Loyal reader Peter Smith e-mailed this morning in the wake of my Tuesday column on Wayne Hagin to wonder how I could mention Mel Allen and Red Barber as outsiders who made it big in New York baseball announcing without mentioning the Mets' own Bob Murphy, who grew up in Oklahoma.
Fair point. I should also have mentioned Tennessee's Lindsey Nelson.
I only mentioned Allen and Barber because those were the names Hagin brought up, but I should never underestimate the sensitivities of Mets fans when Yankees names are evoked, and vice versa.
Can't we all just be one big, happy New York baseball family?
Speaking of Hagin, several readers have wondered why WFAN did not turn to its long-time Mets reporter, Ed Coleman, to replace Tom McCarthy.
Coleman was considered, but my sense is the station believes reporting is more his strength than doing play-by-play on a regular basis.
Comments (4)
If WFAN named Ed Coleman as Tom McCarthy's replacement they still would have had to hire someone to replace Eddie C. That replacement would not only have to do pre- and post-game shows, but they would have to be able to step in and broadcast games if Howie Rose is off doing hockey, sick or on vacation.
Don't forget Ralph Kiner also as one of those outsiders. A California boy who was better known as a Pittsburgh Pirate who came to the Mets as a color analyst after spending only a season calling for the Chicago White Sox.
That's true, CMG, but I put former players in a different category from broadcasting lifers.
Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy were two more outstanding broadcast icons from the 60's and 70's.
No one rolled the words "Huh Ho, Buddy Harrelson" quite like Bob Murphy. He was one of those guys that we kids would always mimic on the sandlots.
But while their voices and game coverage made games more enjoyable, it was their "Sartorial Splendor" that set them apart.
I had the fortune of meeting Bob Murphy a number of times in the Met's Club/Restaurant behind home plate (someone help me , what was the name of it?) after games in 72/73 and I was always amazed at his daring(?) fashion sense. Never met Lindsey but I don't think that he realized that a transformation from black and white TV to color TV had occured in America and that he appeared on the screen looking like a peacock on acid.
Checkerboard sports jackets with pinstripe pants were the haute couture of the Met's booth.
If Lindsey and Bob were around today, they would be prime candidates for Queer Eye as well as likely first round eliminations from Project Runway.
But they called a great game.....Huh ho.