The Storytellers: From Mel Allen to Bob Costas : Sixty Years of Baseball Tales from the Broadcast Booth

by Curt Smith

Includes personal stories from such announcers as Joe Angel, Jerry Coleman, Ned Martin, Jay Randolph, Phil Rizzuto, Ned Singleton, and Bob Wolff

Genres: Baseball, Sports

278 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Harold Kasselman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable read with charming pithy anecdotes from the game's former best broadcasters. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times at the inside stories of the various announcers about their jobs or the players they spoke about on radio or television. The anecdotes are very short so you can pick up the book after a couple of days of not reading and not skip a beat. I found the introductions to each chapter a bit pompous and I could have lived without them. I also found it ironic that these long term announcers were pessimistic about the future of the game's popularity in the early 90's, just as today's commissioner fears the loss of appeal to today's youth. All in all, a very enjoyable read.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of baseball on am radio this book is for you. I spent my youth dialing in baseball games that could be reached in Topeka, Kansas. At night signals could be received from as far away as Cleveland, Chicago, and Dallas. Now days there is a team in Denver and Rockies baseball can be heard on 850 am.