Mel Allen died on this date in 1996. Originally born Melvin Israel, he was the voice of the New York Yankees during their greatest winning period in their history. The first voice associated with the Yankees started doing PBP in 1939 and continued until one of the most disgraceful moves in the history of the game happened. He was fired in the 1964 season for no reason.
During his time as broadcaster, he called 20 AL Pennants for the Yankees as well as 15 World Series Titles. He came up with nicknames like "Joltin" Joe DiMaggio and Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto. Along with former broadcast partner Red Barber, Allen became the first ever recipient of the Ford Frick Award in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.
What interests me the most is what he did after he was the voice of the Yankees. After one season as the Indians PBP man in 1968, he became the host of "This Week in Baseball", a show breaking down what happened in the previous seven days in America's Past Time. He came up with the famous quote "How About That?" and, before the time of MLB Network and even computers, gave the game the attention it deserved. In the 1980s, it was the only show around that gave consistent coverage to what was going on in the rest of the game. Baseball was more regional back then and it was hard to see what was going on with teams in the West and Central parts of the country. That made it difficult for a die hard baseball fan. Because of all the technology now, it may be obsolete to host a show like Allen did for 26 years, but then again, who could?
During his time as broadcaster, he called 20 AL Pennants for the Yankees as well as 15 World Series Titles. He came up with nicknames like "Joltin" Joe DiMaggio and Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto. Along with former broadcast partner Red Barber, Allen became the first ever recipient of the Ford Frick Award in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.
What interests me the most is what he did after he was the voice of the Yankees. After one season as the Indians PBP man in 1968, he became the host of "This Week in Baseball", a show breaking down what happened in the previous seven days in America's Past Time. He came up with the famous quote "How About That?" and, before the time of MLB Network and even computers, gave the game the attention it deserved. In the 1980s, it was the only show around that gave consistent coverage to what was going on in the rest of the game. Baseball was more regional back then and it was hard to see what was going on with teams in the West and Central parts of the country. That made it difficult for a die hard baseball fan. Because of all the technology now, it may be obsolete to host a show like Allen did for 26 years, but then again, who could?
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