As previously mentioned , Game 3 of the 1989 World Series ( initially scheduled for October 17 ) was delayed by ten days due to the Loma Prieta earthquake . The earthquake struck at approximately 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time . At the moment the quake struck , ABC 's color commentator Tim McCarver was narrating taped highlights of the previous Series game . Viewers saw the video signal begin to break up , heard McCarver repeat a sentence as the shaking distracted him , and heard McCarver 's colleague Al Michaels exclaim , " I 'll tell you what , we 're having an earth — . " At that moment , the feed from Candlestick Park was lost . The network put up a green ABC Sports graphic as the audio was switched to a telephone link . Michaels had to pickup a POTS phone in the press booth ( phones work off a separate power supply ) and call ABC headquarters in New York , at which point they put him back on the air . Michaels cracked , " Well folks , that 's the greatest open in the history of television , bar none ! " accompanied by the excited screams of fans who had no idea of the devastation elsewhere
Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Major League Baseball on ABC