Home Run Derby was a 1960 television show that was held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles pitting the top sluggers of Major League Baseball against each other in nine-inning home run contests.
The show was produced and hosted by actor/broadcaster Mark Scott and distributed by Ziv Television Programs. It had 26 episodes and ran for one season.
Filmed in December 1959, the series aired in syndication from January 9 to July 2, 1960, and helped inspire the Home Run Derby event that is now held the day before the annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game. ESPN staged a revival of the show in 1989.
The original series is intact, having been rerun on ESPN from December 17 to 28, 1988, and July 10 to October 28, 1989. Its rights now belong to MGM Television. The series proved popular and was credited in part with the establishment of a classic sports network which would eventually become ESPN Classic.
Wrigley Field in Los Angeles was chosen to host the event because its fence distances were symmetrical, favoring neither right-handed nor left-handed hitters.
The winner received a check for $2,000 and was invited back for the next week's episode against a new opponent (a rarity in that era for syndicated games); the runner-up received a check for $1,000. If a batter hit three home runs in a row, he would receive a $500 bonus check. A fourth home run in a row would be worth another $500 bonus check. Any consecutive home runs hit beyond that would each be worth $1,000. Each show would end with the host presenting each player with their prize checks (beginning with the loser), and would award separate checks for consecutive home run bonuses.
Mickey Mantle hit the most home runs on the show, a total of 44 during his five appearances.
Aaron won the most money during the show's run, $13,500. Snider, Kaline, and Triandos each won the minimum of $1000.
Below is the start of the 1st episode where Mickey Mantle won 9-8 vs Willie Mays, enjoy and Be a Kid Again....
#MickeyMantle
#WillieMays
#MLB
#mikesdeadformats
#HomeRunDerby
Sources IMDB and Wikipedia