Ted Turner has died, he was 87 years old.
Former owner of the Atlanta Hawks and the Atalanta Bravesas well as World Championship Wrestling and also winner of the 1977 America’s Cup with his Basque Courageous.
But above all, more than anything, with CNN he revolutionized the way information is provided in the world. Furthermore, he was converted to progressivism by his marriage – the third for both of them – to Jane Fonda.
But here’s a wonderful story. The Atlanta Braves purchased them to broadcast baseball on their TBS – Turner Broadcasting System. It was the mid-70s, CNN didn’t exist yet. On the other hand, Turner owned a local TV station in Georgia called Channel 17.
So he forced one of his pitchers, Andy Messersmithto take on a nickname. The fact is that Messersmith had the number 17. “You have to say that everyone always called you ‘Channel’”
And it was there that MLB forever banned nicknames and first names on jerseys. With the sole exception made years later for Ichiro.
