Al Helfer
Al Helfer | |
|---|---|
 Helfer broadcasting the Mutual "Game of the Day" in the 1950s | |
| Born | George Alvin Helfer September 26, 1911 Elrama, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 16, 1975 (aged 63) Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Known for | Sports broadcaster |
George Alvin "Al" Helfer (September 26, 1911 – May 16, 1975) was an American radio sportscaster.
Nicknamed "Mr. Radio Baseball", Helfer called the
NBC Radio
in the 1950s.
Early life and career
Helfer was born in
WWSW. He started broadcasting recreations of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games in 1933
.
He joined
CBS in 1937, working a few baseball games and a lot of football games. Helfer was reunited with Barber (who often addressed him on-air as "Brother Al") on the Brooklyn Dodgers broadcasts in 1939. They worked together until 1941, when Helfer joined the U.S. Navy
during World War II.
When he returned the Dodgers job was no longer available, so Helfer started doing "Game of the Day" broadcasts for Mutual. He was paired with
WOR-TV, helping to fill the void of National League baseball left in the city by the departure of the Dodgers and Giants.[2]
He worked a number of teams after that, including the
Houston Colt .45s (1962), Denver Broncos (1962–63), and Oakland Athletics
(1968–69).
Awards and honors
On December 12, 2018 it was announced Helfer had been awarded the
Baseball Hall of Fame.[3]
Personal life
His second wife was vaudeville performer Ramona; they married on 14 June 1944, and stayed together until her death in December 1972. The following June, he married Sacramento resident Margaret Grabbe, to whom he remained married until his death. He died, aged 63, in Sacramento, California.
Event broadcast history
- Major League Baseball All-Star Game (1939, 1950–1958)
- World Series (1945,[4][5] 1951–1955, 1957)
- Rose Bowl Game (1952–1958)
- 1962 National League tie-breaker series
- Catfish Hunter's 1968 perfect game
Sources
- ISBN 0-7867-1446-8.
- ^ Gould, Jack (April 24, 1958). "We Want the Bums!; Phillies Bow as Video Regulars Here, and Brooklyn Was Never Like This". The New York Times. p. 63.
- ^ "Radio pioneer Al Helfer wins Hall of Fame's Frick Award". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. 12 December 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ "1945 World Series Game 3 - Jack Benny OTR Podcast". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
- ^ "1945 World Series Game 7 - Jack Benny OTR Podcast". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
External links
- Al Helfer Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
- Excerpt from Baseball's 101 All-Time Best Announcers book
- Al Helfer - Baseballbiography.com
- The Golden Voices of Baseball book