GaryMrMets
09-21-2001, 01:23 AM
Good Luck in your retirement Andy!
News
9/19/2001 2:30 pm ET
Last call: Andy Musser retiring
Longtime broadcaster will sign off October 3
By Larry Shenk
Philadelphia Phillies
To send your well wishes to Andy Musser on his retirement, please write to phans@phillies.com
It all started 45 years ago when 18-year-old Andrew Musser, Jr. won Atlantic's Junior Sportscaster Contest. Atlantic Refinery was the major sponsor of Phillies games on radio and TV for years. During the mid 1950s, Atlantic conducted a sportscasters contest for youngsters 18 and under.
Out of 400 entries, nine were selected to attend a Phillies game, tape an inning, meet the Phillies broadcasters and players. One overall winner was selected from the nine finalists to do an inning on radio and one on TV.
Musser won the contest in 1956 and he was on his way to an outstanding career that will conclude when the Phillies play the Braves on October 3. It will be Musser's final game behind a microphone, the first Phillies broadcaster to retire since By Saam exited in 1975.
Broadcasting was an early dream of Musser's.
"I loved playing baseball but I learned early that I was hopeless," he laughed. "I couldn't hit and I couldn't field very well. The next best thing was talking about the game. I was a teenage bat boy for the Harrisburg Senators. WCMB, in my hometown, broadcast their games. I started hanging around the station and got hooked on broadcasting."
There have been a lot of great sports broadcasters in Philadelphia, Saam, Gene Kelly, Claude Haring, John Facenda, Jim Leaming, Harry Kalas, Richie Ashburn, Merrill Reese, Charlie Swift, Tom Brookshier, Al Meltzer, Chris Wheeler, to name a few.
Only one achieved a "broadcasting grand slam."
Musser has been behind the mike for a World Series, Super Bowl, NCAA Basketball Championship (John Wooden's final championship) and the Masters Golf Tourament. Pretty heavy company.
Through his career, Musser has been consistent. He was always totally prepared for every broadcast, no matter what the sport. He was thorough and he was professional.
Musser is so geared to preparation that a last-minute change in the batting order would virtually throw him into a fit. He had prepared his notes the night before and written the lineup in ink on his baseball scorecard about two hours prior to game time. Then, a lineup change. All his preparation down the drain. Yet, the millions of fans listening never knew how upsetting that was to Musser.
"Herman Franks, the Cubs manager, was the worst. He seemed to make a last-minute change before every one of those day games in Chicago," recalled Musser.
Lord knows how many games Musser broadcast, how many miles he traveled, how many different hotels were his home away from home, how many announcers with whom he worked or how many interviews he did, live or taped. His interviews reflected the same preparation and thoroughness as his game broadcasts.
Musser's career is a like a "Who's Who" in broadcasting. He's done it all. His life-long dream became a reality when he joined the Phillies broadcast team in 1976, replacing baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Saam, whom he first met 20 years earlier during the Junior Sportscaster Contest.
"I replaced By in the booth. I didn't replace him as a broadcaster, because he was
one of the best," said the humble Musser.
Throughout much of his Phillies career, Musser played second fiddle, so to speak, to Kalas and Ashburn. "I understood that from the beginning, accepted it and lived with it. Whitey was one of my closest friends and Harry still is.
"Speaking of Ashburn, during the taping of my inning in the Junior Sportscaster Contest, I referred to him as 'centerfielder Richard Ashburn.' I don't know why I ever said that. When we were at Shibe Park, I was given a chance to have a photo taken with my favorite player. Mine was Elmer Valo. I told Ashburn that years later and he couldn't understand why I picked Elmer over him."
Musser's greatest baseball call came in 1980 when Mike Schmidt hit a 10th-inning, game-winning homer in Montreal to clinch the Eastern Division title. "He buried it,"
screamed Musser.
"Funny thing about that call. I had never used that expression before and I haven't since," said Musser. "It was an inspiration the way Mike crushed that ball. 'He buried it' just came out and people often remind me about that call."
He won't be behind the microphone anymore but he'll be plenty busy. He'll be handling special projects for Fritz Maytag and the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco.
When asked how he'd like express himself about exiting, Musser said, "I'd rather leave when people want you to stay rather than have people dancing in the street after you've been tossed out. I've had a great career, not bad for a kid from a small town."
The Musser File
Born: Andrew Musser Jr., December 28, 1937, Harrisburg, PA.
Education: Lemoyne (PA) High School, 1955 . . . Syracuse University, 1959, B.S. in Speech and Dramatic Arts.
Grand Slam: Broadcast two World Series (1983, 1993) . . . Two Super Bowls (VI and VIII) . . . NCAA Basketball Finals (1975) . . . Masters Golf Tournament (1969 and 1970).
Employment: WOLF (Syracuse, NY) . . . WHGB and WHP (Harrisburg, PA) . . . WCAU (Philadelphia, PA) . . . WCBS TV (New York, NY) . . . CBS Radio (New York) . . . KSDA (San Diego, CA) . . . Madison Square Garden (New York) . . . Prism Cable, WPHL TV, WTAF TV, WPHT Radio (Philadelphia).
Basketball: Philadelphia 76ers (TV, cable, radio) . . . New York Knicks (TV) . . . Chicago Bulls (TV) . . . Big 5 (Cable) . . . Villanova (radio) . . . ECAC Game of the Week (TV) . . . Southern Cal (radio).
Football: CBS Radio Network and CBS TV . . . San Diego Chargers (radio) . . . Eagles (radio and TV) . . . Southern Cal (radio) . . . University of Pennsylvania (radio).
Others: CBS Radio Network "Sportsworld Roundup" and "Game Plan" . . . Sports Call In, WCAU.
Military: Two years active duty (Army), 1959-1961, including 16 months with American Forces Radio-TV Network in Seoul, Korea.
Family: Married Eun Joo Kim in 1961; son, Allan (39) and daughter Luanne Zimmerman (34) . . . Resides in Wynnewood, PA.
Hobbies: An avid jogger (25 years) and reader . . . A Deacon for the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and a member of the Community Forum Speaker committee.
Colleague Testimonies
"Sharing a microphone with Andy is so easy. It's like spending time with a member of your family. He is the epitome of the word professional."
--Harry Kalas
"Andy is a professional. I've been lucky enough to call him a friend since 1965 during our radio days at WCAU 1210. He taught me a lot about broadcasting and I will miss our working relationship. I wish him nothing but sunny jogging days and perfect beer-drinking nights."
--Chris Wheeler
"When I was a rookie in the booth, Andy wasn't afraid to offer constructive criticism when I made mistakes. He certainly made it enjoyable. Andy is a class person who is always pleasant, always walking around with a smile."
--Larry Andersen
"He taught me the importance of being organized and prepared for a broadcast so that when you needed to look for information, you could find it and, if you wrote it on your lineup card, you wrote it legibly. We kidded him for a long time about being so fastidious but there was a method behind all of it. As a young broadcaster, he treated me as if I had been around for a long time. He was always very welcoming and accommodating. Many people don't realize this, but Andy has a great sense of humor. He may look straight-faced and serious but he can run out some very dry humor."
--Scott Graham
http://phillies.mlb.com/phi/photo/2001_news/M/ph_news_musser_288_091901.jpg
Andy Musser pictured with former broadcaster Richie Ashburn
News
9/19/2001 2:30 pm ET
Last call: Andy Musser retiring
Longtime broadcaster will sign off October 3
By Larry Shenk
Philadelphia Phillies
To send your well wishes to Andy Musser on his retirement, please write to phans@phillies.com
It all started 45 years ago when 18-year-old Andrew Musser, Jr. won Atlantic's Junior Sportscaster Contest. Atlantic Refinery was the major sponsor of Phillies games on radio and TV for years. During the mid 1950s, Atlantic conducted a sportscasters contest for youngsters 18 and under.
Out of 400 entries, nine were selected to attend a Phillies game, tape an inning, meet the Phillies broadcasters and players. One overall winner was selected from the nine finalists to do an inning on radio and one on TV.
Musser won the contest in 1956 and he was on his way to an outstanding career that will conclude when the Phillies play the Braves on October 3. It will be Musser's final game behind a microphone, the first Phillies broadcaster to retire since By Saam exited in 1975.
Broadcasting was an early dream of Musser's.
"I loved playing baseball but I learned early that I was hopeless," he laughed. "I couldn't hit and I couldn't field very well. The next best thing was talking about the game. I was a teenage bat boy for the Harrisburg Senators. WCMB, in my hometown, broadcast their games. I started hanging around the station and got hooked on broadcasting."
There have been a lot of great sports broadcasters in Philadelphia, Saam, Gene Kelly, Claude Haring, John Facenda, Jim Leaming, Harry Kalas, Richie Ashburn, Merrill Reese, Charlie Swift, Tom Brookshier, Al Meltzer, Chris Wheeler, to name a few.
Only one achieved a "broadcasting grand slam."
Musser has been behind the mike for a World Series, Super Bowl, NCAA Basketball Championship (John Wooden's final championship) and the Masters Golf Tourament. Pretty heavy company.
Through his career, Musser has been consistent. He was always totally prepared for every broadcast, no matter what the sport. He was thorough and he was professional.
Musser is so geared to preparation that a last-minute change in the batting order would virtually throw him into a fit. He had prepared his notes the night before and written the lineup in ink on his baseball scorecard about two hours prior to game time. Then, a lineup change. All his preparation down the drain. Yet, the millions of fans listening never knew how upsetting that was to Musser.
"Herman Franks, the Cubs manager, was the worst. He seemed to make a last-minute change before every one of those day games in Chicago," recalled Musser.
Lord knows how many games Musser broadcast, how many miles he traveled, how many different hotels were his home away from home, how many announcers with whom he worked or how many interviews he did, live or taped. His interviews reflected the same preparation and thoroughness as his game broadcasts.
Musser's career is a like a "Who's Who" in broadcasting. He's done it all. His life-long dream became a reality when he joined the Phillies broadcast team in 1976, replacing baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Saam, whom he first met 20 years earlier during the Junior Sportscaster Contest.
"I replaced By in the booth. I didn't replace him as a broadcaster, because he was
one of the best," said the humble Musser.
Throughout much of his Phillies career, Musser played second fiddle, so to speak, to Kalas and Ashburn. "I understood that from the beginning, accepted it and lived with it. Whitey was one of my closest friends and Harry still is.
"Speaking of Ashburn, during the taping of my inning in the Junior Sportscaster Contest, I referred to him as 'centerfielder Richard Ashburn.' I don't know why I ever said that. When we were at Shibe Park, I was given a chance to have a photo taken with my favorite player. Mine was Elmer Valo. I told Ashburn that years later and he couldn't understand why I picked Elmer over him."
Musser's greatest baseball call came in 1980 when Mike Schmidt hit a 10th-inning, game-winning homer in Montreal to clinch the Eastern Division title. "He buried it,"
screamed Musser.
"Funny thing about that call. I had never used that expression before and I haven't since," said Musser. "It was an inspiration the way Mike crushed that ball. 'He buried it' just came out and people often remind me about that call."
He won't be behind the microphone anymore but he'll be plenty busy. He'll be handling special projects for Fritz Maytag and the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco.
When asked how he'd like express himself about exiting, Musser said, "I'd rather leave when people want you to stay rather than have people dancing in the street after you've been tossed out. I've had a great career, not bad for a kid from a small town."
The Musser File
Born: Andrew Musser Jr., December 28, 1937, Harrisburg, PA.
Education: Lemoyne (PA) High School, 1955 . . . Syracuse University, 1959, B.S. in Speech and Dramatic Arts.
Grand Slam: Broadcast two World Series (1983, 1993) . . . Two Super Bowls (VI and VIII) . . . NCAA Basketball Finals (1975) . . . Masters Golf Tournament (1969 and 1970).
Employment: WOLF (Syracuse, NY) . . . WHGB and WHP (Harrisburg, PA) . . . WCAU (Philadelphia, PA) . . . WCBS TV (New York, NY) . . . CBS Radio (New York) . . . KSDA (San Diego, CA) . . . Madison Square Garden (New York) . . . Prism Cable, WPHL TV, WTAF TV, WPHT Radio (Philadelphia).
Basketball: Philadelphia 76ers (TV, cable, radio) . . . New York Knicks (TV) . . . Chicago Bulls (TV) . . . Big 5 (Cable) . . . Villanova (radio) . . . ECAC Game of the Week (TV) . . . Southern Cal (radio).
Football: CBS Radio Network and CBS TV . . . San Diego Chargers (radio) . . . Eagles (radio and TV) . . . Southern Cal (radio) . . . University of Pennsylvania (radio).
Others: CBS Radio Network "Sportsworld Roundup" and "Game Plan" . . . Sports Call In, WCAU.
Military: Two years active duty (Army), 1959-1961, including 16 months with American Forces Radio-TV Network in Seoul, Korea.
Family: Married Eun Joo Kim in 1961; son, Allan (39) and daughter Luanne Zimmerman (34) . . . Resides in Wynnewood, PA.
Hobbies: An avid jogger (25 years) and reader . . . A Deacon for the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and a member of the Community Forum Speaker committee.
Colleague Testimonies
"Sharing a microphone with Andy is so easy. It's like spending time with a member of your family. He is the epitome of the word professional."
--Harry Kalas
"Andy is a professional. I've been lucky enough to call him a friend since 1965 during our radio days at WCAU 1210. He taught me a lot about broadcasting and I will miss our working relationship. I wish him nothing but sunny jogging days and perfect beer-drinking nights."
--Chris Wheeler
"When I was a rookie in the booth, Andy wasn't afraid to offer constructive criticism when I made mistakes. He certainly made it enjoyable. Andy is a class person who is always pleasant, always walking around with a smile."
--Larry Andersen
"He taught me the importance of being organized and prepared for a broadcast so that when you needed to look for information, you could find it and, if you wrote it on your lineup card, you wrote it legibly. We kidded him for a long time about being so fastidious but there was a method behind all of it. As a young broadcaster, he treated me as if I had been around for a long time. He was always very welcoming and accommodating. Many people don't realize this, but Andy has a great sense of humor. He may look straight-faced and serious but he can run out some very dry humor."
--Scott Graham
http://phillies.mlb.com/phi/photo/2001_news/M/ph_news_musser_288_091901.jpg
Andy Musser pictured with former broadcaster Richie Ashburn