A report on the New York Mets.             

The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, one of the world's largest parades, is presented by the U.S. based department store chain Macy's. The parade started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit (with both parades being four years younger than Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade). The two-hour parade is held in Manhattan from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952. Employees at Macy's department stores have the option of marching in the parade.

The 43rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast live from New York City.

Hosts; Lorne Green and Betty White who would co-host The Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade from 1963 to 1972.     

Scheduled to appear are Anita Gillette, Julie Wilson, Teresa Graves, David Hartman, The Four Seasons, Frank Gorshin, and The New York Mets Championship Baseball team.  

 The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, one of the world's largest parades, is presented by the U.S. based department store chain Macy's.The parade started in 1924,tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit (with both parades being four years younger than Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade). The two-hour parade is held in Manhattan from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952. Employees at Macy's department stores have the option of marching in the parade

 It should come as no surprise that many of the telecasts from the 1950s thru the early 1970's are lost, and only one pre-1980 parade exists in full. Network broadcast Kinescopes and Video were either discarded, wiped, or never recorded.  Video recording software (3/4" U-Matic) was first released to the Public at great cost in 1971, and the Betamax (1975) and JVC VHS (1976) gave the public a means to record television broadcasts off the air, but, to date, it seems nobody at home elected to record a complete parade and kept it making the 1971-1979 parades more likely to be found possibly only as clips than the 1952-1971 parades. Certain footage from old telecasts has been shown in anniversary specials, showing that some still exist. Bootleg copies circa 1980 to the present have been posted on You Tube...most all playback reflecting poor to fair quality till the 2000's. 

During the first television years, the parade went through changes. Many of the parade's most iconic balloons were introduced in this period, such as Popeye, Bullwinkle, the Happy Dragon, Underdog, Smokey Bear, Linus the Lionhearted, Sinclair's Dino, and the first two Snoopy balloons. The toy float concept was introduced in the 1960s, with a turkey-shaped one, introduced in 1973, eventually becoming parade mascot Tom Turkey.

A few notable lost parades include the 1956 parade (when Mighty Mouse crashed at Herald Square), 1965 (the debut of Underdog), and 1971 (when all the balloons had to be removed due to bad weather).                                

    SPECIAL  one hour broadcast, of which only the first nine minutes are recorded, recounts the elements that led to the New York Mets team's triumph last year winning the World Series after placing 9th in 1968.

Gil Hodges is interviewed by Lindsey Nelson. He states the reasons that led to the team's success last year when the Mets won 100 games, twenty seven more games than the year before. 

Hodges relates how he felt when he initially left his managerial role with the Washington Senators after the 1967 season and signed on to manage the Mets in 1968. Gil states that the most important quality a team can achieve during a season is for each player to take pride each day in one's own accomplishments and the importance of  sustaining few injuries during a complete season which was the scenario for the New York Mets in 1969.

                          

The New York Mets play the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente gets his 3,000th and final major league base hit, a fourth inning double off of Mets pitcher Jon Matlock. Final Score: Pirates 5, Mets 0. 7 1/2 innings only, but no scoring innings are missed.  Game is broadcast on WKAJ 102.3 FM radio from Saratoga Springs New York.
All commercials recorded including spots with George Burns, Lee Travino, and Bing Crosby chairman of the Arthritis Foundation. 
NOTE: Original broadcast transmitted with a slight hum (commercials and station identifications have no hum). After the top of the eight inning an announcer interrupts broadcast and states that "we are experiencing technical difficulties." Music is played at which point this audio air check concludes.                         

Game 2 of the 1973 World Series between the New York Mets and Oakland A's. The Mets defeat the A's in 12 innings 10-7, to even the series at one game apiece.                          

Game 4 of the 1973 World Series between the Oakland A's and the New York Mets from Shea Stadium in New York. The Mets win 6-1. 

Lindsey Nelson and Tony Kubek report.