A few years ago, I shared a YouTube channel here on the blog called Classic Baseball on the Radio. As you can gather by the name, the channel shared full radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball games from past decades.
For a long while, the broadcasts ranged from the 1970s all the way back to the 1930s. And that's amazing, don't get me wrong. I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to games from those eras.
But at some point this past year, I noticed that a few broadcasts from the 1980s started appearing on the channel. And then more. And then even more.
And that's the decade of my childhood.
So I wanted to post an update here, for all you fellow '80s kids and '80s baseball lovers.
Just think about it for a moment. The decade gave us a lot.
- You had Big League Chew, the San Diego Chicken, The Baseball Bunch, and bullpen carts that were essentially giant baseballs wearing giant baseball caps.
- You had managers taking risks with hit-and-run plays, stolen bases, and squeeze bunts. (And don't forget all their heated confrontations with umpires.)
- You had guys who played for keeps. Pitchers threw high and tight. Baserunners slid hard to break up a double play. And if there was a play at the plate? You'd better be ready.
What an amazing combination of goofiness, fun, excitement, and toughness!
And now you can listen to all of that '80s goodness on Classic Baseball on the Radio.
Think of the player names you haven't heard in ages. The legendary broadcasters you haven't thought of in ages. The way they called the game. Those guys were studs. You didn't analyze what they were saying. You didn't pick apart their commentary.
You just listened. And appreciated. And enjoyed the game.
Part of the reason was that they didn't bombard you with data and analytics for two and a half hours. But a larger part of it was because they were entertaining. You looked forward to the actual game, sure, but you also looked forward to hearing those guys on the radio, because you knew they were going to make the game that much better—thereby making your day better. And it wasn't limited to certain teams or regions. It seemed like every team back in the '80s had legendary voices. Phil Rizzuto for the Yankees, Bob Murphy for the Mets, Harry Kalas in Philadelphia, Vin Scully for the Dodgers, Bill King in Oakland, Bob Uecker in Milwaukee, Jack Buck in St. Louis, and of course Harry Caray for the Cubs, drinkin' a beer and callin' the game.
And whether you were sitting in a lawn chair with a cold drink on the ground beside you, working on the car in the garage, or driving home from your shift, guess what? As long as you had even the simplest little transistor radio, those broadcasters were right there with you.
And you just listened. And appreciated. And enjoyed the game.
Even if you were a little kid, opening packs of cards on a Saturday afternoon with one ear listening out for the ice cream man. . .
. . . you still listened. And appreciated. And enjoyed the game.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that baseball was more simple back then. Life was more simple back then. And that's one reason why channels like Classic Baseball on the Radio mean so much to me. Open up a game from any of the playlists. Listen to some legendary broadcasters describe the sights and sounds of baseball.
For a short amount of time, life will be simple again.
If you haven't checked out the channel yet, I hope you will.
Now a question for you:
Did you have a favorite baseball radio broadcast back then? If so, what was the radio station's call sign? Who were the broadcasters?
In my area we had the Yankees on WABC 770 AM, and the Mets on WHN 1050 AM and WFAN 660 AM.
Share yours in the comment section, and thanks for reading!
No favourite broadcast per se, but favourite memories involved trying to catch the Jays games on an old clock radio. Lived far enough from Toronto and no cable TV that we didn't get many Jays games, while the local radio rights were up for grabs. Resorted to random contraptions poked into the speaker as a makeshift antenna and then picking up the clock radio and lifting it into the air. Worked OK on a clear sunny day until arm got tired, would be able to pick up games on 1430 AM CJCL
ReplyDeleteGreat memories, Derek! (Or should we call you "MacGyver"?) Thanks for sharing.
DeleteA. I love any post that takes me back to my childhood. Reading about opening packs of cards while listening for the ice cream man did this for me right now.
ReplyDeleteB. Back in the 80's it was KSFO with Bill King and Lon Simmons.
C. Today it's KNBR with Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, and Jon Miller.
A. That's the idea, right Fuji? Glad this post brought the nostalgia factor for you.
DeleteB. KSFO is a pretty cool call sign.
C. You've got a great group of broadcasters over there now. Used to love Jon Miller and Joe Morgan calling games for ESPN back in the '90s.
Ice cream man selling baseball cards is a completely foreign concept to me.
ReplyDeleteI still subscribe to this youtube channel, although I've been slacking on listening to it. I love any of the late '70s/early '80s games they put on there, as that was prime baseball-watching time for me as a youngster. The only radio games we got were Yankees games, and nobody in the house liked the Yankees, but sometimes when that's all you have, you still listen.
Oh, same here, Night Owl. What I meant was opening packs at home, and listening for the ice cream man so you could buy some ice cream, too. (Although an ice cream man who also sold packs of cards would have been pretty amazing!)
DeleteAs for the YouTube channel, I figured you were already a subscriber!
The Yankees on 770 (often just called '77). By the time I started following baseball in 1986, Rizzuto and White were TV only. The Yankees cycled a few different guys before coming up with Sterling and Kay around 1990 or so.
ReplyDeleteIn April of 1987 I went to my first every Yankee game and it was transistor radio day. Loved listening to games on that cheap little radio, which died with the Cardinals in the middle of game 7 of the 1987 World Series.
Transistor Radio Day sounds fantastic, Bo. Great choice of games to attend! Too bad it only lasted one baseball season, though.
DeleteI was Mets guy, so it was Bob, Ralph, and Lindsey and then their replacements. On WHN and later WFAN (which actually started out on 1050), although I remember sometimes listening on WHAM Rochester at my college (which was quite far from Rochester, but it could be heard at night).
ReplyDeleteAlso, for a couple of summers I was doing nights on WTSV, a small AM station in Claremont, NH, and we were a Red Sox affiliates so I'd end up running the board (inserting local commercials and such) for those games. Bob Starr and Joe Castiglione did a good job.
Must have been a pretty cool experience at WTSV, Brett! You must have some great memories from those summers. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteThanks for the info, I may have to check out that channel sometime. Back in the 80s the Cubs were on WGN 720AM. I didn't listen to much radio back then (kid version of me associated baseball with TV more) but I do recall Harry Caray moving from TV to the radio in the middle innings and Dewayne Staats coming over to do TV with Steve Stone. I didn't pay attention to the Whie Sox since they were on cable and we didn't have it growing up.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely check out that channel, Jafronius! Even at the very least, it's great background noise. Thanks for sharing those memories about Harry Caray and the crew. Must have been fun living in Chicago and rooting for the Cubs back then!
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