Pioneering baseball radio broadcaster
Robert Arthur Elson
(March 22, 1904 ? March 10, 1981
[1]
) was a pioneering American
sportscaster
who was the voice of the
Chicago White Sox
for all or parts of four decades. Known as "The 'Ol Commander", he broadcast an estimated 5,000 major league baseball games. In his prime, was among the leading play-by-play men in the game. In 1979, he received the
Ford C. Frick Award
from the
Baseball Hall of Fame
for his excellence and longevity in the industry.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Born in
Chicago
, Elson broke into the broadcasting industry by accident. While vacationing in
St. Louis
in 1928, he took a tour of radio station
KWK
. A receptionist saw him among 40 men in line for an audition, and thought he was going to audition as well. He became a finalist, and was hired after a vote by listeners. A few days later, officials at Chicago's
WGN
heard about Elson's victory and wondered what a Chicago native was doing broadcasting for a St. Louis station. They quickly hired him.
In 1929, Elson began calling all home games of the
Chicago Cubs
and
Chicago White Sox
. Such double duty would be impossible today, but in those days the Cubs and White Sox almost never played at home on the same day. They, like most teams, "re-created" away games in the studio using telegraphed messages from the ballpark rather than sending their broadcasting crew out on the road, to save money. Nationally, Elson called numerous
World Series
and
All-Star Games
in the 1930s and 1940s, most often teaming with
Red Barber
on
Mutual
radio.
Elson called radio broadcasts of
Chicago Black Hawks
hockey from 1934?40 and again from 1945?55, and
Chicago Bears
and
Chicago Cardinals
football from 1933?36. He also called national broadcasts of pro and college football for
Mutual
radio in the 1930s and 1940s. An article in the December 1940 issue of
Radio and Television Mirror
identified Elson as the top football announcer for the network.
[2]
In 1942, Elson enlisted in the
United States Navy
and served for four years in
World War II
, a stint that earned him the nickname "The Ol' Commander." None other than President and Commander-in-Chief
Franklin D. Roosevelt
had him brought home to announce the
1943 World Series
. When
Major League Baseball
began making annual films of the Fall Classic in 1943, Elson was chosen to narrate them, a role he filled through the 1948 campaign.
Later career
[
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]
For 25 seasons (1946?70), Elson broadcast for the White Sox exclusively. He called
Oakland Athletics
games in 1971
[3]
before returning to Chicago, where he teamed with
Lloyd Pettit
on Black Hawks radio broadcasts from 1972 to 1975.
1959 World Series
[
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]
Despite his long association with the White Sox, Elson was bypassed by
NBC
for a role on its national television broadcasts of the
1959 World Series
, which was the team's first Fall Classic since 1919 and would have been Elson's first since 1943.
NBC Sports
president
Tom Gallery
, who had grown up with Elson in Chicago, was not enamored of his style and selected Sox television announcer
Jack Brickhouse
instead. Elson re-created the series over White Sox radio flagship
WCFL
.
[4]
Broadcast style
[
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]
Elson was often described as "relaxed" on the air, not easily succumbing to emotion or hyperbole. Yet he left enough room for emotion while describing dramatic plays favorable to the home team. He was one of the first broadcasters to do on-field interviews. In later years, he felt uncomfortable with announcers who frequently criticized on-field performances, having grown up in an era when sportscasters frequently hung out with players and managers after games.
[5]
Elson's style inspired that of several other baseball broadcasters who grew up in the Midwest, a list that included the Cubs'
Jack Brickhouse
,
Bert Wilson
,
Gene Elston
,
Jack Quinlan
, and
Milo Hamilton
(who was Elson's partner with the White Sox from 1961 to 1965), the St. Louis Cardinals'
Harry Caray
(who succeeded Elson in the White Sox' booth in 1971), the Philadelphia Phillies'
Harry Kalas
, the Milwaukee Brewers'
Bob Uecker
, and the Seattle Mariners'
Dave Niehaus
.
Non-sports career
[
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]
Elson's broadcasting achievements went beyond sports. His broadcasts from Chicago's
The Pump Room
restaurant brought him recognition as "the interviewer who drew secrets from celebrities in all fields."
[1]
For five years, he also did
Bob Elson on Board the Century
, which (in contrast to the title) he broadcast from
LaSalle Street Station
in Chicago. Elson caught celebrities for spontaneous interviews while they were in the station.
[6]
In a similar vein, he did
Bob Elson on the Flagships
on
KNX
, interviewing people who were traveling on
American Airlines
.
[7]
Elson was co-host of
An Hour With Elson and Anson
, a daily variety program that began October 13, 1941, on WGN.
[8]
Later years
[
edit
]
Elson's wife, Jeanne, died in 1975.
[9]
Six years later, he died at 76 years of age as a result of a heart ailment. He was survived by a son and two daughters.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Condon, David (March 11, 1981).
"Ex-Sox, Cubs Broadcaster Elson dies at 76"
. Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
14 January
2015
.
- ^
"Saturday's Highlights"
(PDF)
.
Radio and Television Mirror
.
15
(2): 46. December 1940
. Retrieved
16 March
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Bob Elson Is Dead at 76; A Baseball Broadcaster"
.
The New York Times
. New York Times. March 12, 1981
. Retrieved
15 January
2015
.
- ^
Smith, Curt
(October 9, 2021).
"White Sox: The Old Commander, Bob Elson, was as identified with Chicagoans as the club itself"
.
Sports Broadcast Journal
. Retrieved
May 4,
2022
.
- ^
Smith, Curt (2005).
Voices of Summer
. New York City: Carroll & Graf.
ISBN
0-7867-1446-8
.
- ^
Dunning, John
(1998).
On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
(Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 104.
ISBN
978-0-19-507678-3
. Retrieved
2019-09-13
.
- ^
"Bob Elson"
(PDF)
. Radio Life. February 2, 1947. p. 41
. Retrieved
17 March
2016
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Radio Advertisers"
(PDF)
. Broadcasting. October 20, 1941. p. 47
. Retrieved
12 February
2015
.
- ^
Gold, Aaron (June 13, 1975).
"Tower Ticker"
. Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
14 January
2015
.
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