OCTOBER 17, 1989: 63 KILLED,
3500+ INJURED WHEN M7.1 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.
WORLD SERIES GAME 3 CANCELLED.
On October 17th, 1989, the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants were preparing for their 5:35pm (8:35pm EDT) World Series match and during an ABC telecast, history was made.
During a highlight reel of game 2 with a live feed going on at the time, at about 5:04pm, while still in the process of going through that highlight reel, Al Michaels interrupted Tim McCarver saying: "I'll tell you what, I think we're having an earth...." The feed cuts to static... and then ABC puts up a green WORLD SERIES banner. During the 15 seconds, there was no picture or return audio.
By the time the transmission was restored, it sounded like they were back on the radio with all the cheering in the background, Al Michaels said on the air: "Well folks, that's the greatest open in the history of television, BAR NONE!"
Experts though credit the timing of the World Series as significant in the reduction of the loss of life because people were off the roads at viewing parties or at the game itself. Only half of the 62,500 who were expected to show up for the game were in their seats and the stadium suffered no exterior or interior damage
The earthquake made history as many live amateur videos were being done and sent to newsrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area. Newsrooms were overwhelmed with how much footage was captured during the 17-second earthquake. ABC who was covering the 1989 World Series went from sports to hard news, covering every last detail of what has happened.
Fay Vincent declared Game 3 of the World Series postponed (It would not be resumed until 10 days later) and had American League ballparks on standby.
ABC went to backup programming before they went straight to a special report. Over 79,000 photos were captured by photojournalists, many days worth of television coverage, and reports made this one of the most well-recognized natural disasters in the history of media.
The 17-second earthquake created extensive damage and $6 billion in damages ($11 billion today). Many highways including the Cypress Street Viaduct were destroyed. 1,400,000 customers in the area lost power. 7,200 homes were flattened.
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This is a moment in history that is very much unforgettable in so many ways. It was a historic landmark in the way media and television is broadcasted. The pictures were astounding and the stories written about this storm made it one of the most famous earthquakes on record.
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"Until the next post, I'm signing off.."
~ Joshua
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