous for the Hollywood production code that bore his name) was also in attendance. The story was covered as a “local” in Universal News Vol. 5, Rel. 187 and shown only in the Washington D.C. area.
The final game in the series shown in Universal News Vol. 5, Rel. 187. The outcome wasn’t great for Washington fans: On October 7th, the Giants took the series four games to one by beating the Senators 4 to 3 in extra innings in game five. The release sheet describes “unusual action pictures of the home run by Mel Ott that clinched the game after a delayed decision by the umpires.” The older gentleman in the stands that the cameraman settles on is Judge Kenesaw M. Landis, the first commissioner of baseball.
Also included in the Universal News production files are original programs for the games, narration scripts, and other related paraphernalia.
Wondering who played? The programs offer photos of players and staff. These line-ups come from the New York program. Click to enlarge the images.
The complete surviving newsreels of Vol. 5, Rel. 186 and Vol. 5, Rel. 187 may be viewed on our YouTube channel.
*The current Nationals team is, of course, not related to the 1933 team. That franchise moved to Minnesota to become the Twins in 1961.