Waite Hoyt Waite Hoyt: the Broadcast Years in Cincinnati
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Summer 1988 Waite Hoyt Waite Hoyt: The Broadcast Years in Cincinnati Ellen Frell When the William Morris Agency in New York notified Waite Hoyt, in November 1941, that they had scheduled an audition for him for the job of play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds, Hoyt recognized it as a critical chance. In some ways it paralleled his "audition" for Manager John McGraw of the New York Giants twenty-six years earlier, when at age fifteen, Hoyt was offered a chance to pitch batting practice for the Giants. Like that opportuni- ty of 1915, making good at the Cincinnati audition held the promise of a new career. Hoyt had parlayed that earlier opportunity into two decades of professional baseball that included some remarkable highlights: pitching twelve games in seven World Series, matching Christy Mathewson's record for twenty- seven innings pitched without giving up a single earned run, leading the American League in victories (22-7) and earned- run average (2.63) for the 1927 Yankees, considered the best means the raw, innocent teen who had stepped up to the team in the history of the game; and later elected to Base- mound at the Polo Grounds in 1915 and become an instant ball's Hall of Fame. sensation. In the 1920's baseball was the only game in Two decades in a man's life bring many changes. town, and Hoyt and his colorful teammates and friends- Hoyt had been given his walking papers from the Brooklyn Lefty Gomez, Joe Dugan and the game's patron sinner Babe Dodgers in May, 1938. His playing days were over. By the Ruth—were front page news. America was freeing itself from late 1930's he was making inroads into radio in New York. the rigidity of the war years and heading for the forbidden He had spent-some winters during his Yankee treats of Prohibition and the pleasures of the flapper era. In years singing on Broadway and had made a dozen successful New York, the self-proclaimed fulcrum of the world, a young, guest appearances on radio shows. With his playing career handsome Yankee ballplayer did not lack for excitement. on the wane, he had capitalized on an excellent natural Hoyt made the most of it. The ballpark by voice, an urbane manner, and the knack of telling a compel- day, the bright lights of New York and the Great White Way ling story. For a while he did a sports show and a prime time at night, with the prettiest faces of New York on his arm. It sports quiz. was a glorious and exhilarating time, and Hoyt himself He began to build a reputation in New York summed it up better than anyone else with a statement that for radio work, firmly anchoring it to his baseball founda- still epitomizes both the era and the man himself: "It's great tion. By 1939 Hoyt was doing a pre-game show for the New to be young, and a Yankee." York Yankees on WABC called "According to Hoyt," where But in 1941 that career was over for Hoyt and he commented, with verve and wit, on the game when he now, with distant rumblings of war growing louder, another played it and the foibles of his teammates. opportunity presented the hope of a different career, base- But play-by-play was the real meat of baseball ball broadcasting. And the man who packed his bags that announcing and Hoyt knew it. He never lacked for a sense day in late November for his trip to Cincinnati was by no of the dramatic moment, and no one knew the lip biting Ellen Frell, of Chicago, is a On January 1, 1942, Waite magazine writer and an Emmy- Hoyt moved his family to Cin- award winning script writer for cinnati to begin his career an NBC television documentary. announcing the Cincinnati Reds' baseball games. Queen City Heritage tension of a close game better than he who had played in so the head of a family, looking toward a horizon that as far as many. He wanted to be back on the field during those he could see offered little except this one good chance. moments, if in voice only. He yearned for the real action of He still had the professional athlete's rush of the game underway, the emotional rush after the words energy in a crisis. And as he had done for so many other "Play ball." In spite of his successful radio exposure doing more physical competitions earlier in his life, he began to programmed shows, the key job of play-by-play eluded him. review strategy. This was one he could not afford to lose. But a man must operate within the restraints Cincinnati in 1941 had two major radio sta- of his time and his era, and in the 1930's, a sports broadcast tions broadcasting the Reds games, each using their own booth was not an acceptable arena for an ex-player. Hoyt announcer. A third station, WKRC, was on the lookout for repeatedly and vocally indicated his availability for play-by- an especially good play-by-play announcer to solidify a new play, and just as repeatedly been turned down without even and unusual three-way arrangement among the station, the being allowed to audition. Three major league teams denied Reds, and The Burger Brewing Company. The brewery had him a shot at the job including the Yankees. Players, they picked up sponsorship of the Reds games on WKRC to felt, lacked the verbal ability to announce. increase their objectives of bringing good beer—via good To the man who had always been a lover of baseball—to the Cincinnati area. literature and adept with words, this was a low blow. Brought Burger was tightening up an excellent market- up to know a predicate from a participle, Hoyt had been ing campaign over an area that encompassed several states. frequently kidded during his playing years about his intellec- They planned to gain further control over the quality of tual pursuits. "The guy was always reading,}> cracked one their broadcasts by signing their soon-to-be-picked announc- ex-teammate. Hoyt, who balanced his literary adventures er as their direct employee, avoiding station control. They with countless live ones by day and by night, knew better. wanted a quality voice that would become a trademark for But there was conflict within. them and their product. The world of baseball of the 1920's and the 1930's was a rough world, especially the minor leagues where Hoyt had cut his teeth on language and behavior completely alien to his genteel upbringing at home in Brooklyn. There were moments when he had trouble recon- ciling the rugged characters and the circumstances of his livelihood with his equally real love of culture and the arts. And now he was being denied a chance at those jobs because of a stereotype he had never fit. "They told me ballplayers don't have the vocabulary to do play-by- play," he said. Ten years earlier when Hoyt's temper was firmly connected to his vocal chords, he might have come up with some choice vocabulary in response. But now, like a pitcher bearing down on a hitter, he opted to redouble his efforts. He moved his family from their new home in New Jersey back into New York City to be closer to the pulse of baseball and radio. And he signed on with the prestigious William Morris Talent Agency to make sure no opportunity escaped him. If there were parallels here with his first chance at the big leagues years earlier, there were even bigger differ- ences. The man now evaluating his possibilities was neither youthful nor naive. The Waite Hoyt who left his apartment and walked out onto Seventy-Fourth Street for his tryout in Cincinnati was a forty-two-year-old retired baseball player, During his baseball career Hoyt pitched in seven World Series games for the Yankees. Summer 1988 Waite Hoyt The final decision on an announcer would be based on a careful review of audition discs. Hoyt had years of experience under his belt in outguessing opponents. He suspected that his competitors for this job would submit imaginary play-by-play broadcast discs, and his sense of theater (perfected watching his father perform vaudeville routines and by his own experience on Broadway) told him this was a dangerous choice. Realistic play-by-play would be fairly slowly paced, while invented on-the-field theatrics could not help but come across as contrived. He had a completely different idea for showcas- ing his talent. He went into the studio, marked his script for pauses, and began. On the disc was Hoyt's rich, energetic voice, telling a story full of emotion and interest, sending a clear message to The Burger Brewing Company: they had found their man. REISENWEBER'S NEW CRYSTAL ROOM ALL-STAR VODVIL BEGINNING SUNDAY EYE'G. OCTOBER IDIH SALLY FIELDS J i "RAORD1NARY WAITE, This move would be to a small city in the Midwest, the HOYT Queen City, a long way both in geography and personality from the bright lights of New York. WESTON Ck BROWN And both Hoyt and his wife Ellen were native New Yorkers. Ellen had grown up on Fifth Avenue and her EMI LIE LEA™ parents, siblings, friends, and social life were all here. She had spent time in Europe, but had never been west of " M A X I E " Pittsburgh. If the Midwest was foreign to Ellen Hoyt, F 4 I' MARK 1:' S R £ N D tl Z V O US I baseball was even more so.