Hall of Fame broadcaster Gowdy dies

Hall of Fame broadcaster Gowdy dies

'Voice of the Red Sox' loses battle with leukemia
By Mike Petraglia / Special to MLB.com

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The unmistakable Hall of Fame voice of the Red Sox and a national baseball audience for a generation has passed away.
Curt Gowdy, enshrined in Cooperstown in 1984 as a Ford C. Frick Award winner, died Monday after battling leukemia while living in his West Palm Beach, Fla., home. He was 86.

Gowdy broadcast 13 World Series and 16 Major League All-Star Games.

The Wyoming native made his debut in 1944 broadcasting a football game atop an orange crate in sub-zero weather. His enthusiasm quickly caught on and earned him a job broadcasting the New York Yankees alongside Mel Allen in 1949.

Two years later, he moved to Boston to do Red Sox games and a New England broadcast legend was born.

"I'll never forget him," Red Sox patriarch Johnny Pesky said Monday morning in Fort Myers upon hearing the news. "I was talking about him just the other day. People ask you about people you've met. The announcers back in our day used to travel with us [on trains] and we would play cards with them. Those years there just seemed like there was a lot of affection there."

Gowdy earned the George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting in 1970 for his "blend of reporting, accuracy, knowledge, good humor, infectious honesty and enthusiasm," becoming the first sportscaster to be so honored.

But it was in Boston that he touched the hearts and souls of countless New Englanders with a professional, conversational and witty style all his own.

And no one knew or trusted Gowdy more than the players he covered.

"I loved Curt Gowdy and I think he loved Ted [Williams], Bobby [Doerr], Dom [DiMaggio] and me," Pesky said. "We had some great guys and great people and I wish we could have won more.

"They were the guys you grew up with and stayed with them for a lot of years. I knew Curt for over 50 years."

Pesky recalled Gowdy's distinctive style.

"He had a great voice but he wasn't a hotshot," Pesky added. "Some guys get so big and think people listen to them because they're the thing. He was nothing like that. He and Mel Allen were the two best announcers in my era. He was an exciting guy. He had that expression, 'rounding third and heading home,' and I'll never forget that if I live to be 100."

Gowdy was named "Sportscaster of the Year" on three occasions. After leaving the Red Sox following the 1965 season, he quickly ascended to the status of national sportscaster.

Gowdy's numerous network assignments included the World Series, the Super Bowl, the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the "American Sportsman" series.

"I tried to pretend that I was sitting in the stands with a buddy watching the game -- poking him in the ribs when something exciting happened," Gowdy said in accepting his 1984 Cooperstown honor. "I never took myself too seriously. An announcer is only as good as yesterday's performance."

Mike Petraglia is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.