Red Barber

 

Red Barber
The man who broadcast Jackie Robinson’s first season with the Dodgers recalled that, as a boy in Sanford, Florida, “I saw black men tarred and feathered by the Ku Klux Klan and forced to walk the streets. I had grown up in a completely segregated world.” Red Barber confessed that when he learned the Dodgers would field a black player, his first reaction was to quit his job. Read more: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/red-barber/

Notable Events and Chronology for Red Barber Career

Mel Ott is born listen to his World Series At Bats vs Lefty Gomez

Mel Ott is born listen to his World Series At Bats vs Lefty Gomez

Reds president Larry MacPhail hires 26 year-old Red Barber to broadcast the team games on WSAL

Reds president Larry MacPhail hires 26 year-old Red Barber to broadcast the team games on WSAL

Red Barber

On Opening Day at the newly-named Crosley Field, Reds’ announcer Red Barber calls his first play-by-play for a major league team. The 26 year-old future Hall of Fame broadcaster had never attended a major league game before today’s 6-0 loss to Chicago.

Larry MacPhail is coaxed back into baseball by the Dodgers

Larry MacPhail is coaxed back into baseball by the Dodgers

The five-year ban on broadcasting games played by the New York major league teams ends when Red Barber, hired away from the Reds by Larry McPhail, calls Brooklyn's 7-3 loss to the Giants at Ebbets Field. In 1934, the two National League teams and the Yankees agreed not to air their games on the radio, fearing the exposure would reduce the number of fans attending games.

The five-year ban on broadcasting games played by the New York major league teams ends when Red Barber, hired away from the Reds by Larry McPhail, calls Brooklyn’s 7-3 loss to the Giants at Ebbets Field. In 1934, the two National League teams and the Yankees agreed not to air their games on the radio, fearing the exposure would reduce the number of fans attending games.

At Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, NBC televises the first major league game in history on experimental station W2XBS

At Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, NBC televises the first major league game in history on experimental station W2XBS

brooklyn dodgers silly symphony

During a double-header against the Cardinals, a ragtag group of five ‘musicians’, dubbed the Dodger SymPhony by announcer Red Barber, makes their Ebbets Field’s debut. This band, in which none of the members can read music, performs their zany antics at all evening and weekend games.

Ernie Harwell brooklyn dodgers

Ernie Harwell, filling in for Red Barber, who is recovering from a bleeding ulcer, calls his first major league game as the Dodgers beat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 5-4. To obtain the future Hall of Fame broadcaster, Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey trades minor league catcher Cliff Daper to the Atlanta Crackers.

Red Barber resigns as a Brooklyn Dodger broadcaster and will take the 'catbird' seat with the rival New York Yankees

Red Barber resigns as a Brooklyn Dodger broadcaster and will take the ‘catbird’ seat with the rival New York Yankees

With only 413 patrons in attendance to see New York's 4-1 loss to the White Sox, the team's head of media relations denies Red Barber's request for a camera to scan the empty stands. The veteran broadcaster will reportedly lose his job when he continues to tell his audience, "I don't know what the paid attendance is today, but whatever it is, it is the smallest crowd in the history of Yankee Stadium, and this crowd is the story, not the game."

With only 413 patrons in attendance to see New York’s 4-1 loss to the White Sox, the team’s head of media relations denies Red Barber’s request for a camera to scan the empty stands. The veteran broadcaster will reportedly lose his job when he continues to tell his audience, “I don’t know what the paid attendance is today, but whatever it is, it is the smallest crowd in the history of Yankee Stadium, and this crowd is the story, not the game.”

legendary broadcaster Red Barber dies at the age of 84

legendary broadcaster Red Barber dies at the age of 84

Daily Rewind Season 3, Episode 5 Jackie Robinson meets Branch Rickey

Daily Rewind Season 3, Episode 5 Jackie Robinson meets Branch Rickey

Biography

 

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