49ers Name Ted Robinson PBP Voice

[BossRadioDJ]

From the 49ers website:

The San Francisco 49ers announced Monday that Ted Robinson will become the fifth play-by-play voice in the 63-year history of the organization.

Robinson joins a prestigious group of announcers that have held the play by position including Bob Fouts (1946-62), Lon Simmons (1963-1980, 1987-88), Don Klein (1981-86) and Joe Starkey (1989-2008).

(Wrong! What about Roy Storey and Bud Foster, who were also 49ers play-by-play men?)

Full story at http://www.49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=5079

 

[stub]

they should have said the fifth in the last 52 years; Bob Fouts started radio pxp in 1957; in their first eleven years the niners had the following pxp voices:

Bud Foster 1946-1949; 1951-1953
Tommy Greenough 1950 pre season
Jack Drees 1950 one game
Rod Hughes 1950 remainder of season
Fred Hessler 1954
Roy Storey 1955-1956

Rod Hughes' real name was Rod Belcher a Seattle sportscaster who did games for a rival beer sponsor, so he used an alias in San Francisco

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Rod Hughes' real name was Rod Belcher a Seattle sportscaster who did games for a rival beer sponsor, so he used an alias in San Francisco

Rod Belcher. I can hear him doing a beer commercial now:

"Hi, folks, Rod Belcher for Rainier Ale..."

 

[onairb]

they should have said the fifth in the last 52 years; Bob Fouts started radio pxp in 1957; in their first eleven years the niners had the following pxp voices:

Bud Foster 1946-1949; 1951-1953
Tommy Greenough 1950 pre season
Jack Drees 1950 one game
Rod Hughes 1950 remainder of season
Fred Hessler 1954
Roy Storey 1955-1956

Rod Hughes' real name was Rod Belcher a Seattle sportscaster who did games for a rival beer sponsor, so he used an alias in San Francisco

Thanks for filling in the blanks on the history of Niners announcers. I believe Simmons took over radio play-by play duties in '57(when the team moved to KSFO), and Fouts moved to TV (although games were regionally televised on CBS, each team had its own announcers, with separate audio feeds for each team's market; also, in those days, home games were never televised).

 

[pard]

Not a Robinson fan. Not a Starkey fan. Don't know if they could have done better, since Foster, Storey and Simmons are not available. I liked the old guys. The endless "analysis" on every play is tiresome. How many different ways can you say, "Blocking and tackling are the keys to victory?" Roy Storey was great even before he did the Seals' WHL games.

 

[lenhockey]

more stuff on Niner pbp guys:
1953-- Foster and Storey (color)
1954-- Fred Hessler
1955-- Fouts and Storey
1956-- Storey
1957-- Fouts
1958-- Fouts and Simmons
1959-- Simmons when Fouts was doing TV
1960-- Simmons and Fouts
1961-- Simmons (Soulta?)
Golden West (KSFO) took over in 1958---before that mainly on KYA but also KFRC and KSAN

 

[pard]

Jim Lange did color for Simmons in the '70s.  The last non-player "analyst".  KYA's Johnny Holiday was the stadium announcer for Raider games in the '60s.  Whoops, can't stay on-thread.

 

[onairb]

more stuff on Niner pbp guys:
1953-- Foster and Storey (color)
1954-- Fred Hessler
1955-- Fouts and Storey
1956-- Storey
1957-- Fouts
1958-- Fouts and Simmons
1959-- Simmons when Fouts was doing TV
1960-- Simmons and Fouts
1961-- Simmons (Soulta?)
Golden West (KSFO) took over in 1958---before that mainly on KYA but also KFRC and KSAN

Every source I've read says Simmons did the Niners on KSFO in '57. Was he the color man that year?
'58 was the first year of the Giants in SF, and the beginning of Simmons' long career doing both sports. Russ Hodges, legendary Giants broadcaster, did color for Simmons on 49er games briefly in the early '60s
There's a famous story that during an October 1962 49ers game at Kezar, John Brodie couldn't call plays because the fans were cheering so loudly...even though the Niners weren't playing well. The cheering was the result of the fans listening to KSFo on their transistors, as the Giants were winning a crucial game at Candlestick. I believe Hodges actually had football duty that day, while Simmons did baseball.
(Since KSFO carried both teams for years, how did they handle conflicts in September and, rarely in the Giants' case, October? Was one game delayed til evening?)

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Jim Lange did color for Simmons in the '70s. The last non-player "analyst".

Nope. Gene Nelson was Lon Simmons' "analyst" (verrrrry loose term) in 1978. That was post-Lange.

Not sure what they were thinking back then.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Every source I've read says Simmons did the Niners on KSFO in '57. Was he the color man that year?

There's a famous story that during an October 1962 49ers game at Kezar, John Brodie couldn't call plays because the fans were cheering so loudly...even though the Niners weren't playing well. The cheering was the result of the fans listening to KSFo on their transistors, as the Giants were winning a crucial game at Candlestick. I believe Hodges actually had football duty that day, while Simmons did baseball.

(Since KSFO carried both teams for years, how did they handle conflicts in September and, rarely in the Giants' case, October? Was one game delayed til evening?)

Audio of Bob Fouts (PBP) and Lon Simmons (color) doing Colts-Niners at Kezar in 1957 on some radio museum's website:

http://www.bayarearadio.org/sports/49ers-colts_dec-8-1957.shtml

No, on days when both teams played, Lon did the 49ers, Russ did the Giants. Bill King was the third man in the Giants broadcast booth, and would handle a few more innings on 49er game days, until Franklin Mieuli hired him to do Warriors broadcasts ... then Lon's great friend Bill Thompson came along as Giants #3.

Lenhockey will undoubtedly correct me, but I believe that 49ers football would occasionally be moved to a non-aligned local station, such as KFRC or KYA, if there was a conflict with Giants baseball on KSFO.

Or they just cancelled the 49ers broadcast completely. (Kidding.)

 

[BossRadioDJ]

There's a famous story that during an October 1962 49ers game at Kezar, John Brodie couldn't call plays because the fans were cheering so loudly...even though the Niners weren't playing well. The cheering was the result of the fans listening to KSFo on their transistors, as the Giants were winning a crucial game at Candlestick. I believe Hodges actually had football duty that day, while Simmons did baseball.

We're so far off-topic now that you can't even see the board from here. I hope somebody has a map to get us back...

I'll follow up by saying that, on the day the Giants won to force a tie with the Dodgers in 1962, Russ was basically doing play-by-play of the DODGERS game on KSFO -- after the Giants game at Candlestick ended.

The fans stuck around at the 'Stick to listen to Russ announce what was happening at Dodger Stadium; one of the KSFO engineers was able to pick up the broadcast from L.A., and Russ relayed the details on KSFO from the press box. The crowd at Candlestick cheered the last out -- which forced a one-game playoff -- as if the game was being played in front of them.

During the "Dodgers" broadcast, Russ makes reference to the fact that Lon is over at Kezar doing the 49ers game.

I've got the audio here somewhere...

 

[lenhockey]

BossradioDJ is correct..According to the great Bob Foster of the San Mateo Times, Fouts did pbp and Simmons color for the 1957 season.
Also KYA Station Manager Irv Phillips would move conflict games in the middle 50's to KSAN.
I will check were KSFO sent them to in the late50's and early 60's..

 

[SCV_Ears]

Just to add to the offtopicality ...

@> Add Ex-KPIXer Wayne Walker to the list of 49ers color men, before Gary Plummer and after Don Heinrich (teamed with Don Klein).

@> I recall ads in the Sunday Ex in the 60s and 70s telling fans that, on overlap days, the Giants would be live on KSFO, the Niners live on KGO and KSFO would replay the 49ers game after the Giants game.

 

[pard]

Thanks for the correction.  Never liked Emperor Gene.  In '79 in St. Louis I heard Jack Buck pull a fill-in DJ shift on KMOX.  We was funnier (dry wit) than any other pbp legend spinning records I ever heard.  Help, where is the thread?

 

[onairb]

Ted Robinson used to A's games on TV when Lon and Bill were doing them on radio. How's that for getting back on-topic?

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Thanks for the correction. Never liked Emperor Gene. Help, where is the thread?

Oh, no -- don't get me wrong! Gene Nelson was an incredible DJ. His work stands up to this day for me -- funny, at times wickedly snotty, a keen observer, excellent interviewer, and one of the best "pivot" guys in keeping the flow through the music to traffic to news and back to music.

The guy who brought out the best in John Madden was the first guy to have him on the air on a regular basis: Gene Nelson.

I've listened a hundred times to recordings of games from that season when Lon and Gene worked together, and while they sounded like they were having fun, Lon was calling the play-by-play and doing a lot of the analysis of what happened (from a football standpoint) while Gene generally sounded like a football fan who didn't know much more about the game than a guy who was simply a long-time season ticket holder.

He had good knowledge, but he didn't have DEEP knowledge.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Ted Robinson used to A's games on TV when Lon and Bill were doing them on radio. How's that for getting back on-topic?

Nice try, but it ain't gonna work.

Oh look! Is that the Portland board?

 

[stub]

they should have said the fifth in the last 52 years; Bob Fouts started radio pxp in 1957; in their first eleven years the niners had the following pxp voices:

Bud Foster 1946-1949; 1951-1953
Tommy Greenough 1950 pre season
Jack Drees 1950 one game
Rod Hughes 1950 remainder of season
Fred Hessler 1954
Roy Storey 1955-1956

Rod Hughes' real name was Rod Belcher a Seattle sportscaster who did games for a rival beer sponsor, so he used an alias in San Francisco

radio stations were KYA 1946-48, KSAN 1949-50, KYA 1951-53, KFRC 1954-56, KSFO starting in 1957

there were always conflicts, with minor league baseball in the early years, and with the Giants on KSFO; the back up stations were 1946:none 1947:KLX 910 1948:KROW 960 1949-57:none needed
1958:KFRC 1959:KCBS 1960:KFRC 1961:KGO 1962:KCBS 1963-70:KGO 1971-76 all games on KSFO; Giants broadcasts on alternate station; 1977 KIOI 1978 KCBS 1979-80 same as 1971-76; 1981-2004 no conflicts on KCBS 1981-87 or KGO 1988-2004; of course since 2005 49ers are on KNBR 1050 when there is a Giants conflict

 

[stub]

more stuff on Niner pbp guys:
1953-- Foster and Storey (color)
1954-- Fred Hessler
1955-- Fouts and Storey
1956-- Storey
1957-- Fouts
1958-- Fouts and Simmons
1959-- Simmons when Fouts was doing TV
1960-- Simmons and Fouts
1961-- Simmons (Soulta?)
Golden West (KSFO) took over in 1958---before that mainly on KYA but also KFRC and KSAN

If this is true then Fouts first radio pbp was 1955, not 1957 as I had believed; the 1956 49ers media guide lists Roy Storey "radio announcer" and Bob Fouts "tv announcer"; Fouts did do tv in 1955 and 1956, but only road games were televised, so possibly Storey did only the non-televised games in those years with Fouts doing the home games; in any event Storey did some, if not all, the pbp those years

 

[onairb]

radio stations were KYA 1946-48, KSAN 1949-50, KYA 1951-53, KFRC 1954-56, KSFO starting in 1957

there were always conflicts, with minor league baseball in the early years, and with the Giants on KSFO; the back up stations were 1946:none 1947:KLX 910 1948:KROW 960 1949-57:none needed
1958:KFRC 1959:KCBS 1960:KFRC 1961:KGO 1962:KCBS 1963-70:KGO 1971-76 all games on KSFO; Giants broadcasts on alternate station; 1977 KIOI 1978 KCBS 1979-80 same as 1971-76; 1981-2004 no conflicts on KCBS 1981-87 or KGO 1988-2004; of course since 2005 49ers are on KNBR 1050 when there is a Giants conflict

Just for the heck of it, what was the Giants 'alternate station' when there were Niners conflicts in the early-mid 70s? By '79, of course, the Giants had moved to KNBR.