Chicago Cub Announcers

Jack Brickhouse will always be the voice of the Chicago Cubs. I know he was not the first voice and Harry Carey may have enjoyed more popularity, but Jack was my guy.

I grew up watching the Cubs on WGN, Channel 9 in Chicago. Jack made the game fun. Even when the Cubs were losing, Jack had optimism and a love for the game that kept you tuned in and listening.

There are a lot of people who complained that Jack was a “homer”. The truth is that he was a “homer”. All the Cub announcers were paid by the Cubs. They were there to encourage people to visit the ballpark. They wanted to create enthusiasm for the home team, and that’s what they did.

The old days were different from today’s broadcasting. Arnie Harris, who engineered the broadcasts and Brickhouse understood that baseball was family entertainment. How many times did we here him say, “You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark.”

I had a chance to see Brickhouse at a book signing in Springfield, Illinois one year. I purchased his book as a gift for my brother (I read it first), and had Mr. Brickhouse sign the book to my brother, who was also a sports announcer. He was as professional and kind as you would have expected. He will always be one of my heroes.

I got the chance to see Harry Carey once. Harry walked past me on the way into Wrigley Field. He was smiling and nodding at the fans, careful not to let them slow him down.

Carey was someone I appreciated, but was never a favorite. He glorified beer and a party lifestyle with which I could not identify. I know that lots of fans love beer and drink beer at ball games. I just love the game and am just as happy with a Pepsi. Better yet, I am happier with a Dr. Pepper.

Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau manned the radio microphones for years. For a long time, after Brickhouse retired, I preferred them. I always felt I got more information about what was happening with the team from the radio broadcasts than I did from the television. Radio has more time to fill and they would talk about roster moves and other such things.

Boudreau was a graduate from the University of Illinois, which puts him in a warm place in my heart. I did not go to school at the U of I, but I have many friends who have and who are currently working there in a variety of positions. Boudreau had an intimate knowledge of what was going on in the player’s mind. Lloyd understood the mechanics of the game. Together, they made a great team. You could tell they were close friends.

When Milo Hamilton was finally exiled to Houston, Carey teamed up with Steve Stone. There was not a better pairing in the booth since Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek. As good as they were, these two were probably better.

Like Lloyd and Boudreau, Carey had a love of baseball from the fan’s point of view. Stone understood the game as a former player, not too removed from his playing days.

Together they fought and laughed and appreciated each other. They disagreed about whether players should start or ride the bench. They each could find ways to make the other laugh. Most of all, you could tell they both loved the Cubs.

Carey’s grandson Chip was a great addition to the team after Harry passed away. It was a shame they never worked together, but Chip and Stone were a super team. It was a shame the way that partnership ended, due to stubbornness on both sides. It would be great to see Stone return to the booth, or the Cubs in some capacity, for a fourth tour of duty (if you count when he pitched for the Cubs in the 70’s).

There are other broadcasters that I greatly enjoyed have sadly moved to other pastures. Dewayne Staats and Thom Brenneman are two that jump to mind. Both had great voices and tremendous ability. Both have worked for ESPN and Fox, so we still get to hear them occasionally, but we enjoyed them best when they were in Chicago.

Now there are some new teams in place. Radio is manned admirably by Pat Hughes and Ron Santo. They remind me so much of Lloyd and Boudreau. Hughes is a smart, able announcer who has a light sense of humor. Santo is the ultimate “homer” who gets mad when things are not going the Cubs’ way. Santo makes mistakes, but nobody cares. They make listening to the broadcasts fun.

Len Kasper and Bob Brenly have made a solid team on the video side. I was certain Brenly was going to manager again this year and was ready for Stone to return. I would not want for Brenly to leave to broadcast for another team. If he is going to broadcast, let him stay. He brings an insight that is so rare and interesting.

Both the radio and television have struggled to find the right combination at times. There are names I will not mention that just were not the best fit. Some have gone on the success elsewhere. Others have moved on to other projects.

There are few other jobs I could think of that would be more fun than broadcasting the Cubs games. Even with my radio background, I know that I would not be able to pull it off, day after day. Still, it would be fun to try. Unlike Harry Carey, who sometimes became bigger than the game, these fellows today have found a way to enhance the game and make it more enjoyable.

Whenever I miss a broadcast, I feel bad. It is not that I did not get a score and find out what happened. I can always get that information. You learn so much from listening to people who can describe what is happening from the position of someone who played before or someone who has talked to the players and coaches and understands the chemistry of the game.

In the twenty-first century, the internet is here. Today people blog about the games and provide a fan’s insight. Unfortunately, my work prevents me from doing that, but it is fund to read the comments afterward.

Let me know if you have special memories of Cub broadcasts of years past. Let me know if you have favorite Cubs blogs. Check out some of the blog websites I have included here. Be careful. Some are a little raw, but they are all entertaining.

Thank you for reading. We’ll talk again soon.