EP41: “The Lunch Bit Sucks!” and Other Colorful Stories
Ken tells crazy stories that touch on aspects of his career. Getting bad script notes, being shunned at a radio convention, a Hollywood ending to be cherished, and classic baseball bloopers. Lots of fun, embarrassment, and pain.
Yeah, I remember listening to Harry Carey his last few years. Rough. Then I got to see a replay of the 1965 World Series on MBL Network that he called. Now I know why he's so revered. And I can so relate to what happened to Joe Buck.
Harry Carey is deservedly a Hall of Fame announcer for his work with the Cardinals and White Sox. However, I started following the Cubs in 1983, when we first got cable, and the last 12-15 years of his career were awful. He constantly mispronounced names, calling Ryne Sanberg Ryne Sunderson, Raphael Palmero Raphael Palermo, and I don't even want to go into what he did with Hector Villanueva's name. He even went so far as to argue with Tuffy Rhodes on air that he should call himself Dusty -- apparently so Harry could remember it. And he was missing calls from the time he sat down in the booth at Wrigley.
After his stroke in 1987 it got progressively worse. Poor Steve Stone often had to gently correct his calls (home run calls on balls that were caught or foul were common) and Carey then accused him of trying to steal his job.
He claimed to have quit drinking after the stroke, but in 1991 I attended a game at Wrigley and sat no more that fifty feet from the press box. Wrigley served beer in different cups than the one they used for soft drinks. As we were leaving after the game I glanced into the press box. There were 6 beer cups around Harry's microphone.
As I said, Harry Carey was great in his time. Unfortunately, his time wasn't my time.
In the early days of the Blue Jays, Tom Cheek's broadcasting partner was Early Wynn. Early's in the Hall Of Fame ... for his pitching, not his broadcasting. Names weren't a specialty -- Angels' pitcher Nolan Ryan was pretty consistently "Ryne Duren". Neither could one count on Early giving scrupulously accurate reportage on the game actually being played.
He was entertaining, though. Early was liable to say anything that popped into his head ... as often as not about batters he had plunked, or about batters on the field who SHOULD be plunked. (Early cheerfully admitted he'd throw at his own grandmother if she was crowding the plate.) And Early's partner Tom Cheek occasionally, but very audibly, had to divert Early away from some stories that might have gotten a little too risque had he been allowed to continue.
The classic Early Wynn story occurred when Tom was announcing groups in attendance at that day's game. "We have 30 Scouts from the 36th Toronto Boy Scout troop ... 50 employees of Ontario Hydro ..." Then there was a warning cough, and even over the radio, you could hear Tom glaring at Early, making sure he didn't react: "...and from Buffalo, New York, we have 75 people from the Hooker Chemical Company ..."
And Early DIDN'T react.
Until the next game, when Tom was calling out the list of groups in attendance. And Early pipes up: "Hey, that bunch of hookers from Buffalo here today?"
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Charlie Brown is usually my audience identification character in the cartoons / comic strips.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I remember listening to Harry Carey his last few years. Rough. Then I got to see a replay of the 1965 World Series on MBL Network that he called. Now I know why he's so revered. And I can so relate to what happened to Joe Buck.
ReplyDeleteHarry Carey is deservedly a Hall of Fame announcer for his work with the Cardinals and White Sox. However, I started following the Cubs in 1983, when we first got cable, and the last 12-15 years of his career were awful. He constantly mispronounced names, calling Ryne Sanberg Ryne Sunderson, Raphael Palmero Raphael Palermo, and I don't even want to go into what he did with Hector Villanueva's name. He even went so far as to argue with Tuffy Rhodes on air that he should call himself Dusty -- apparently so Harry could remember it. And he was missing calls from the time he sat down in the booth at Wrigley.
ReplyDeleteAfter his stroke in 1987 it got progressively worse. Poor Steve Stone often had to gently correct his calls (home run calls on balls that were caught or foul were common) and Carey then accused him of trying to steal his job.
He claimed to have quit drinking after the stroke, but in 1991 I attended a game at Wrigley and sat no more that fifty feet from the press box. Wrigley served beer in different cups than the one they used for soft drinks. As we were leaving after the game I glanced into the press box. There were 6 beer cups around Harry's microphone.
As I said, Harry Carey was great in his time. Unfortunately, his time wasn't my time.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteFun stories!
ReplyDeleteIn the early days of the Blue Jays, Tom Cheek's broadcasting partner was Early Wynn. Early's in the Hall Of Fame ... for his pitching, not his broadcasting. Names weren't a specialty -- Angels' pitcher Nolan Ryan was pretty consistently "Ryne Duren". Neither could one count on Early giving scrupulously accurate reportage on the game actually being played.
He was entertaining, though. Early was liable to say anything that popped into his head ... as often as not about batters he had plunked, or about batters on the field who SHOULD be plunked. (Early cheerfully admitted he'd throw at his own grandmother if she was crowding the plate.) And Early's partner Tom Cheek occasionally, but very audibly, had to divert Early away from some stories that might have gotten a little too risque had he been allowed to continue.
The classic Early Wynn story occurred when Tom was announcing groups in attendance at that day's game. "We have 30 Scouts from the 36th Toronto Boy Scout troop ... 50 employees of Ontario Hydro ..." Then there was a warning cough, and even over the radio, you could hear Tom glaring at Early, making sure he didn't react: "...and from Buffalo, New York, we have 75 people from the Hooker Chemical Company ..."
And Early DIDN'T react.
Until the next game, when Tom was calling out the list of groups in attendance. And Early pipes up: "Hey, that bunch of hookers from Buffalo here today?"