FOX Sports Broadcasts 5th Inning of Rickwood Game in Throwback Black & White Style

Fans who tuned into Thursday night's game between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals got a taste of what it was like to watch baseball 70 years ago.

Jun 20, 2024; Fairfield, Alabama, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante (53) throws during the 1st inning against the San Francisco Giants in the MLB at Rickwood Field tribute game to the Negro Leagues. Rickwood Field is the oldest baseball stadium in America. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals matched up at Rickwood Field on Thursday night, facing off at America's oldest ballpark to honor the storied history of the Negro Leagues.

FOX Sports got in on the fun as well, making sure their broadcast found a way to pay tribute to the era in its own right.

The top of the fifth inning was shown in black and white, without any of the graphics and camera angles fans have gotten used to having in modern telecasts. Play-by-play announcer Joe Davis assured viewers that their TVs were not broken, nor were their antennas or rabbit ears, and that it was simply a nod to the 70th anniversary of Willie Mays' "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series.

"Do you think they had the split screen in 1954?" Davis asked, before getting word live from his producers. "They did, we're told they did, with the dissolve in the middle – this is all authentic."

Davis wasn't born until 33 years after "The Catch," while color commentator and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz wasn't born until 1967.

This. Is. Awesome! We turn the clock back to 1954

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/xn021nmOG0

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 21, 2024

Mays played at Rickwood when he was a member of the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948, before he became one of MLB's all-time greats with the Giants. The Say Hey Kid was supposed to be a guest of honor at Thursday night's game, but the Hall of Famer died at the age of 93 on Tuesday.

Still, Mays' presence was certainly felt at Rickwood on Thursday. His iconic No. 24 was painted on the grass behind home plate, San Francisco wore patches in his memory, and Mays stories dominated conversations throughout the creatively presented broadcast.

The Cardinals currently lead the Giants 6-5 midway through the seventh inning.

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