Of all the very worthy broadcasters mentioned on this site as “next in line for induction,” into the Hall of Fame as Ford Frick honorees, every single one should be there, in my opinion. Their candidacies make all the sense in the world, and at least two dozen by my count should be shoe-ins..
But before we get too far into this discussion, let’s back up a few years, with a stroll back in time, a history lesson of sorts, back to the early 1920’s. I speak specifically about broadcasting’s infancy. Harold Arlen, an engineer at KDKA in Pittsburgh had already given the world the first radio broadcast of a baseball game in 1921, an August win for the Pirates 8-5 against their rival Philadelphia Phillies. But, a series of serendipities two years later, turned baseball broadcasting into an art form.
Until that time, most play by play on the toddling medium known as radio, fell into the hands of those lovable, ink stained wretches from the sports writing craft. Some legendary stories exist concerning how bad those broadcasts were in those days, but that’s a story for a different forum. Those struggles set the stage for something very special.
A dashing young man named Graham McNamee, gifted with a tremendously strong baritone singing voice, moved from St.Paul, Minnesota to New York City in 1923 to pursue a career as an opera singer. While on a break from Jury Duty and on his way to a singing rehearsal, young Graham stopped into the studios at WEAF radio in Manhattan.
At that time, the station relied mostly on recorded transcriptions for programming. But when Graham McNamee stepped to the microphone that day, a potential singing star turned instead into an icon..
McNamee became WEAF’s jack of all trades. News, political conventions, interviews with the famous, were McNamee’s signature. Ground-breaking with an air of raw excitement as his stock-in-trade, Graham McNamee became the most recognized radio personality in New York City, and ultimately the U.S. As he drove his huge Cadillac up and down Broadway, he greeted every traffic cop he knew, stopped and visited with adoring fans who refused to miss a McNamee appearance. He became a cult hero. Rock stars and rappers had nothing on McNamee’s magnetism and popularity. But sports ultimately defined him and his ultimate historical importance.
Name the sporting event and Graham McNamee armed with his famous intro, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the radio audience, I am Graham McNamee,” riveted listeners to their radio sets and set the stage for excitement to follow.
The first national broadcast of the Rose Bowl and the Dempsey-Tunney Championship fight in 1927 only set the stage for McNamee’s pristene work in baseball. From the Giants-Yankees World Series in 1923 at the Polo Grounds, to the 1926 Yankees-St.Louis Cardinals World Series to Babe Ruth’s called shot in the 1932 World Series against the Cubs–Graham McNamee had the call.
“I lobbied since the inception of radio announcers into the Hall of Fame that they put in THE pioneer, the original, the man who started it all,” echoed the late Dodgers and Yankees Hall of Famer Red Barber. “Graham McNamee should be there.”
“He’s the father of us all,” says the veteran Dick Enberg, referring to the dapper McNamee.
The endorsement of those two broadcasters alone should be enough to sway Frick voters. Graham McNamee died 67 years ago, announcing his final, “Good night, all,” to millions of listeners. Few, if any recordings of this legend exist. Still, if you believe pioneers lit the way for us all, then it’s only fitting that THE pioneer hold down a revered spot in Cooperstown.
Mike Capps has called Round Rock Express baseball for 10 seasons. He has worked on-air and behind-the-camera for WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth, for ABC News in St. Louis and KPRC-TV in Houston. While working for CNN, Capps covered the Gulf War as well as the Waco Siege, which garnered him an Emmy Nomination and a CableACE Award.