105 Braves At Pirates, May 1, 1930, The Wally Berger Story Begins (Recreation)

18 November 2025

Album art features Wally Berger

The Boston Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates prepare to meet for the first time in the 1930 season, with the two clubs starting the campaign facing different challenges.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, under manager Jewel Ens, have been playing inspired baseball. They have stormed out of the gate with a 9-3 record, establishing themselves as an early pennant contender alongside the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League standings.

Meanwhile, the Boston Braves, guided by the steady hand of manager Bill McKechnie, are treading water. They arrive in Pittsburgh playing .500 ball through their first ten contests, holding a 5-5 record that places them in sixth.

And while the two teams are preparing for the first of twenty-two meetings this year, rookie outfielder Wally Berger is looking to make his mark on the game. Ahead of him lie 11 years in the majors, four call-ups to the All-Star game, and reaching the World Series twice.

Ewan Spence and the Classic Baseball Radio team bring you this recreated radio broadcast from 1930.

You can find the boxscore here.

This game was played on May 1, 1930.⁠

This episode is a new approach to telling the history of America’s favourite game. Just as radio stations would recreate baseball games from tickertape messages, we can research this classic game and present it to you as if you were listening to the radio in 1930. This broadcast should not be considered a complete or fully accurate historical record. Nevertheless, this is our story of the game.