Per the request in a thread below, I am creating the thread to discuss all things Cubs verses Sox broadcasters. If there is anyone who think the Sox have superior broadcasters to the Cubs, I'd like to hear it. And yes, I couldn't agree more with the poster in the other thread. I'm also curious as to what came of mainly past Sox announcers if anyone knows.
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Cubs verses Sox broadcasters thread.
- Thread starter StevenGastreich
- Start date
Cubs fans definitely have it better when it comes to the broadcasts compared with the White Sox, especially these past 2 years. And that's with Ron Santo probably at the bottom of the barrel.
As far as former White Sox broadcasters, I know of some of them. So besides wishing many were back here, here's at least a partial update.
John Rooney - voice of St. Louis Cardinals radio
Wayne Hagin - may still be, but within past 3 years was announcing Colorado Rockies
Gary Thorne - some baseball for ESPN
Joe McConnell - as mentioned here earlier in the week, voice of Purdue University football
Bill Mercer - retired, now in his late 80's, and lives in Texas. Recently published another book about sports broadcasting
Red Rush - retired, in his mid to late 80's, and living in northern California
Jimmy Piersall was an anaylst for WSCR in prior seasons
Milo Hamilton - doing home games on radio for Houston Astros
Tom Paciorek - still doing TV, but switched teams within past 2 years
Among those no longer with us are Harry Caray, Jack Brickhouse, Bob Elson, Jack Drees, Ralph Faucher, Early Wynn, and Don Drysdale
Not sure about Gene Osborne, Lorn Brown, Bob Waller, & Dave Martin.
Also not sure of whereabouts of former player/commentators J.C. Martin, Mel Parnell, Lou Brock, & Del Crandall.
On the radio side, all but 6 of the past 50 years have had the Sox games on either 670 or 1000 AM.
And I wait for the day we can add Horrible-son to the "former broadcaster" list, but it's not looking hopeful.
As far as former White Sox broadcasters, I know of some of them. So besides wishing many were back here, here's at least a partial update.
John Rooney - voice of St. Louis Cardinals radio
Wayne Hagin - may still be, but within past 3 years was announcing Colorado Rockies
Gary Thorne - some baseball for ESPN
Joe McConnell - as mentioned here earlier in the week, voice of Purdue University football
Bill Mercer - retired, now in his late 80's, and lives in Texas. Recently published another book about sports broadcasting
Red Rush - retired, in his mid to late 80's, and living in northern California
Jimmy Piersall was an anaylst for WSCR in prior seasons
Milo Hamilton - doing home games on radio for Houston Astros
Tom Paciorek - still doing TV, but switched teams within past 2 years
Among those no longer with us are Harry Caray, Jack Brickhouse, Bob Elson, Jack Drees, Ralph Faucher, Early Wynn, and Don Drysdale
Not sure about Gene Osborne, Lorn Brown, Bob Waller, & Dave Martin.
Also not sure of whereabouts of former player/commentators J.C. Martin, Mel Parnell, Lou Brock, & Del Crandall.
On the radio side, all but 6 of the past 50 years have had the Sox games on either 670 or 1000 AM.
And I wait for the day we can add Horrible-son to the "former broadcaster" list, but it's not looking hopeful.
K
kba
Guest
Lorn Brown (1976-79, 1985-88) lives in New Mexico and still does some sports broadcasting.
Rich King (1980-81) is a sportscaster at WGN-TV.
Jim Durham (1990) - better known for his work with the Bulls - still does a lot of national NBA games.
Mary Shane (1977) - who Bill Veeck hired as the first female broadcaster in baseball - died in 1987.
Lou Brock (1981) is an ordained minister and does a lot of speaking engagements.
As far as I know, Ralph Faucher (1971-72) is still alive and doing some part-time radio work in Wisconsin. He's the answer to the trivia question, "Who was Harry Caray's first partner in Chicago?"
Rich King (1980-81) is a sportscaster at WGN-TV.
Jim Durham (1990) - better known for his work with the Bulls - still does a lot of national NBA games.
Mary Shane (1977) - who Bill Veeck hired as the first female broadcaster in baseball - died in 1987.
Lou Brock (1981) is an ordained minister and does a lot of speaking engagements.
As far as I know, Ralph Faucher (1971-72) is still alive and doing some part-time radio work in Wisconsin. He's the answer to the trivia question, "Who was Harry Caray's first partner in Chicago?"
Gary Thorne is the TV play-by-play man for the Baltimore Orioles as well as being with ESPN. Tom Paciorek was with the Florida Marlins last year, but I don't think he's with them anymore.
As far as Jack Brickhouse's broadcast partners on WGN-TV (back when Channel 9 covered both sides of town with the same guys): Vince Lloyd and Lloyd Pettit both died in 2003. Can't find any data about Harry Creighton, but given the fact that he was with WGN in the late '40s through the mid '50s, I'm assuming he's no longer with us.
Moving over to the north side:
DeWayne Staats is now the voice of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Josh Lewin turns up on the Fox Game of the Week on occasion, but I don't think he's with any team at the moment.
This year, Thom Brennaman joined his dad in Cincinnati after 9 years in Arizona.
Jack Quinlan died in a car crash in Arizona in 1965. Lou Boudreau died in 2001.
They also had some guy named Reagan recreating games from ticker-tape for listeners in Iowa in the '30s. Wonder what ever became of him? ;D
Chip Caray, Steve Stone, and Bob Brenly will be part of the playoff picture on TBS this year. Caray and Stone will not be paired up, unfortunately.
The original baseball broadcaster (both Cubs and Sox) was Daily News sportswriter Hal Totten on WMAQ (owned by the Daily News at the time). He began broadcasting in 1924. In those days both teams allowed any station who wanted to do so broadcast the games. The Sox didn't award exclusive broadcast rights until 1944. Not sure about the Cubs.
Link: Wikipedia list of Sox broadcasters
As far as Jack Brickhouse's broadcast partners on WGN-TV (back when Channel 9 covered both sides of town with the same guys): Vince Lloyd and Lloyd Pettit both died in 2003. Can't find any data about Harry Creighton, but given the fact that he was with WGN in the late '40s through the mid '50s, I'm assuming he's no longer with us.
Moving over to the north side:
DeWayne Staats is now the voice of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Josh Lewin turns up on the Fox Game of the Week on occasion, but I don't think he's with any team at the moment.
This year, Thom Brennaman joined his dad in Cincinnati after 9 years in Arizona.
Jack Quinlan died in a car crash in Arizona in 1965. Lou Boudreau died in 2001.
They also had some guy named Reagan recreating games from ticker-tape for listeners in Iowa in the '30s. Wonder what ever became of him? ;D
Chip Caray, Steve Stone, and Bob Brenly will be part of the playoff picture on TBS this year. Caray and Stone will not be paired up, unfortunately.
The original baseball broadcaster (both Cubs and Sox) was Daily News sportswriter Hal Totten on WMAQ (owned by the Daily News at the time). He began broadcasting in 1924. In those days both teams allowed any station who wanted to do so broadcast the games. The Sox didn't award exclusive broadcast rights until 1944. Not sure about the Cubs.
Link: Wikipedia list of Sox broadcasters
Josh Lewin is the TV PBP voice of the Rangers. He's grown on me over the past couple of years. When was he with the Cubs?[/quote]
He was with the Cubs in 1997. He was replaced a year later by, of all things, one of the broadcaster's Grandsons! But seriously, too bad Harry didn't live long enough to work side by side with Chip.
Another Sox broadcaster who died was Frank Messer. I'm not sure when that happened.
I do wonder though whatever became of former Cub announcer Jim West. I remember as a kid hearing him as a Blackhawks Announcer.
He was with the Cubs in 1997. He was replaced a year later by, of all things, one of the broadcaster's Grandsons! But seriously, too bad Harry didn't live long enough to work side by side with Chip.
Another Sox broadcaster who died was Frank Messer. I'm not sure when that happened.
I do wonder though whatever became of former Cub announcer Jim West. I remember as a kid hearing him as a Blackhawks Announcer.
Jim West left Chicago, never really catching on here, in the late 70's. He moved to Baltimore and became a TV
sportscaster there, and I think did some play-by-play. I haven't heard anything about Jim West in at least 10
years, however. He was a victim of being in the right place at the wrong time. Replacing Lloyd Pettit as voice
of the Blackhawks was a major challenge for anyone.
If I remember right, West left after the Hawks' radio contract ran out following the 78-79 season. The Hawks' games
wound up on 107.9 FM (now WLEY) back in its WYEN (remember "all request radio"??) days. And they hired a young
and talented broadcaster, Pat Foley, to handle the broadcasts.
Back to the Sox, I had forgotten about Frank Messer coming here for what I think was only 1 season on TV. Messer
worked for years in NYC on Yankees TV with Bill White and Phil Rizzuto. It seemed like the NYC guys coming to
Chicago (such as Messer and Thorne) didn't feel the magic here.
The early days of Harry Caray on White Sox broadcasts were quite the trip indeed. As a north sider, it was very
difficult to pick up WTAQ 1300 AM at night, so it meant the FM signal of WEAW-FM (now WOJO). And this was before
most people had FM radios in their car. I remember resting a portable FM receiver on the passenger seat or dashboard
for much of the 1971 season. Ralph Faucher was the GM of WTAQ, and basically went on as PBP man whenever Harry
felt like taking a break. Ralph would sometimes only do a 1/2 inning, and if it were a blowout game he'd to a couple
innings. Harry had an attendance clause in his White Sox contract and reached his bonus in '71 and '72 before they
restructured. Then, in 1973, the Sox went back to 670 AM, and Faucher was nowhere to be heard after that.
sportscaster there, and I think did some play-by-play. I haven't heard anything about Jim West in at least 10
years, however. He was a victim of being in the right place at the wrong time. Replacing Lloyd Pettit as voice
of the Blackhawks was a major challenge for anyone.
If I remember right, West left after the Hawks' radio contract ran out following the 78-79 season. The Hawks' games
wound up on 107.9 FM (now WLEY) back in its WYEN (remember "all request radio"??) days. And they hired a young
and talented broadcaster, Pat Foley, to handle the broadcasts.
Back to the Sox, I had forgotten about Frank Messer coming here for what I think was only 1 season on TV. Messer
worked for years in NYC on Yankees TV with Bill White and Phil Rizzuto. It seemed like the NYC guys coming to
Chicago (such as Messer and Thorne) didn't feel the magic here.
The early days of Harry Caray on White Sox broadcasts were quite the trip indeed. As a north sider, it was very
difficult to pick up WTAQ 1300 AM at night, so it meant the FM signal of WEAW-FM (now WOJO). And this was before
most people had FM radios in their car. I remember resting a portable FM receiver on the passenger seat or dashboard
for much of the 1971 season. Ralph Faucher was the GM of WTAQ, and basically went on as PBP man whenever Harry
felt like taking a break. Ralph would sometimes only do a 1/2 inning, and if it were a blowout game he'd to a couple
innings. Harry had an attendance clause in his White Sox contract and reached his bonus in '71 and '72 before they
restructured. Then, in 1973, the Sox went back to 670 AM, and Faucher was nowhere to be heard after that.
Brian Stevens said:
That was the whole idea - for Chip to work with Harry for a year or two (or however long Harry wanted to or could be there) and then take over. Unfortunately, Harry's death just before Spring Training 1998 put that idea to rest.
Frank Messer died on November 13, 2001 at age 76 after a long illness. He'd replaced Hawk Harrelson after Hawk was named GM of the Sox in 1986.
From what I've heard, West is still alive - retired but still filling in on occasion at WBAL radio in Baltimore, which is where he'd previously been before coming to Chicago, IIRC.
KeithE4 said:
...I have mp3s of a game in the 1936 post-season Cubs-White Sox series done by Bob Elson. The coverage was produced by NBC, and interestingly enough the thing has a WCFL legal ID on it (WCFL was a Blue Network NBC affiliate at the time, sharing the network with WLS and WENR and, among other things, airing Blue Net material that crossed the changeover time on 870 kHz between the two stations' frequency allocations)...
chgodave said:
Two questions, if you or anyone else knows:
1) When exactly did West replace Pettit? Sometime in the mid 70's?
2) When did the Hawks stop airing road games on free TV? I know that by the '82 playoffs they'd started putting their games on subscription TV...and I think they may have even aired HOME games until Sportsvision became a standard cable channel in 1985.
L
larnov
Guest
Great thread. I really do not get to her the Sox on Radio much. I do listen to Cubs games on XM
I love hearing Ron Santo. For the Sox i really always liked hearing John Rooney doing natinal games.
As far as TV there is nothing worst than White sox games.
I love hearing Ron Santo. For the Sox i really always liked hearing John Rooney doing natinal games.
As far as TV there is nothing worst than White sox games.
EnbyCee asked:
Two questions, if you or anyone else knows:
1) When exactly did West replace Pettit? Sometime in the mid 70's?
2) When did the Hawks stop airing road games on free TV? I know that by the '82 playoffs they'd started putting their games on subscription TV...and I think they may have even aired HOME games until Sportsvision became a standard cable channel in 1985.
I don't recall exactly, but it was mid-70's when Lloyd Pettit left the Blackhawks and Jim West was named as his replacement. If I recall correctly, channel 44 did some Hawks road games in the late 70's, along with doing all of the Bulls road games (except those done nationally). Sportsvision started doing the Hawks, I'm thinking the '82-'83 season, but I recall it was only the road games at that time. The Blackhawks have only done a handful of home games on over-the-air TV, with most of those being because they were national or regional telecasts by NBC-TV, FOX, or whichever network had the NHL rights.
Shoot, even in '72 (I think '72, but it was within a year either way) when the Hawks got to Game 7 against Montreal of the Stanley Cup Finals at Chicago Stadium, channel 2 couldn't even carry the CBS national telecast of the game. I remember channel 2 joining the telecast for the disappointing post-game ceremony during an extended 10:00 PM newscast since the game itself had ended, disappointingly for Blackhawks fans.
But since the early 80's, the Blackhawks have not had any local over-the-air TV contracts, even for road games.
Two questions, if you or anyone else knows:
1) When exactly did West replace Pettit? Sometime in the mid 70's?
2) When did the Hawks stop airing road games on free TV? I know that by the '82 playoffs they'd started putting their games on subscription TV...and I think they may have even aired HOME games until Sportsvision became a standard cable channel in 1985.
I don't recall exactly, but it was mid-70's when Lloyd Pettit left the Blackhawks and Jim West was named as his replacement. If I recall correctly, channel 44 did some Hawks road games in the late 70's, along with doing all of the Bulls road games (except those done nationally). Sportsvision started doing the Hawks, I'm thinking the '82-'83 season, but I recall it was only the road games at that time. The Blackhawks have only done a handful of home games on over-the-air TV, with most of those being because they were national or regional telecasts by NBC-TV, FOX, or whichever network had the NHL rights.
Shoot, even in '72 (I think '72, but it was within a year either way) when the Hawks got to Game 7 against Montreal of the Stanley Cup Finals at Chicago Stadium, channel 2 couldn't even carry the CBS national telecast of the game. I remember channel 2 joining the telecast for the disappointing post-game ceremony during an extended 10:00 PM newscast since the game itself had ended, disappointingly for Blackhawks fans.
But since the early 80's, the Blackhawks have not had any local over-the-air TV contracts, even for road games.
chgodave said:
SportsVision started in April 1982 on WPWR/WBBS Channel 60. IIRC, its first broadcast was a Hawks playoff game at Chicago Stadium and it was unscrambled for that first day only. SportsVision was the main reason Harry Caray moved to the north side when the retirement of Jack Brickhouse left a convenient opening at Wrigley Field for a play-by-play man (just don't mention that to Milo Hamilton. ;D ).
Don't hold your breath, but maybe that'll change now that Dollar Bill Wirtz has passed on. Anyone heard what his sons' plans are for the team?
Beau Duran said:
Josh is also the radio voice of the San Diego Chargers.
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