Happy Days Are Here Again ESPN Revisits The 1950s As Part Of Its SportsCentury Project NEW YORK (AQB)--ESPN revs up its way-back machine and, with "Kenneth" Mayne and Bob Ley as the guides, transports viewers back nearly 40 years to Dec. 31, 1959, in SportsCenter of the Decade, 1950s. The two-hour show, part of the network's extensive SportsCentury project, reviews the 1950s, focusing chronologically on major sports events, athletes and figures of that time. The program examines not only the sports of the times but also the culture. ESPN tailored the set and its trademark SportsCenter theme to fit the style of the 1950s. The show begins in black and white, and then turns to color in 1953, which is the first year color TV was in homes. SportsCenter of the Decade, 1950s follows the current SportsCenter format with highlights, reports from sites, regular sport-by-sport segments and more. Examples include: Peter Gammons' Diamond Notes from 1951, 1953 and 1958 David Aldridge's NBA Beat from 1959 Chris Mortensen's Inside The Huddle from 1958 Chris Fowler's On Campus from 1954 "Live" post-game reports from Lee Corso at Oklahoma Stadium following Notre Dame ending Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak in college football (1957) and Andrea Kremer from San Francisco following the first Dodgers/Giants game on the West Coast (1958). The show also presents cover stories, which highlight those items that jumped from the sports page to the front page for each year of the decade. The cover stories include: Ben Hogan's comeback (1950) College basketball scandals (1951) George Mikan's retirement (1954) Congress investigating boxing corruption (1955) Don Larsen's perfect game (1956) Baseball's westward expansion (1958) Current SportsCenter anchors Kenny Mayne and Ley co-anchor the program. Mayne uses the name "Kenneth Mayne" on the program because he feels that's what he would have been called in the 1950s. In January, ESPN began showing its SportCentury project with SportsCentury of the Decades, 1900-49. The show, hosted by Dick Schaap, featured Jim McKay, Dave Anderson, Curt Gowdy and Jack Whitaker in an old newsroom remembering the first 50 years of the century. The show was very well-done, as the veteran announcers reminisced and analyzed the growth of sports in the first half of the century. The only negative was Danny Glover, who provided historical perspective to the discussion. Glover appeared stiff and uncomfortable, and his voice seemed unnatural and condescending. Click here to read more about ESPN's SportsCentury series. Back to the top What do you think of this? Let us know on the Speak Out page.

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