Top Bears Radio Announcers-- Part 3: Brickhouse, Joniak, McConnell, Thayer and Larrivee

Continued from November 9, 2019.  To see the first two, click on announcers in the labels section below.

5.  JACK BRICKHOUSE  (1953-1976)

There is a deep affection for Jack Brickhouse among Chicago fans of any sport because of his longevity, but, football was not his forte.  But, the upbeat charm he brought didn't make up for mistakes in football announcing.

4.  JEFF JONIAK  (2001-PRESENT)

He came to the Bears with no experience, but he has worked hard to become a solid play-by-play man.

3.  JOE McCONNELL  (1977-1984)

When the Bears moved from WGN-AM  to WBBM-AM, general manager Jim Finks pushed hard for him to replace Brickhouse.  He had been doing Minnesota Vikings broadcasts.  He might have stayed with the Bears had WGN-AM not gotten the Bears back.

2.  TOM THAYER (1997-PRESENT)

Old No. 57 from the Bears Super Bowl XX Champs.  He knows his stuff and calls games with both his brains and heart.

1.  WAYNE LARRIVEE  (1985-1998)

Announced Chiefs games before coming to the Bears and then lefty to fulfill a life-long dream to call the Packers.  He was the voice of those Super Bowl XX Bears.  We still tune in the Packers on radio (we live right on the Illinois-Wisconsin border) just to hear that wonderful voice.

And, to think he left the Bears in a Big Marker area to go to the Packers in a small market area.  He's gotta love Da Pack.

--CootVee

Top Chicago Bear Announcers-- Part 2: Former Bears Fencik, Hampton and Butkus

10.  HUB ARKUSH  (1988-2002)

His exit marked the end of trying to use there announcers.  Sometimes had a hard time being heard over the other two.

9.  GARY FENCIK  (1990-1993)

If three announcers are too much, then four are way too many.  He became the fourth when Butkus returned.

8.  BRAD PALMER  (1977-1984)

Brought a reporter's eye to the booth.   Dubbed "The Professor."

7.  DAN HAMPTON  (1995-1996)

Pretty good at predicting opponent plays.  One of those '85 Bears.

6.  DICK BUTKUS   (1985-1987)  (1992-1994)

One of The Greatest Bears.  But, too much of a fan.

--Cooter

Top Chicago Bears Radio Announcers-- Part 1: Kupcinet, Bender and Hart

From the Nov. 3, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Phil Rosenthal.

I don't know about you, but given a choice between listening to TV and radio commentators, I'll take radio anytime.  TV commentators are more general and non-fan than their counterparts.  Ideal football watching to me involves watching the game on TV, but listening to the radio announcers.  Sadly, TV stations have figured that out and delay what their feeds so that the play and words about it don't go in sync.

And, my all-time favorite Bears announcer was the voice of those great Bears teams of the 1980s, but is now with the Packers.  But, we live on the Wisconsin-Illinois border and get him doing the Packer games  Wonder who he is and where Phil will rank him?

Anyway, Phil Rosenthal takes his shot at listing the 13 Bears announcers who have done Bear play-by-play in the last 66 years and even took a stab at ranking them.

#13  IRV KUPCINET  (1953-1976)

  Long-time Chicago Sun-Times columnist and one-time NFL qb and referee.    "Dat's right, Jack."

#12  GARY BENDER   (1999-2000)

Two forgettable seasons of play-by-play and for sad Bears teams with combined records of 11-21.

#11  JIM HART  (1985-1989)

Long-time Cardinals qb, but overshadowed by Dick Butkus and Wayne Larrivee.

Top Ten Next.  --CootBall

Best Chicago Sports Announcers-- Part 6: The Next Four

Definitely worth honorable mentions:

Jeff Agrest, Chicago Sun-Rimes.

JIM DURHAM--  The first -- and the best--  basketball voice.

PAT FOLEY--  His personal favorite.  The words just roll off his tongue so smoothly when he does Hawks games.

WAYNE LARRIVEE--  Does TV work for the Bulls and Cubs, but was at his best when he did the Chicago Bears in those great 1980s years.  Like Jeff Agrest, I often tune into the Packers to hear him.  he was the voice of the Bears.

STEVE STONE--  Great at analyzing baseball games and his work with Harry Caray.

--Cooter

Best Four Chicago Sports Broadcasters-- Part 5: Lloyd Pettit

My heart wants to put Pat Foley here, but my head says even Foley would defer to Pettit.  He called Blackhawk games on WGN-TV from 1961 to '75., in addition to Cubs and White Sox games.

By all accounts, he was an outstanding broadcaster, and he had a big influence on Foley.

Pettit's trademark "A shot and a goal!" was akin to Brickhouse's "Hey, Hey!" and Caray's "Holy Cow!"  In fact, it became part of the lyrics to "Here Come the Hawks."  Some say his best work was calling Hawk home games on the radio, where he painted a picture in the minds of listeners and stirred their emotions with the tone of his voice.

I remember listening to him call Hawks games on the radio and could see the action just as if it was on TV.

"A Shot and a GOAL!!"  --Cooter

Chicago's Best Four Sports Announcers-- Part 4: "Hawk"Harrelson

Hawk is currently in his last season in the booth after starting with the Sox in 1982 and staying on for good in 1990.  He'll be remembered for his catchphrases, personality and over-the-top homerism.

It works, especially for a team that can't come out of the shadow of the Cubs.

Hawk's rants are legendary, whether it is about an umpire like Brian Gorman or a villainous foe like former Brewers manager Phil Garner.

He's opinionated, old-school and a joy to listen to.  And, he's synonymous with the White Sox, a true measure of a broadcaster's reach.

And, with me being a Sox fan, I like him.

--Cooter

Chicago's Best Four Sports Announcers-- Part 3: Harry Caray

By Jeff Agrest.

The Will Ferrelll/Ryan Dempster parodies of him make me angry.  They have never actually represented what he was all about.  He was the voice of the fan and he told it like he saw it.

Granted, he was better at his job when he was with the Cardinals (1945-69) and Chicago White Sox (1971-1981)  and a lot of people forget he was with the Sox.  Once he became too big for the Sox' taste, he went to the Cubs (1981-1997, and his persona only grew.

So did his fan base, largely because of him (and cable TV).  His sharpness faded, but his enthusiasm, humor and passion made every Cub game exciting (and there were plenty really, really bad Cub games back then).

He still sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the Cubs 7th inning stretches when there don't have a guest conductor.

Most people would rank Harry Caray as being the best, but I still would go with Jack Brickhouse.

Holy Cow!!  --Cooter

Chicago's Best Four Sportscasters-- Part 2: Jack Brickhouse

Continued from August 10, 2018.

He doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves.  The "Hey, Hey" signs on the Wrigley Field foul poles and his bust in front of the Tribune Tower don't do him justice.

The man deserves his own wing in a museum for all the broadcasting he did.

For WGN-TV he called Cubs games from 1948 -- when Channel 9 went on the air -- to 1981, and White Sox games from 1948 to 1967.  He called Bulls games from 1966 to 1973.  He was also the voice of the Chicago Bears on WGN Radio from 1953 to 1977.

In addition, he called boxing, wrestling and college sports.

Brickhouse was a pioneer in every way.

He's my pick for best announcer.

Hey!  Hey!  --Cooter

Picking Chicago's Four Best Sports Broadcasters-- Part 1

From the July 6, 2018, Chicago Sun-Times  "A combo worth carving in stone" by Jeff Agrest.

He's thinking of giving them Mt. Rushmore treatment and admits this is a pretty hard task.

His criteria, the broadcaster had to:

(a) be good at his job
(b)  have a profound and lasting effect on the team's fan base

Any Ideas?  --CootHeyHey

White Sox Announcers-- Part 4: Harry Caray Arrives

Then came Harry.  He was on the rebound as he had been immensely popular in St. Louis doing Cardinals games, but had been fired abruptly after the 1969 season.  he had then spent a year in Oakland before being signed by the Sox in 1971

His outgoing personality soon made him the Sox's greatest attraction.  He took Chicago by storm.  With a beer can in hand, he also became the "Mayor of Rush Street."

Caray became a fan favorite and Sox players and managers, much to their dismay, often became targets of his harsh and biting criticism.  Calling one game where the White Sox shortstop Lee "Bee Bee" Richard had made three errors, Caray cracked:  "Richard just picked up a hot-dog wrapper at shortstop.  It's the first thing he has picked up all night."

And Many Cubs Fans Don't Know That We Had Him First.  --CootHolyCow

White Sox Announcers Over the Years-- Part 3: Bob Elson

Three people, each with his own distinct personalities, have defined the history of White Sox announcers:  Bob Elson, Harry Caray and the "Hawk" Harrelson.

Beginning in 1929, Bob Elson became the team's signature play-by-play radio man and had a 40-year run that stretched from the careers of Babe Ruth to Mickey Mantle.  Known as "The Commander" for his World War II service in the Navy, Elson had a dignified, if not laid-back, style of calling a game.

His voice was the sound of many summer nights in Chicago during those years.

But, after the 1970 season his style of play calling was going out of style and something was done to liven up the calls.

A guy by the name of Harry Caray was brought in.

Yep, That Harry, Holy Cow.  --DaCoot

White Sox Announcers Over the Years-- Part 2: Ken "Hawk" Harrelson

Ken Harrelson returned to the White Sox booth in 1990, this time as the lead play-by-play voice with Tom Paciorek doing the color.  

The Hawk proved quite unconventional in his play calling.  He is credited with giving Hall of Famer Frank Thomas his "Big Hurt" nickname.  He also created his own lingo with such words as "duck snort" meaning a bloop hit and "grab some bench" when a Sox pitcher strikes out an opposing player.

Few announcers are more passionate about their team than Harrelson.

Due to age and distance, Ken Harrelson cut back his announcing in 2016 and Jason Bennett was brought in to help.

--CootSnort

White Sox Announcers Over the Years-- Part 1: Ken Harrelson

From the March 23, 2018, Chicago Tribune  "33 seasons: You can put it on the board" by Ed Sherman.

"Bob Elson was a study in coolness and restraint.  Harry Caray was a crowd-pleasing provocateur.  Ken Harrelson mixes passion with playfulness."

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson will be returning for his 33rd year and is scheduled to call 20 Sox games this year before becoming a White Sox ambassador.  This will include Sunday afternoon home games, the Sox home opener on April 5 and the September 21-23 Cubs-White Sox series at Comiskey Park.

Harrelson started with the Sox in 1981, when Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn purchased the team and put Don Drysdale (play-by-play) and the "Hawk" (analyst) in the broadcast booth for their  SportsVision cable network.  Harrelson then went to the Yankees for a short time and returned to the Sox in 1990 wher he was lead play-by-play and paired with Tom Paciorek.

--CootSnort