Larsen is perfect kickoff for MLB net

First broadcast of 1956 game in 52 years

By Paul J. Gough

Dec 17, 2008, 11:50 PM ET

NEW YORK -- The MLB Network will bow on New Year's Day with the original telecast -- commercials and all -- of Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

The game, which was televised on NBC, was thought to have been lost to history. But several years ago, a collector discovered a kinescope version of the game that begins in the second inning and continues throughout the end.

It will be the first time the contest has been televised since the October day 52 years ago.

Yankees' announcer Mel Allen and Dodgers' announcer Vin Scully do the play-by-play. Larsen is the only pitcher ever to throw a perfect game.

The MLB channel will sign on at 6 p.m. ET with a live "Hot Stove" studio show that will introduce the network and update what's happened in baseball since the World Series. The Yankees-Dodgers game begins at 7 p.m.

Also on tap is live coverage of the Hall of Fame selection, documentaries on the Negro Leagues on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19) and one-hour episodes looking back at specific years in Major League Baseball.

"Hot Stove" continues live every weekday at 7 p.m. through the month.

Larsen is perfect kickoff for MLB net

First broadcast of 1956 game in 52 years

By Paul J. Gough

Dec 17, 2008, 11:50 PM ET