They were pioneers who could paint a vibrant picture of the baseball diamond.
Several of the game’s early voices -such as Red Barber, Bob Prince, Ernie Harwell and Curt Gowdy- have become timeless. Since television was in its infancy in the 1950s, radio was how many people received their baseball news. Subsequently, the broadcasters were more than just voices; they were friends or even members of the family.
And, of all the voices to call the game, no one was more famous than Mel Allen.
"He was a voice to generations of sports fans," said Steve Borelli, the author of "How About That! The Life of Mel Allen" [Sports Publishing, LLC, $24.95, 300 pps], which is scheduled to be released next month. "[Allen] is arguably the most famous sportscaster in history because he was the voice of, perhaps, the most powerful team -the New York Yankees- at a time when the radio medium dominated."
According to Borelli, Allen was the voice of "big time sports" in the 1950s and early 1960s. He broadcasted 20 World Series and was the voice of the Rose Bowl, an achievement Borelli feels made him more popular than Barber, his Dodger counterpart.
"Mel had a more lasting tenure than Barber," he explained. "As the two rival voices of the Yankees and Dodgers, they were equally known. But in 1954, Barber had a spat with Dodger ownership and came over to the Yankees. He took a secondary role to Mel."
There was a reason why the Alabama-born Allen became so famous. It wasn’t just because the Yankees were so successful. It was also because he was able to call a game perfectly.
"He had an all-powerful voice," Borelli said. "In his prime, he was very good at staying with the action and knowing when to raise his voice and lower it. He was always on top of a play."
In the process, he coined the lasting phrase, "How about that!"
But, as with everything, change was eventual and, by 1965, the Yankees had become a shell of their former selves, owner Dan Topping dismissed Allen before that season. At the time, the move was very controversial.
"By the mid 1960s, Mel was with the Yankees for over 20 years. "Ballentine Ale, which was the team’s chief sponsor, wasn’t doing well financially and the Yankees weren’t doing well at the gate. There was a tremendous culture of hatred for the Yankees," the author said. "Topping felt if they got rid of Mel, they would do better. The Yankees wanted to create an image of a nice team, so they allowed fans to bring banners into the stadium. But, all that time, it was Mel doing that for them."
Allen fell out of the public eye during the 10 years, as the Yankees elevated Phil Rizzuto and brought in Joe Garagiola. But two events happened that allowed the Southerner resurgence in the 1970s.
"In the 1950s, George Steinbrenner -who was then an assistant football coach, but still yearned to be a sportscaster- called Mel at Yankee Stadium one day to ask for advice on this matter. Mel, who would talk to anybody, spoke with Steinbrenner for over an hour," Borelli said. "When Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973, he asked about Mel, who had been at arms length from the Yankee family. Steinbrenner made him feel welcome again, by putting him back on the air in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s."
Besides "The Boss," a new publicity manager for Major League Baseball had arrived during that time and offered Allen a new opportunity.
"A guy by the name of Joe Reichler, who was a former beat writer for the Associated Press, started ‘This Week in Baseball.’ He brought Mel back into the national spotlight," Borelli said.
The weekly show gave Allen a new audience, which heard him narrate highlights from ballgames from the past seven days. It was the first show of its kind, as ESPN did not become a fixture until 1979. Many young adults grew to love the broadcaster’s voice, much like their parents did decades before them.
He remained there until his passing in 1996.
"[Allen] had heart surgery in 1989 and he struggled with heart-related issues until he died," Borelli said. "He did the show through the 1995 season and he coming back the following season, but died unexpectedly."
It took the author almost five years to write this book. He got the idea from a column he wrote in USA Today about Mel Allen and "This Week in Baseball." The positive response from that article allowed Borelli to explore Allen’s life further. After a year of research, he presented it to the publisher.
Borelli said that he got a great response from Allen’s family and friends, who gave him intimate details of the broadcaster’s life. The book is a definite biography of one of the most famous voices to grace the airwaves.
And it has the seal of approval from a very famous owner.
"I left a message with Steinbrenner’s secretary and he called me back two hours later," Borelli recalled. "This was from a guy who doesn’t talk to the media. That’s the power of Mel Allen."
How about that!
Buy "How About That!" at Amazon.com.
