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1984 |
Hall
of Fame Inductee |
Graham
McNamee |
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"The
father of us all." |
- Dick
Enberg |
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Live sports broadcasting as
we know it today began in 1923 when young Graham McNamee, broadcasting
directly from the Polo Grounds in New York City, reported the World
Series between the Yankees and the Giants. The experiment was so successful
that Chicago radio station WMAQ was inspired to pioneer daily broadcasts
directly from the baseball park.
McNamee, who started out as
a concert singer, set many broadcasting standards throughout a lengthy
career which spanned the years from 1923 until his death in 1942. His
vivid descriptions of the events which took place before the live microphone
were characterized by a combination of informality and warmth that appealed
greatly to his listeners.
Among those great moments in
sports history that he broadcasted, McNamee ranked three as among the
most memorable: the fabled long count of the Dempsey-Tunney fight in 1927,
the comeback of Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Howard Ehmke, in the 1929
World Series, and the Babe Ruth home run in the 1932 World Series.
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