How Many of You Remember Waite Hoyt? (Cincinnati, Brooklyn: day care, live)

[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.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

How many of you remember Waite Hoyt, the radio voice of the Reds from 1942 to 1965?

He was also a sports commentator on one of the evening news shows. It may have been the same news show that featured Jack Fogerty - Channel 9? In addition to the Burger Beer plugs, I recall a fairly pronounced Massachusetts accent.

[kjbrill]

Since Waite was born in Brooklyn, I doubt if he had a Massachusetts accent. Of course he did play both for Boston and the Yankees. I just remember him as a Baseball Man, who came here and was the voice of the Reds for many years.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Since Waite was born in Brooklyn, I doubt if he had a Massachusetts accent. Of course he did play both for Boston and the Yankees. I just remember him as a Baseball Man, who came here and was the voice of the Reds for many years.

Could easily be that I've misplaced the accent. Like a lot of people, I did not
realize he had been an accomplished ballplayer earlier in his career.

[kjbrill]

Many people, even in Cincinnati, do not realize what a great baseball player (pitcher) Waite was. He was signed by John McGraw of the Giants after pitching batting practice at age 15 (remind you a little of Joe Nuxhall?). He pitched in the major leagues for 21 years, and is a Hall of Fame pitcher. His breakout year was with the 1921 Yankees, in which he pitched 3 complete games in the World Series with no earned runs. After retiring as a player, he became a broadcaster for 28 years. What I remember the most were his stories on radio during rain delays. He would relate incidents including the Babe (with whom he played), plus so many others. When it came to filling unexpected air time, he was the best. Back then, no fancy graphics, cut-aways to other games, he was on his own.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

After retiring as a player, he became a broadcaster for 28 years. What I remember the most were his stories on radio during rain delays. He would relate incidents including the Babe (with whom he played), plus so many others. When it came to filling unexpected air time, he was the best. Back then, no fancy graphics, cut-aways to other games, he was on his own.

After his everyday career as a broadcaster was over, he would join Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman during rain delays. He was definitely one who could keep the radio crowd tuned in during a rain delay with all of his story.

There are so few of the really good announcers left. Most of the younger ones are enamored with their own voice.

[gman5431]

My dad remembers him and tells me stories. I've also seen a few episodes of a PBS series where he did sit down interviews and basically just told stories, mostly about his playing days. Some of them involved the Babe who he used to room with and most were entertaining. A true character and many forget he is in the Hall of Fame!

G Man

[badguykc]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Hey you Pittsburgh fans, I suspect Rolling Rock and Iron City were no better.

Seeing as how Rolling Rock was never even brewed in the City of Pittsburgh, I suspect you're right.

[mike1003]

We would wish for rain delays, Waite was that good.

Tried to find some video on YouTube..Nothing there except:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdoAIe2_0-U

And


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0pvjQxElaA

Wapedia - Wiki: Waite Hoyt

[mike1003]

Just found this one:

Baseball Historian present Waite Hoyt In The Rain Baseball.[SIZE=+1][SIZE=2][SIZE=2] There used to be more patience with rain delays on the radio. In those days, we used to have Waite Hoyt, who turned the rain delay into story time. Cincinnati liked to curl up and let the skies weep all over the roof as the old Yankee enchanted the town with tales of Babe Ruth, Miller Huggins and the folklore he had lived so hard.[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

PodcastDirectory | Episode: Baseball Historian Episode 28 Waite Hoyt In the Rain Baseball Podcast