How Many of You Remember Waite Hoyt?

[Holden888]

I have his autograph, he wrote me a note (after I sent him a postcard) asking him if there was a phone in the press box where he called the game.

[dfbackus]

I met Waite in 1958 during Spring Training. I was 17 at the time and had won a contest to visit the Reds in Spring Training. Waite was a very handsome broad shouldered, nattily dressed fellow. He was congenial and invited us to the press box. He was a class act.

I noticed that no one mentioned that an important part of Waite's job as Babe Ruth's roommate was to keep the Babe from going on drinking benders, getting arrested, or getting shot by an angry husband or night club patron. Waite really earned his pay for the Yankees with that assignment.

I also spent time with a young Claude Osteen and Jay Hook during that trip. I met Smokey Burgess, Birdie Tebbets, Johnny Klipstein. Roy McMillan and many other players I even have photos to prove it.

Our group flew to spring training in Bill Mashburn's plane; a 7-seat Bonanza. Bill was CEO of Coca Cola in Cincinnati and a sponsor of the trip others on the flight included the editor of the old Post-Times Star.

[GearHeadDave]

Originally Posted by Señor Slick

You can listen to some of this at the following link:

The Best of Waite Hoyt in the Rain « bblog

Thanks, Señor Slick. Here are a couple of other similar links with excerpts from that recording:

http://thestacks.deadspin.com/waite-...and-1449961474

Baseball Historian Episode 28 Waite Hoyt In the Rain Baseball from Baseball Historian Podcast on podbay

Here is an MP3 from Redszone, Frank Robinson's last at bat as a Red and Waite Hoyt's last radio broadcast:

http://www.redszone.com/forums/attac...9&d=1149611088

And here's a 1 hour program about Waite from WVXU:

http://wvxu.org/post/cincinnati-reds...ter-waite-hoyt

I remember sitting with my Dad many times, listening to the Reds on the radio with Wait Hoyt. After Waite retired, my Dad never thought any of the replacement announcers could match him, even Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman. I think what set him apart was that he supported the Reds no matter what, and that he had such a great love for the game of baseball.

[Former OTR resident]

I was present at the Hoyt's apartment at the Regency on Madison Road in 1969 when Waite received a registered letter from President Nixon inviting him and several other baseball legends to join him for dinner at the White House.

Waite was bedridden and unable to attend...

[summercross]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

How many of you remember Waite Hoyt, the radio voice of the Reds from 1942 to 1965? What I remember about Waite is how he could fill the time during a rain delay, with his seemingly endless stream of stories. What many Reds fans still do not recognize is he was a Hall of Fame pitcher who later became an even greater Hall of Fame broadcaster.

One of the things I will not forget is Waite's pitches for Burger Beer, made from pure artesian well water. Yes, artrisian wells right off the bank of the Ohio river. Hey you Pittsburgh fans, I suspect Rolling Rock and Iron City were no better.

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Actually, the artesian wells were on the brewery property on Central Parkway; they're still there, but not used any more.

Gene