The End of Play by Play on Radio?

[dixiehack]

Rod Bramblett's call of the Pick Six will live forever. Sadly, Rod left us way too soon.

One hates to speak ill of the dead, so I’ll just say that I found his predecessor (Jim Fyffe, who also died much too young) to be more professional.

 

[Liut]

Growing up a Showtime fan in Minnesota in the '80s it wasn't always easy to keep track of the team, especially before we got cable. Newspapers in the morning would have the dreaded (late) by their games. There were the CBS games but of course during playoffs sometimes we wouldn't get their game. I might only see them play a few times a year. And would then wait for highlight tapes like Return to Glory or The Drive for Five, months after the season.

But there was radio play by play from faraway lands. In southern MN we could get the Dallas, Denver and San Antonio stations, for whatever reason. The reception actually usually came in better in my parents' room so I'd tune in on their clock radio until dad had to come to bed, then try and get it on the one in my room. But that would be, what, like 10 to 12 games a year I'd get access to that I wouldn't normally. Those games were gold. Never got to listen to Chick call a game but I at least got to hear some of Magic's exploits. And when the Wolves came into existence would have Harlan on their radio games so a few more Laker contests could be heard. The two games I still vividly remember listening to: Magic hitting a game-winning 3-pointer during the 1989 season in Denver; Byron Scott hitting a buzzer-beater at San Antonio. As the announcing crews signed off with sadness on both of those games, I went to bed a very happy kid.

Those were the days, STG! WBAP- Dallas (Dave Barnett, later Ted Davis), KOA-Denver (Jeff Kingery with the late Bob Martin), WOAI-San Antonio (Sam Smith, later Jay Howard).

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

I enjoyed my share of clear-channel AM baseball back in the day too. I stuck the whole way one Saturday night with KDKA when the Pirates were on the West Coast with the Padres and it went 17 innings. West Coast extra-inning baseball is like crack.

ADD: My bad, it went 19 innings. All I had to do is remember the D'Acquisto at-bat.

https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/aug...ly-raise-the-jolly-roger-after-19-inning-win/

 

[Typist Clerk]

Radio play-by-play can be magic. Covered a football game in Iowa City one Saturday. It was in the early slot. Wrote and filed during the late-afternoon slot. Tennessee-Georgia was the ESPN prime-time game. Drove home some three-plus hours listening to Larry Munson on WSB 750 Atlanta, flagship of the Bulldogs Network.

Munson was amazing and on this night, very much in his prime, with timely analysis of his own, bringing in his partner, his sideline guy, and throwing in his references to "the stupid clock" running too fast or slow, as appropriate. At one point, he managed to knock his lineup chart out the window. He called that as well, saying something like, "Well, there goes the Tennessee defense board. We'll have to wing it!"

There were a couple of minutes left when I pulled into my driveway. I stayed with Larry until the final whistle. Who needed TV?

 

[maumann]

Larry broke every radio rule, particularly in the use of "we" and "they." But knowing that, you knew when the Dawgs were winning or losing, just by the tone and tempo of his voice. I still remember "Lindsay Scott!", the "hob-nailed boot" game and another time, his gravely voice intoning, "We need three yards. We pitch it out and ... we're not gonna make it. We're not gonna make it."

Larry Munson would never have been succesful in many other places. But if you grew up a Georgia fan, he was your eyes and ears, in addition to your heart and soul.

 

[Typist Clerk]

Larry broke every radio rule, particularly in the use of "we" and "they." But knowing that, you knew when the Dawgs were winning or losing, just by the tone and tempo of his voice. I still remember "Lindsay Scott!", the "hob-nailed boot" game and another time, his gravely voice intoning, "We need three yards. We pitch it out and ... we're not gonna make it. We're not gonna make it."

Larry Munson would never have been succesful in many other places. But if you grew up a Georgia fan, he was your eyes and ears, in addition to your heart and soul.

So true. He was brilliant, from “Now get the picture” right down to the half-yard calls. Not sure I’ve heard that before or since. And his “we” and “they” wasn’t standard hometown. His glass was often half empty, as in “They’ve had us with their play-action all night.”

And to think he came to Atlanta to call the Braves after leaving the Vanderbilt job.

Now I feel like driving up to Sea Island and breaking some furniture.

 

[dixiehack]

Larry broke every radio rule, particularly in the use of "we" and "they." But knowing that, you knew when the Dawgs were winning or losing, just by the tone and tempo of his voice. I still remember "Lindsay Scott!", the "hob-nailed boot" game and another time, his gravely voice intoning, "We need three yards. We pitch it out and ... we're not gonna make it. We're not gonna make it."

Larry Munson would never have been succesful in many other places. But if you grew up a Georgia fan, he was your eyes and ears, in addition to your heart and soul.

My first year living in the state, I always worked desk on college football Saturdays, which meant missing most of the games I really wanted to see. One particular Saturday, I hung out at the house as long as I could, then finally left for the 25-minute drive to the Valdosta Daily Times. At least I could catch the end of UGA-UT on radio.

Munson went through every known emotion on the drive down from Hahira. Then the Vols scored in the final minute to take the lead right as I was exiting I-75 and he went through every stage of grief in the time it took to kick the PAT and go through the TV replays. And then he let loose with the second-best line of the broadcast, one that never became famous somehow.

“Well they’re going to kick off to us. And some stupid miracle could still happen.”

By the time I was passing the courthouse a block from work, he was making the “Hobnail Boot” call. I’ve never been a Bulldog but that was the first moment I felt like a Georgian.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

My first year living in the state, I always worked desk on college football Saturdays, which meant missing most of the games I really wanted to see. One particular Saturday, I hung out at the house as long as I could, then finally left for the 25-minute drive to the Valdosta Daily Times. At least I could catch the end of UGA-UT on radio.

Munson went through every known emotion on the drive down from Hahira. Then the Vols scored in the final minute to take the lead right as I was exiting I-75 and he went through every stage of grief in the time it took to kick the PAT and go through the TV replays. And then he let loose with the second-best line of the broadcast, one that never became famous somehow.

“Well they’re going to kick off to us. And some stupid miracle could still happen.”

By the time I was passing the courthouse a block from work, he was making the “Hobnail Boot” call. I’ve never been a Bulldog but that was the first moment I felt like a Georgian.

On WSB, Saturday night, in the middle of nowhere, Mississippi, hard by the Alabama line ... Larry Munson:

"Rex Grossman has thrown for a million yards ..."

 

[Driftwood]

I do color analysis for small college football. Two decades ago, every team in the league had a commercial, terrestrial radio affiliate. Now, I think there are three of us left.

 

[LanceyHoward]

So true. He was brilliant, from “Now get the picture” right down to the half-yard calls. Not sure I’ve heard that before or since. And his “we” and “they” wasn’t standard hometown. His glass was often half empty, as in “They’ve had us with their play-action all night.”

And to think he came to Atlanta to call the Braves after leaving the Vanderbilt job.

Now I feel like driving up to Sea Island and breaking some furniture.

Munson was hired along with Milo Hamilton, who was going to be the number one announcer. Evidently Hamilton did not like Munson because they had different approaches to the job and Munson quickly started to job hunt.

 

[Typist Clerk]

Munson was hired along with Milo Hamilton, who was going to be the number one announcer. Evidently Hamilton did not like Munson because they had different approaches to the job and Munson quickly started to job hunt.

There is a long list of people Milo Hamilton didn’t get along with. Larry was in good company. And the better announcer.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

So true. He was brilliant, from “Now get the picture” right down to the half-yard calls. Not sure I’ve heard that before or since. And his “we” and “they” wasn’t standard hometown. His glass was often half empty, as in “They’ve had us with their play-action all night.”

And to think he came to Atlanta to call the Braves after leaving the Vanderbilt job.

Now I feel like driving up to Sea Island and breaking some furniture.

Hit Morgantown before you head home. With some lighter fluid.

 

[LanceyHoward]

There is a long list of people Milo Hamilton didn’t get along with. Larry was in good company. And the better announcer.

I never listened to Larry Munson call a football game so I don't know if he was better than Hamilton. I thought Hamilton was really good on the Cubs in the early 80's. But I think the biggest tribute to Hamilton as an announcer is that he kept getting jobs. Given the fact that he seemed to be so difficult to deal with it is a tribute to his talent that he worked for seven teams.

 

[LanceyHoward]

I do color analysis for small college football. Two decades ago, every team in the league had a commercial, terrestrial radio affiliate. Now, I think there are three of us left.

I would guess Triple AAA franchises still have terrestrial radio contracts but don't know. Do minor league teams at lower levels still terrestrial radio coverage?

 

[Driftwood]

I would guess Triple AAA franchises still have terrestrial radio contracts but don't know. Do minor league teams at lower levels still terrestrial radio coverage?

I don't think our local minor league team has had radio in more than a dozen years. It's internet only.

 

[dixiehack]

I would think the higher level teams would be less likely to have terrestrial radio, or at least anyone who cares. In AAA and several AA cities, especially with newish stadiums, the team is essentially the theme to a nicely-done outdoor bar. Many of these places have top-level teams in other sports or at least major college athletics. Who is getting emotionally invested in the Charlotte Knights or Sacramento River Cats?

 

[HanSenSE]

The River Cats were on radio in 2019 and even had about a dozen games on the local CW affiliate. Not sure what the Fresno Grizzlies will be doing this year with the drop in affiliation, since they ended up on a religious-formatted station last time they played. If they're not on the air, someone please get Doug Greenwald a baseball gig! (Every now and then, Comcast would air a Grizzlies game and would team Doug with his dad, Hank Greenwald.)

The San Jose Giants I think had some weekend games on radio and the rest online. They had a great arrangement years ago with KSJS, the student station at San Jose State, to carry games. The team got the exposure, the station had some sports content when school was out and a lot of student announcers got a lot of experience.

 

[T+C]

In Winnipeg the radio broadcasts of the NHL Jets moved this season from the local TSN Sports radio station to CJOB that had the broadcsts for many years before TSN. OB also broadcasts the professional Blue Bombers football games. Last week TSN announced in the middle of the day that Sports Radio was history and the station was switching to comedy. About ten on-air talent lost their jobs on the spot. The broadcasts of our independent league pro baseball team , the Goldeyes, are on a nostalgia station that has little reach outside the city.

 

[Liut]

In Winnipeg the radio broadcasts of the NHL Jets moved this season from the local TSN Sports radio station to CJOB that had the broadcsts for many years before TSN. OB also broadcasts the professional Blue Bombers football games. Last week TSN announced in the middle of the day that Sports Radio was history and the station was switching to comedy. About ten on-air talent lost their jobs on the spot. The broadcasts of our independent league pro baseball team , the Goldeyes, are on a nostalgia station that has little reach outside the city.

Read about the the format switch last week. I used to listen to the morning show, a former Blue Bombers kicker was a part of the group. Been a while, though.

 

[Tighthead]

In Winnipeg the radio broadcasts of the NHL Jets moved this season from the local TSN Sports radio station to CJOB that had the broadcsts for many years before TSN. OB also broadcasts the professional Blue Bombers football games. Last week TSN announced in the middle of the day that Sports Radio was history and the station was switching to comedy. About ten on-air talent lost their jobs on the spot. The broadcasts of our independent league pro baseball team , the Goldeyes, are on a nostalgia station that has little reach outside the city.

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to the Montreal and Ottawa stations when the rights come up. If Bell keeps them, I could see them sliding to news/talk stations and flipping the switch on the TSN stations.

Strange that Edmonton was spared. Maybe it has something to do with TSN trying to get the Oilers’ regional TV rights down the road?