Bob Casey (baseball announcer)
Bob Casey (April 11, 1925 – March 27, 2005) was the only
Casey worked 44 seasons and more than 3,000 games for the Twins. He was inducted into the Twins'
Early career
Prior to working for the Twins, Casey served as the announcer of the
Trademarks
Casey's voice was a trademark of the Minnesota ballpark experience. His style and signature player introductions made him a favorite of fans, players, umpires, the media and team staff. Casey, who missed only a handful of Twins games during his tenure with the team, was well known for his nasally voice and distinctive delivery. He would introduce star Kirby Puckett as "Kirbee (prolonged "e") puck-it!", remind fans there was "No smoking" (with a prolonged "o") at the Metrodome, than he'd add "if you must smoke, go back to (whatever city the opposing team was from)", and not to "throw anything or anybody onto the field".
Verbal gaffes
Casey was also known for his occasional butchering of player names and calls on the field. Many viewed him as the master of mispronunciations.
"The Giants have been penalized 15 yards for an illegitimate man on the field." In the early 1970s, during a stadium bomb-scare, he announced that fans should "leave the stadium quickly and calmly, as we have gotten a call that there is going to be an explosion in ten minutes."
Death
On March 27, 2005, Casey died in
Friends, family, and Twins legends Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva, Dan Gladden, and Jack Morris served as pallbearers for the 44-year Twins announcer. They held those memories close Wednesday, March 30 as they said goodbye to Casey at his funeral at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The April 8 home opener vs. the White Sox was an all-game tribute to Casey. There was an on field tribute before the game and members of the Casey family shared PA duties during the game.[4]
References
- ^ "TheDeadballEra.com :: Bob Casey's Obit". www.thedeadballera.com.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-05-22. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Official Site of the Minnesota Twins: News: Minnesota Twins News". Archived from the original on 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ Kurtz will perform PA duties for Twins | twinsbaseball.com: News