Growing up in the 1960's & 70's before cable tv, video games, dvd's,
and all the other technology that has spawned a two generations of
virtual zombies I now realize how blessed I was to be a kid at that
time.

Books, radio and playing whatever sport was in season with all the
neighborhood kids (outdoors and not in front of a computer screen) was
our entertainment. It was all we had and all we needed.

Listening to baseball games on the radio was when I fell in love with
the medium. And upon reflecting back, I am astonished at the number of
talented baseball broadcasters I grew up listening to - a who's who of
hall of fame voices!

Harry Carey on KMOX 1120 out of St. Louis (the Cubs came later) and
Jack Buck after Harry for the Cardinals.
Ernie Harwell on WJR 760 Detroit for the Tigers.
Bob Prince on KDKA 1020 Pittsburgh for the Pirates.
Vin Scully out of LA for the Dodgers.
Herb Kanill (spelling?) out of Minnesota for the Twins.
Marty Brennaman on WLW 700 out of Cincinnati for the Reds.
Jack Brickhouse before Harry Carey on WGN 720 out of Chicago for the
Cubs.
Milo Hamilton out of Houston for the Astros.

Wow talk about a "golden age" of broadcasting!

And before my time there was Red Barber in Brooklyn and Mel Allen
calling the New York Giant games. In the 1940's & 50's you could walk
down any street in Brooklyn and not miss a play of the the Dodger's
game because you would hear it from every open window.

Bob Costas calls radio baseball "the soundtrack of your summer" and
current Giant broadcaster Jon Miller has said baseball on tv is a
movie "but baseball on radio is a novel." You can't sum it up any
better than that.

My favorite? All of them. Yes how blessed I was.

On Jun 2, 11:46*pm, Tex wrote:
Growing up in the 1960's & 70's before cable tv, video games, dvd's,
and all the other technology that has spawned a two generations of
virtual zombies I now realize how blessed I was to be a kid at that
time.

Books, radio and playing whatever sport was in season with all the
neighborhood kids (outdoors and not in front of a computer screen) was
our entertainment. It was all we had and all we needed.

Listening to baseball games on the radio was when I fell in love with
the medium. And upon reflecting back, I am astonished at the number of
talented baseball broadcasters I grew up listening to - a who's who of
hall of fame voices!

Harry Carey on KMOX 1120 out of St. Louis (the Cubs came later) and
Jack Buck after Harry for the Cardinals.
Ernie Harwell on WJR 760 Detroit for the Tigers.
Bob Prince on KDKA 1020 Pittsburgh for the Pirates.
Vin Scully out of LA for the Dodgers.
Herb Kanill (spelling?) out of Minnesota for the Twins.
Marty Brennaman on WLW 700 out of Cincinnati for the Reds.
Jack Brickhouse before Harry Carey on WGN 720 out of Chicago for the
Cubs.
Milo Hamilton out of Houston for the Astros.

Wow talk about a "golden age" of broadcasting!

And before my time there was Red Barber in Brooklyn and Mel Allen
calling the New York Giant games. In the 1940's & 50's you could walk
down any street in Brooklyn and not miss a play of the the Dodger's
game because you would hear it from every open window.

Bob Costas calls radio baseball "the soundtrack of your summer" and
current Giant broadcaster Jon Miller has said baseball on tv is a
movie "but baseball on radio is a novel." *You can't sum it up any
better than that.

My favorite? All of them. Yes how blessed I was.

Grew-up Listening to the wonderful Voice of Lon Simmons
and the SF Giants on the Radio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lon_Simmons
before the Oakland A's can to town in 1968.
It seamed a little 'strange' to hear Him do the A's Games
in the latter Years with Bill King. ~ RHF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_King

Tex wrote:
Growing up in the 1960's & 70's before cable tv, video games, dvd's,
and all the other technology that has spawned a two generations of
virtual zombies I now realize how blessed I was to be a kid at that
time.


My favorite? All of them. Yes how blessed I was.

Bob Prince. good old Bob calling the Pittsburgh Pirates. no matter
how bad the Bucks played, Prince made the game sound great. and, he
drank Iron City beer during his broadcasts. about the seventh inning
sometimes the games really got good. i lost interest in baseball
after Bob died.

Drifter...


--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists,
and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service."
- former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman,
unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!)

On Jun 3, 12:38 pm, Drifter wrote:

Bob Prince. good old Bob calling the Pittsburgh Pirates. no matter
how bad the Bucks played, Prince made the game sound great. and, he
drank Iron City beer during his broadcasts. about the seventh inning
sometimes the games really got good. i lost interest in baseball
after Bob died.

Drifter...

Yes "the gunner" was great. I recall listening to the talk shows on
KDKA when he was fired - the public was really in an uproar!

There are some audio clips of his broadcasts at http://home.comcast.net/~edinmb/gunner.html

And remember his "gunnerisms"?
http://home.mindspring.com/~gearhard/pigunner.html

"AN ALABASTER BLAST"
A Baltimore chop base hit that would go higher than normal due to
the extraordinarily hard infield at Forbes Field

"ARRIBA"
Prince's cry to Roberto Clemente to hit one up and over the wall.

"ASPIRIN TABLETS"
A pitcher would be throwing a ball so hard it looked as tiny and
as hard to hit as an aspirin tablet. As in, "Veale's firin' aspirin
tablets out there tonight."

"ATEM BALLS"
Hard line drives right to an infielder - it was at 'em. "Law has
his At'em ball workin' tonight."

"BABUSHKA POWER"
Prince developed babushkas that the women in the stands could wear
to bring the Pirates luck. It was, in a sense, a later version of the
Green Weenie.

"THE BASES ARE F.O.B." (full of Bucs)
What was needed now, was a bingle, a dying quail, perhaps a bug on
the rug...

"A LITTLE BINGLE"
A little hit; a small single; perhaps a bunt single. Just
something that would get a Bucco on base.

"THE BLACK MAX"

"A BLOOP AND A BLAST"
A quick way to get two runs through a single (the bloop) and a
home run (the blast), as in, "The Buccos are down by one run going to
the bottom of the ninth. What we need here is a bloop and a blast."

"A BUG ON THE RUG"
A basehit that skittered through the gap, particularly on
artificial turf.

"BY A GNAT'S EYELASH"
A very small margin indeed, as in, "That ball just missed. It was
foul by a gnat's eyelash."

"CHICKEN ON THE HILL"
A home run for Willie Stargell, begun by the fact that Stargell
owned a chicken restaurant in Pittsburgh's Hill District and that
whenever he homered, the person at the counter would get free chicken.
Thus, Prince would say, "We need a homer here. Come on, Willie, spread
some Chicken on the Hill." In one particular game, Prince said that if
Stargell hit a home run, everybody in the restaurant would get free
chicken. Stargell did hit the home run, everyone got free chicken, and
Stargell sent the bill to Prince.

"CLOSE AS FUZZ ON A TICK'S EAR"
a little closer than a gnat's eyelash.

"DON'T BOO STU, HE'S OVER-DUE"
A cheer to get firstbaseman Dick Stuart out of a slump.

"DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK"
Rocky Nelson, 1b-man alternating with Stuart.

"A DYING QUAIL"
A little bloop, a tweener, or a bingle; a hit that falls in like a
shot quail would.

"THE GREEN WEENIE"
A device invented by the Gunner to jinx and perhaps spook opposing
players, the green weenie was the size and shape of a hot dog. When
pointed at the opponents and shaken, it rattled and supposedly put a
jinx on them.

"HE COULDN'T HIT THAT WITH A BED SLAT"
This is what the Gunner would say when a batter chased a pitch way
outside. Take one of the slats out from under a full sized bed and
notice how much longer it is than a bat, and you get an idea that the
batter was definitely chasing.

HE LIT UP THE LIGHTS ON BROADWAY"
in response to a called 3rd strike.

"HIDDEN VIGORISH"
Similar to the law of averages, it was the force which dictated
that a player who was in a slump was due for a big hit, as in,
"Stargell is Oh for his last eight, so with hidden vigorish he should
get a big hit here."

"HOOVER"
A double play by which the Bucs would clean up the basepaths. When
someone complained that Prince was giving free advertising to a
particular brand of vacuum cleaner, he tried to invent a story about
President Herbert Hoover's cleaning up corruption in Washington.

"HOW SWEET IT IS"
After suffering through some terrible Bucco teams in the early-
1950's, Prince got to enjoy the taste of victory in 1960 and
throughout the early-1970's with the Battlin' Bucs. The taste of a
championship, a mid-season victory, or a home run that would put the
Bucs ahead would draw out "How sweet it is".

"KISS IT GOOD-BYE"
The most famous of Prince's sayings; this was his well-known home
run call.

"MARY EDGERLEY"
No one knew exactly who she was (or whether she was related to
Jimmy Durante's Mrs. Calabash), but Prince would end each broadcast by
saying, "Good night, Mary Edgerley, wherever you are."

"A #8 CAN OF GOLDEN BANTAM"
A can of corn; refers to an easy fly ball. Immortalized in 1970
when Matty Alou dropped a "can of corn" against the Cubs, and the Bucs
had to wait another day to clinch their first pennent in 10 years.

"RADIO BALL"
"Koufax just threw Stuart his radio ball. He could hear it, but he
couldn't see it." "Low hummin' riser." (Similar to a radio ball)

"RUG CUTTIN' TIME"
"It's rug cuttin' time." More commonly known as "crunch time."
"For all the money, marbles, and chalk." Deciding moment. Crunch time.

"RUNNIN' THROUGH THE RAIN DROPS"
When a pitcher gives up a lot of hits but doesn't give up serious
runs. Escapes without serious damage being done.

"SNAKE BIT"
Can't get a break. The Bucs are snake bit tonight.

"SOUP COOLERS"
a high pitch was up around a sluggers mouth, or lips, or "soup
coolers". Prince often said Stargell was looking for a pitch up around
his "soup coolers".

"TWEENER"
A ball that got "between" the outfielders; similar to a "bug on a
rug", but it could occur on grass or as a "bloop" hit that fell in
between fielders; hopefully, followed by a Bucco "blast".

"WE HAD ‘EM ALL THE WAY"
Spoken after a close win by the Pirates, it indicated that we
should have known all along that the Pirates would win. It was perhaps
the father of Lanny Frattare's "No doubt about it."

Tex wrote:
On Jun 3, 12:38 pm, Drifter wrote:

Bob Prince. good old Bob calling the Pittsburgh Pirates. no matter
how bad the Bucks played, Prince made the game sound great. and, he
drank Iron City beer during his broadcasts. about the seventh inning
sometimes the games really got good. i lost interest in baseball
after Bob died.

Drifter...

Yes "the gunner" was great. I recall listening to the talk shows on
KDKA when he was fired - the public was really in an uproar!

There are some audio clips of his broadcasts at http://home.comcast.net/~edinmb/gunner.html

And remember his "gunnerisms"?
http://home.mindspring.com/~gearhard/pigunner.html

"AN ALABASTER BLAST"
A Baltimore chop base hit that would go higher than normal due to
the extraordinarily hard infield at Forbes Field

"ARRIBA"
Prince's cry to Roberto Clemente to hit one up and over the wall.

"ASPIRIN TABLETS"
A pitcher would be throwing a ball so hard it looked as tiny and
as hard to hit as an aspirin tablet. As in, "Veale's firin' aspirin
tablets out there tonight."

"ATEM BALLS"
Hard line drives right to an infielder - it was at 'em. "Law has
his At'em ball workin' tonight."

"BABUSHKA POWER"
Prince developed babushkas that the women in the stands could wear
to bring the Pirates luck. It was, in a sense, a later version of the
Green Weenie.

"THE BASES ARE F.O.B." (full of Bucs)
What was needed now, was a bingle, a dying quail, perhaps a bug on
the rug...

"A LITTLE BINGLE"
A little hit; a small single; perhaps a bunt single. Just
something that would get a Bucco on base.

"THE BLACK MAX"

"A BLOOP AND A BLAST"
A quick way to get two runs through a single (the bloop) and a
home run (the blast), as in, "The Buccos are down by one run going to
the bottom of the ninth. What we need here is a bloop and a blast."

"A BUG ON THE RUG"
A basehit that skittered through the gap, particularly on
artificial turf.

"BY A GNAT'S EYELASH"
A very small margin indeed, as in, "That ball just missed. It was
foul by a gnat's eyelash."

"CHICKEN ON THE HILL"
A home run for Willie Stargell, begun by the fact that Stargell
owned a chicken restaurant in Pittsburgh's Hill District and that
whenever he homered, the person at the counter would get free chicken.
Thus, Prince would say, "We need a homer here. Come on, Willie, spread
some Chicken on the Hill." In one particular game, Prince said that if
Stargell hit a home run, everybody in the restaurant would get free
chicken. Stargell did hit the home run, everyone got free chicken, and
Stargell sent the bill to Prince.

"CLOSE AS FUZZ ON A TICK'S EAR"
a little closer than a gnat's eyelash.

"DON'T BOO STU, HE'S OVER-DUE"
A cheer to get firstbaseman Dick Stuart out of a slump.

"DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK"
Rocky Nelson, 1b-man alternating with Stuart.

"A DYING QUAIL"
A little bloop, a tweener, or a bingle; a hit that falls in like a
shot quail would.

"THE GREEN WEENIE"
A device invented by the Gunner to jinx and perhaps spook opposing
players, the green weenie was the size and shape of a hot dog. When
pointed at the opponents and shaken, it rattled and supposedly put a
jinx on them.

"HE COULDN'T HIT THAT WITH A BED SLAT"
This is what the Gunner would say when a batter chased a pitch way
outside. Take one of the slats out from under a full sized bed and
notice how much longer it is than a bat, and you get an idea that the
batter was definitely chasing.

HE LIT UP THE LIGHTS ON BROADWAY"
in response to a called 3rd strike.

"HIDDEN VIGORISH"
Similar to the law of averages, it was the force which dictated
that a player who was in a slump was due for a big hit, as in,
"Stargell is Oh for his last eight, so with hidden vigorish he should
get a big hit here."

"HOOVER"
A double play by which the Bucs would clean up the basepaths. When
someone complained that Prince was giving free advertising to a
particular brand of vacuum cleaner, he tried to invent a story about
President Herbert Hoover's cleaning up corruption in Washington.

"HOW SWEET IT IS"
After suffering through some terrible Bucco teams in the early-
1950's, Prince got to enjoy the taste of victory in 1960 and
throughout the early-1970's with the Battlin' Bucs. The taste of a
championship, a mid-season victory, or a home run that would put the
Bucs ahead would draw out "How sweet it is".

"KISS IT GOOD-BYE"
The most famous of Prince's sayings; this was his well-known home
run call.

"MARY EDGERLEY"
No one knew exactly who she was (or whether she was related to
Jimmy Durante's Mrs. Calabash), but Prince would end each broadcast by
saying, "Good night, Mary Edgerley, wherever you are."

"A #8 CAN OF GOLDEN BANTAM"
A can of corn; refers to an easy fly ball. Immortalized in 1970
when Matty Alou dropped a "can of corn" against the Cubs, and the Bucs
had to wait another day to clinch their first pennent in 10 years.

"RADIO BALL"
"Koufax just threw Stuart his radio ball. He could hear it, but he
couldn't see it." "Low hummin' riser." (Similar to a radio ball)

"RUG CUTTIN' TIME"
"It's rug cuttin' time." More commonly known as "crunch time."
"For all the money, marbles, and chalk." Deciding moment. Crunch time.

"RUNNIN' THROUGH THE RAIN DROPS"
When a pitcher gives up a lot of hits but doesn't give up serious
runs. Escapes without serious damage being done.

"SNAKE BIT"
Can't get a break. The Bucs are snake bit tonight.

"SOUP COOLERS"
a high pitch was up around a sluggers mouth, or lips, or "soup
coolers". Prince often said Stargell was looking for a pitch up around
his "soup coolers".

"TWEENER"
A ball that got "between" the outfielders; similar to a "bug on a
rug", but it could occur on grass or as a "bloop" hit that fell in
between fielders; hopefully, followed by a Bucco "blast".

"WE HAD ‘EM ALL THE WAY"
Spoken after a close win by the Pirates, it indicated that we
should have known all along that the Pirates would win. It was perhaps
the father of Lanny Frattare's "No doubt about it."

Thanks Tex. WOW! talk about a blast from the past.

Drifter...

--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists,
and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service."
- former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman,
unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!)

On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 23:46:30 -0700 (PDT), Tex
wrote:

Herb Kanill (spelling?) out of Minnesota for the Twins.

You mean Herb Carneal. HOF broadcaster for the Twins who passed away
in April, 2007 due to congestive heart failure.

Marty Brennaman on WLW 700 out of Cincinnati for the Reds.

Before Marty, there was Al Michaels on WLW. Yes, THAT Al Michaels.

One of my favorite baseball radio calls of all time, etched into my
memory forever, is Michaels' call of the game-tying HR by Johnny Bench
leading off the ninth inning of Game 5, NLCS, Reds vs. Pirates,
October 11, 1972 at Cinergy Field in Cinci. "Change hit in the air to
deep right field! Back goes Clemente!! At the fence!! SHE'S GONE!!!"

JK

Yes Herb Carneal,. Very good in his prime, unfortunately he stayed in
the booth too long. Listening to him during his last years was
difficult, he just couldn't follow the ball and he made lots of
mistakes. It was embarrassing and I felt bad for him because I
remember how good he once was.

Unfortunately I never heard Al Michaels on WLW. One of my fondest
baseball memories is watching (on tv) the "Big Red Machine" play the
Red Sox in 1975 world series. What a fantastic series!

I can still see Bench walking off the field while Fisk is going
through his theatrics when he hit the home run to win the game. How
time flys.

John Kasupski wrote:

On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 23:46:30 -0700 (PDT), Tex
wrote:


Herb Kanill (spelling?) out of Minnesota for the Twins.


You mean Herb Carneal. HOF broadcaster for the Twins who passed away
in April, 2007 due to congestive heart failure.


Ray Scott, Herb Carneal and Halsey Hall were the Twins radio team
from the time of the move out of D.C. until 1972. Halsey
Hall, Like Harry Carey, was quite a character and deserves a
look-see.

Michael

msg wrote:
John Kasupski wrote:

On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 23:46:30 -0700 (PDT), Tex
wrote:


Herb Kanill (spelling?) out of Minnesota for the Twins.


You mean Herb Carneal. HOF broadcaster for the Twins who passed away
in April, 2007 due to congestive heart failure.


Ray Scott, Herb Carneal and Halsey Hall were the Twins radio team
from the time of the move out of D.C. until 1972. Halsey
Hall, Like Harry Carey, was quite a character and deserves a
look-see.

Michael


The best Cardinal team, ever, was Harry Caray with Jack Buck. Caray
was Caray, but Buck was a smartass in his own right.

Buck also did mid mornings on KMOX for years, preceeding Jack Carney.
Buck was as dry as a Serengeti wind, and hilarious.

One morning, he was in a particularly rare mood, and about a fourth
of the way through an Ella Fitzgerald record, he pulled the needle off
and smashed the record. On the air.

He paused and said, "I don't like flutes, either." And went to
another disc.

They were talking about that at the University for weeks.

Put the big wet sloppy kiss of Harry Caray alongside the dry,
reserved wit of Jack Buck, and when you got them started, there was NO
one who was safe.

Jack's son, Joe Buck, is every bit his father's son. With just as
crisp and surgical a wit as his old man, with his own individual thumb
prints on it. Too bad the bairn of Harry aren't so blessed.

Harry Caray had a lot of partners after his move to the Sox, and then
his legendary run with the Cubs. But noone ever complemented Caray like
Buck. And during those years, the Cardinals fielded their own legendary
team. Great baseball, and the best PXP team that walked....that was some
great listening.

On Jun 3, 2:46*am, Tex wrote:
Growing up in the 1960's & 70's before cable tv, video games, dvd's,
and all the other technology that has spawned a two generations of
virtual zombies I now realize how blessed I was to be a kid at that
time.

Books, radio and playing whatever sport was in season with all the
neighborhood kids (outdoors and not in front of a computer screen) was
our entertainment. It was all we had and all we needed.

Listening to baseball games on the radio was when I fell in love with
the medium. And upon reflecting back, I am astonished at the number of
talented baseball broadcasters I grew up listening to - a who's who of
hall of fame voices!

Harry Carey on KMOX 1120 out of St. Louis (the Cubs came later) and
Jack Buck after Harry for the Cardinals.
Ernie Harwell on WJR 760 Detroit for the Tigers.
Bob Prince on KDKA 1020 Pittsburgh for the Pirates.
Vin Scully out of LA for the Dodgers.
Herb Kanill (spelling?) out of Minnesota for the Twins.
Marty Brennaman on WLW 700 out of Cincinnati for the Reds.
Jack Brickhouse before Harry Carey on WGN 720 out of Chicago for the
Cubs.
Milo Hamilton out of Houston for the Astros.

Wow talk about a "golden age" of broadcasting!

And before my time there was Red Barber in Brooklyn and Mel Allen
calling the New York Giant games. In the 1940's & 50's you could walk
down any street in Brooklyn and not miss a play of the the Dodger's
game because you would hear it from every open window.

Bob Costas calls radio baseball "the soundtrack of your summer" and
current Giant broadcaster Jon Miller has said baseball on tv is a
movie "but baseball on radio is a novel." *You can't sum it up any
better than that.

My favorite? All of them. Yes how blessed I was.

Without a doubt Vin Scully. I have many fond memories of listening to
his coverage of Dodger games first though the ear plug of a transistor
radio and then later on various car radios.