Mel Allen

At 83 years old, Mel Allen physical status not available right now. We will update Mel Allen's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Melvin Allen Israel (born Melvin Allen Israel; 1913 – 1996) was an American sportscaster best known for his long career as the New York Yankees' primary play-by-play announcer.

Allen was unquestionably the most prominent figure in his career in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, with his voice familiar to millions.

He is now known as "The Voice of the Yankees" years after his death. He grew to fame as the first host of This Week in Baseball in his later years. Allen called Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, in which Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run off Ralph Terry to win the fall classic for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in perhaps his finest moment of his career.

This is the first walk-off home run in a Game 7 of a World Series.

Source

Early life and career

Melvin Allen Israel was born in Birmingham, Alabama. As an undergraduate, he attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of Kappa Nu fraternity.

Israel served as the public address announcer for Alabama Crimson Tide football games during his time in Alabama. When Alabama coach Frank Thomas, the station manager or sports director of Birmingham's radio station WBRC, asked Alabama coach Frank Thomas to recommend a new play-by-play announcer, he suggested Allen. His first television appearance against the Tulane Green Wave was Alabama's home opener this year.

Allen graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1937. Allen took a train to New York City for a week after graduating. He applied for a CBS Radio Network staff announcer's role during his holiday. Allen was already knew about him; Ted Husing, the network's top sportscaster, had seen several of his Crimson Tide broadcasts. A week ago, he was hired at $45 (equivalent to $848 in 2021). He did non-sports announcers such as for big band remotes or "emceeing" game shows such as Truth or Consequences, while being understudy for both sportscaster Husing and newscaster Bob Trout.

Allen declared the Hindenburg tragedy in his first year at CBS, when the station was cut off from singer Kate Smith's show. During the rain-delayed Vanderbilt Cup, he first became a national celebrity when he ad libbed for a half-hour from an airplane. In 1939, he was the announcer for the Warner Brothers & Vitaphone film musical short-subject On the Air, alongside Leith Stevens and the Saturday Night Swing Club.

How About That! Stephen Borelli's biography How About That? Allen's favorite term after an outstanding display by the home team) states that it was at CBS's request in 1937, the year Melvin Israel joined the network, that he go by a different name on the air. In 1943, he selected Allen, his father's middle name as well as his own, and legally changed his name to Melvin Allen.

Broadcasting career

Allen was used as a color commentator on CBS' radio broadcast of the 1938 World Series. Wheaties were hired to replace Arch McDonald, the Yankees and the New York Giants' first full-time radio voice in both the Yankees and the New York Giants' home games, as the voice of the Washington Senators for the 1939 season. Instead of Allen, Senator Clark Griffiths wanted Walter Johnson, a former Senators pitcher, instead of Allen.

Garnett Marks, McDonald's partner on Yankee broadcasts, incorrectly named Ivory Soap, the Yankees' sponsor at the time, as "Ovary Soap." Allen was shot and injured, and Allen was hired to replace him. McDonald himself returned to Washington after only one season, and Allen became the Yankees' lead announcer and Giants' lead announcer, doing double duty for both teams because only their home games were broadcast at that time.

He recalled an anecdote that occurred during his first full season (1940) as a Yankee play-by-play man. Lou Gehrig, the first baseman of the Hall of Fame, had to leave the year before being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal disease. Gehrig, a Yankee dugout, told Allen, "I never had a chance to watch your games before because I was playing every day." "I want you to know that they're the only thing that keeps me going." After Gehrig's departure, Allen broke down in tears.

Allen's time with the Yankees and Giants was cut off in 1941, before no one could be found and both teams went off the air, but the broadcasting of 1942 resumed. Allen was the voice of both the Yankees and the Giants until 1943, when he joined the United States Army during World War II, broadcasting on The Army Hour and Armed Forces Radio.

Allen called Yankee games exclusively after the war. Road games had been added to the television schedule by this time. Allen and the Yankees were ingrained in the public consciousness before long, a link that was bolstered by the team's regular World Series appearances. Allen eventually announced 22 World Series on radio or television, with all but one in the 17-year span between 1947 and 1963, as well as 24 All-Star Games. Allen's play-by-play of the 1948 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Braves featured neither Cleveland Indians announcer Jimmy Graney because he was a former player, and Jimmy Dudley was suspended due to a lack of knowledge.

Allen was one of the first three celebrities to be spoofed in the Mad satirical comic book, which was published in 1952. Allen, Leo Durocher, and Hall of Fame Yankee catcher Yogi Berra were all caricatured in a baseball story entitled "Hex!" in the second issue. "Ira Davis illustrated it" Standard Comics also owned him for a two-issue "Mel Allen's Sports Comics" series from 1949 to 1950.

After Russ Hodges resigned from the Yankee booth to become San Francisco Giants' long-serving broadcaster, Curt Gowdy joined him as Allen's youngest broadcaster in 1949 and 1950 after winning a national audition. Gowdy, a native of Wyoming, credited Mel Allen's mentoring as a major factor in his own triumph as a broadcaster and as the Boston Red Sox's voice from 1951 to 1965. Red Barber, Allen's former crosstown competitor and frequent World Series broadcaster, joined the Yankees' booth in 1954 and collaborated with Allen until his retirement a decade later.

Allen called Game 7 of the 1960 World Series split, with broadcasting duties shared between Allen and Pittsburgh broadcaster Bob Prince splitting. Bill Mazeroski won the Pittsburgh Pirates' fall classic thanks to a walk-off home run from Ralph Terry. It was the first walk-off home run in a World Series Game 7 game.

Allen died in the fourth and final game of the 1963 World Series in which the Dodgers thrangled the Yankees in four games and they's longtime announcer, Vin Scully, partnered with Allen on the national television broadcast, "That's all right, Mel," he said. (Scully had announced the first half of the game, but Allen had to announce the second half.)

"Hello there, everyone!" Allen's many catch phrases were "Good morning, everybody!"

to start a game, "How a-bout that?!"

"There's a drive, hit deep to right," a Yankee plays.

That ball is go-ing, go-ing, gonnne!!"

"Three and two" is the official home runs for Yankee home runs, in terms of complete counts.

What'll he do?"

"He had a good chop" after a tumultuous Yankee swing and miss.

Allen listed a number of college football bowl games, including 14 Rose Bowls, two Orange Bowls, and two Sugar Bowls. Allen served as play-by-play announcer for the Washington Redskins in 1952 and 1953, and for the New York Giants on WCBS-AM in 1960, with some of the Giants' broadcasts also carried nationally by the CBS Radio Network. He has worked with the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes on radio play-by-play.

Allen hosted Jackpot Bowling on NBC in 1959 after Leo Durocher had left to return to big league baseball coaching, but his lack of bowling experience made him an unpopular host, and Bud Palmer replaced him as the show's host in April.

Allen narrated a film about the 1961 Maccabiah Games, which took place in Israel, called The Sixth World Maccabiah Games.

Allen appeared on CBS radio in the early 1940s as Thirty Minutes to Play. "Interviews of athletes and musicians" were included in the show. Mel Allen introduced a few Glenn Miller radio shows in the early 1940s as well.

Allen, a disc jockey on 1010 WINS in New York City, had a 2-5 p.m. service every day in 1947. The show was "the first step in our efforts for bloc [sic] programming," an ad for the station in Broadcasting.

Allen appeared on the weekends morning segment of the weekend NBC Radio program Monitor in the early 1960s. He also contributed to the sport until the late 1960s. Allen has also provided voiceover narration for Fox Movietone newsreels for many years.

Allen appeared in The Naked Gun, a 1988 comedy film about the Files of the Police Squad.

He was a stadium announcer for the Broadway revival of Damn Yankees in 1994, as himself.

The Yankees informed Allen on September 21, 1964, the closest to the start of the World Series, that his deal with the team will not be renewed for 1965. Both Series participants' main announcers branded the World Series on NBC television in those days. Although Allen was thus unable to call the 1964 World Series, baseball Commissioner Ford Frick honored the Yankees' offer to have former Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, Allen's sidekick in the radio booth, join the crew instead. Allen will be one of only four Yankee World Series going back to 1938, and the first since 1943 (which he'd missed due to Army service) was broadcast.

The Yankees released a terse press release on December 17, 1964, after much media hype and many letters from fans dissatisfied with Allen's withdrawal from the franchise, the Yankees were fired by him; Joe Garagiola replaced Allen's. He was shot and killed by NBC and Movietone shortly afterward. The Yankees have never given an explanation for the sudden dismissal, and rumors have sprangled. Allen was either homosexual, an alcoholic, a heroin user, or had a nervous breakdown, depending on the rumors.

Allen told author Curt Smith that the Yankees had fired him under pressure from the team's long-time sponsor, Ballantine Beer. Allen said he was fired by Ballantine as a cost-cutting measure, which had been suffering poor sales for years (it would eventually be sold in 1969). Allen's medications taken to see him through his tumultuous schedule, according to Smith's book Voices of Summer, may have impacted his on-air success. Allen's heavy workload did not leave him time to worry about his health, according to Stephen Borelli, another biographer.)

Allen played for the Milwaukee Braves games in 1965 and 1968, and he appeared on television in Cleveland Indians games. However, he will not commit to either team fully nor to the Oakland Athletics, who also wanted to add him after the team's move from Kansas City. Despite his firing in 1964, Allen remained faithful to the Yankees for the remainder of his life, and to this day—years after his death—he is still regarded as "the Voice of the Yankees" in some cases.

Allen was eventually brought back to emcee special Yankee Stadium, including Old Timers' Day, which Allen had originally handled when he was lead announcer. Despite the fact that Yankee broadcaster Frank Messer, who joined the team in 1968, has been emcee for Old Timers' Day and other special events, such as Mickey Mantle Day, the Yankees continued to invite Allen to call the actual exhibition game between the Old Timers and spectators' Number-Retirement ceremonies.

Allen was brought back to the Yankees' on-air team in 1976 as a pre/post-game host for the cable television broadcasts with John Sterling, and later called play-by-play for the first time. With Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Frank Messer, and occasionally Fran Healy, he announced Yankees cable telecasts on SportsChannel New York (now MSG Plus).

Allen stayed with the Yankees' play-by-play crew until 1985 and made occasional appearances on Yankee television shows and commercials into the late 1980s. Allen called play-by-play for a WPIX Yankees game in 1990, making him the first seven-decade announcer in baseball. Allen's memorable moments in his later years included Yankee outfielder Reggie Jackson's 400th home run in 1980 and Yankee pitcher Dave Righetti's no-hitter on July 4, 1983.

Source