Chuck Thompson
Encyclopedia
Charles L. "Chuck" Thompson (June 10, 1921–March 6, 2005) was an American
sportscaster
best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball
's Baltimore Orioles
and the National Football League
's Baltimore Colts
. He was well-recognized for his resonant voice, crisply descriptive style of play-by-play, and signature on-air exclamations "Go to war, Miss Agnes!" and "Ain't the beer
cold!".
and moved with his family to Reading, Pennsylvania
in 1927. He began his broadcasting career in 1939 at WRAW-AM
in Reading, working there until 1942. After spending only a month at WKBN-AM
in Youngstown, Ohio
that same year, he joined WIBG-AM
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as an on-air announcer
. His career was interrupted in October, 1943 when he was inducted into the United States Army
. Promoted to the rank of sergeant
, he was sent to Europe
aboard the Queen Mary
in January, 1945 and ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge
. After an honorable discharge in August, 1945, he returned to WIBG. For three years starting in 1946, he, along with Byrum Saam and Claude Haring, called all the home games of both Philadelphia professional baseball teams, the Athletics
and Phillies
. He also called Temple University
football during this period.
Orioles
and the Colts
, at the time a member of the All-America Football Conference
(AAFC). Despite being laid off following the 1951 IL season because the brewery felt no need for a salaried announcer, he joined WITH in order for him to continue doing the broadcasts.
When the American League
's St. Louis Browns
moved to Baltimore, Maryland
and were rechristened the Orioles in 1954
, his previous connections with Gunther prevented him from becoming a broadcaster for the franchise. The National Brewing Company
had purchased the team's broadcast rights and hired Ernie Harwell
as the lead voice, but still wanted Thompson to be part of the coverage. He agreed to work with Harwell on Orioles broadcasts on WCBM-AM
and WMAR-TV
in 1955. Two years later he joined Bob Wolff
to call Washington Senators
games on WWDC-AM
and WTOP-TV
, succeeding Arch McDonald
as a result of National Brewing becoming the team's new sponsor.
Thompson returned to broadcast Orioles games on both radio and television
(WBAL-AM
and WJZ-TV
from 1962–1978, WFBR-AM from 1979–1982, and WMAR-TV from 1979–1987), and would continue to do so until his first retirement after the 1987 season. The prime of his career was the seventeen years he shared the broadcast booth with Bill O'Donnell
, beginning in 1966. During that span, the pair would describe two World Series
Championships, five American League Pennants
, six A.L. Eastern Division titles and only one losing season. Others who worked with Thompson included Frank Messer
(1964–1967), Jim Karvellas (1968-–1969), John Gordon
(1970–1972) and Brooks Robinson
(1978–1987). He was also the narrator
of the official 1966 World Series
highlight film jointly produced by both major leagues.
Besides his baseball-related achievements, Thompson also called Colts football for many years, first on CBS
television in the 1950s and '60s, and then on radio from 1973 until the team's relocation to Indianapolis
in 1984. From 1964-1969 he narrated the Colts' season review films produced by NFL Films
, making on-camera appearances in the first two.
He was also the host of WBAL-TV
's Duckpins and Dollars
from 1962-1974.
as the voice of the NFL's Saturday night Game of the Week on the DuMont Television Network
, as well as that year's NFL Championship Game
. Four years later, he teamed with Chris Schenkel
to call the telecast of the legendary 1958 Championship Game
on NBC
. The announcers flipped a coin
to determine play-by-play assignments for the two halves. Schenkel won the toss and chose the second half. Thompson ended up broadcasting the first-ever sudden-victory overtime in professional football
history. Thompson also called the 1959
and 1964
Championship Games for NBC and CBS, respectively, and regular-season NFL games for the Mutual
radio network. In 1988, he was among several veteran announcers who called some September NFL telecasts for NBC while many of the network's regular broadcasters were working that year's Summer Olympics
in Seoul, South Korea
.
Thompson also did baseball work for the Peacock Network, beginning with the Game of the Week
in 1959 and 1960. He, along with Curt Gowdy
, covered the Memorial Stadium
legs of the World Series in 1966, 1970
and 1971
, and conducted the victorious post-Series clubhouse interviews in 1966 and 1970.
He is particularly remembered for his flawed but endearing call of Bill Mazeroski
's championship-clinching home run
to end the 1960 World Series
, for which he was the play-by-play announcer for NBC Radio.(Audio) This event was replayed in full on an MLB radio special some years ago, during one of the players' strikes
. The pitcher was actually Ralph Terry
; Art Ditmar
was warming up in the bullpen
, and besides that error, Thompson just got caught up in the moment:
In 1985, Thompson's Ditmar-Terry flub became a commercial hit, featured as an audio-over in a nostalgia-immersed Budweiser
TV ad during that year's World Series
. A libel lawsuit subsequently filed by Ditmar against Anheuser-Busch
and its advertising agency for the commercial was ultimately rejected by a United States District Court
.
was away broadcasting ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Failing eyesight caused by macular degeneration
forced him to retire for good in 2000. He received the Ford C. Frick Award
from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
in 1993. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Thompson 34th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.
on March 6, 2005, after suffering a stroke
.
ing friend who never swore and whose putting failed to improve even after reading a book about it. Thompson explained the details in Curt Smith
's Voices of The Game:
Thompson phased out the expression when the Vietnam War
was protracted.
"Ain't the beer cold!" became the title of Thompson's autobiography
, in which he described the story behind the exclamation:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. He was well-recognized for his resonant voice, crisply descriptive style of play-by-play, and signature on-air exclamations "Go to war, Miss Agnes!" and "Ain't the beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
cold!".
Early life and career
Thompson was born in Palmer, MassachusettsPalmer, Massachusetts
The Town of Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and moved with his family to Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
in 1927. He began his broadcasting career in 1939 at WRAW-AM
WRAW
WRAW is a radio station licensed to Reading, Pennsylvania broadcasting an oldies format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...
in Reading, working there until 1942. After spending only a month at WKBN-AM
WKBN (AM)
WKBN is an AM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA broadcasting at 570 kHz with a talk radio format. The station also carries games for the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Youngstown State Penguin football and basketball...
in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
that same year, he joined WIBG-AM
WNTP
WNTP 990 is a politically conservative talk radio station which serves the Philadelphia area. It is owned by Salem Communications, along with a number of similar channels in various markets. Some of those whose programs are run by WNTP include Michael Medved, Dennis Prager, Dennis Miller, Michael...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as an on-air announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
. His career was interrupted in October, 1943 when he was inducted into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Promoted to the rank of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, he was sent to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
aboard the Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
in January, 1945 and ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. After an honorable discharge in August, 1945, he returned to WIBG. For three years starting in 1946, he, along with Byrum Saam and Claude Haring, called all the home games of both Philadelphia professional baseball teams, the Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
and Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. He also called Temple University
Temple Owls football
The Temple Owls football team participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference...
football during this period.
Career in Baltimore
In 1949, Thompson was hired by the Gunther Brewing Company to be WITH-AM's play-by-play voice for both the International LeagueInternational League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
Orioles
Baltimore Orioles (minor league)
The city of Baltimore, Maryland has been home to two minor league baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles.-Name history:"Orioles" is a traditional name for baseball clubs in Baltimore . It was used by major league teams from 1882 through 1899 in the American Association/National League and by...
and the Colts
Baltimore Colts (1947-50)
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The first team to bear the name Baltimore Colts, they were members of the All-America Football Conference from 1947–1949, and then joined the National Football League for one season before folding...
, at the time a member of the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
(AAFC). Despite being laid off following the 1951 IL season because the brewery felt no need for a salaried announcer, he joined WITH in order for him to continue doing the broadcasts.
When the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
's St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
moved to Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and were rechristened the Orioles in 1954
1954 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:* World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians * All-Star Game, July 13 at Municipal Stadium: American League, 11-9-Other champions:* Caribbean World Series: Caguas Creoles [Criollos de Caguas]...
, his previous connections with Gunther prevented him from becoming a broadcaster for the franchise. The National Brewing Company
National Bohemian
National Bohemian Beer, colloquially called Natty Boh, National Boh or just plain Boh, is an American beer originally brewed in Baltimore, Maryland, but now brewed by the Miller Brewing Company in Eden, North Carolina, and distributed by the Pabst Brewing Company...
had purchased the team's broadcast rights and hired Ernie Harwell
Ernie Harwell
William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the action on radio and/or television...
as the lead voice, but still wanted Thompson to be part of the coverage. He agreed to work with Harwell on Orioles broadcasts on WCBM-AM
WCBM
WCBM is a Talk formatted broadcast radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. The station is owned by WCBM Maryland, Inc., which also owns WVIE, 1370 AM...
and WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV, channel 2, is the ABC affiliate television station in Baltimore, Maryland, owned by the broadcasting division of the E.W. Scripps Company...
in 1955. Two years later he joined Bob Wolff
Bob Wolff
Robert "Bob" Wolff , in New York City, New York is an American sportscaster. He was the radio and TV voice of the Washington Senators from 1947 to 1960, continuing with the team when they relocated and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. In 1962, he joined NBC-TV...
to call Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
games on WWDC-AM
WWRC
WWRC —branded 1260 WRC—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with 5,000 watts on an unlimited basis with studios and transmitters both located in the city proper...
and WTOP-TV
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
, succeeding Arch McDonald
Arch McDonald
Arch Linn McDonald, Sr. was an American radio broadcaster who served as the voice of Major League Baseball's Washington Senators from to ....
as a result of National Brewing becoming the team's new sponsor.
Thompson returned to broadcast Orioles games on both radio and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
(WBAL-AM
WBAL (AM)
WBAL is a news-talk radio station located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. WBAL broadcasts on a clear channel frequency with 50 kilowatts of power. Owned by the Hearst Corporation, WBAL's tri-mast transmitters are located in Randallstown, Maryland...
and WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV, channel 13, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Baltimore, Maryland. WJZ-TV's studios and offices are located on Television Hill in the Woodberry section of Baltimore, adjacent to the transmission tower it shares with four other Baltimore...
from 1962–1978, WFBR-AM from 1979–1982, and WMAR-TV from 1979–1987), and would continue to do so until his first retirement after the 1987 season. The prime of his career was the seventeen years he shared the broadcast booth with Bill O'Donnell
Bill O'Donnell (sportscaster)
William "Bill" O'Donnell, Jr. was an American sportscaster.-Biography:A native of The Bronx, New York, O'Donnell attended Fordham Preparatory School and Fordham University...
, beginning in 1966. During that span, the pair would describe two World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
Championships, five American League Pennants
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
, six A.L. Eastern Division titles and only one losing season. Others who worked with Thompson included Frank Messer
Frank Messer
Wallace Frank Messer was an American sportscaster that was best known for his 18 seasons announcing New York Yankees baseball games, and as the recognizable emcee voice of various Yankee Stadium festivities during a three decade span.-Background:An Asheville, North Carolina native, Messer was a...
(1964–1967), Jim Karvellas (1968-–1969), John Gordon
John Gordon (baseball)
John "Gordo" Gordon is a Major League Baseball radio broadcaster who is best known as the play by play announcer for the Minnesota Twins on the Twins Radio Network and their Metro Affiliate KSTP 1500 AM...
(1970–1972) and Brooks Robinson
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles . Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history...
(1978–1987). He was also the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
of the official 1966 World Series
1966 World Series
The 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture their first championship in franchise history...
highlight film jointly produced by both major leagues.
Besides his baseball-related achievements, Thompson also called Colts football for many years, first on CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
television in the 1950s and '60s, and then on radio from 1973 until the team's relocation to Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
in 1984. From 1964-1969 he narrated the Colts' season review films produced by NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
, making on-camera appearances in the first two.
He was also the host of WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
's Duckpins and Dollars
Bowling for Dollars
Bowling for Dollars is a television game show on which people could play the sport of bowling to win cash and sometimes prizes based on how well they bowled....
from 1962-1974.
National work
Thompson's national television debut was in 1954 when he succeeded Ray ScottRay Scott (sportscaster)
Ray Scott , was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcasts for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. His brother Hal Scott was also a sportscaster.-Early life and career:Scott began his broadcasting career on local radio in the late 1930s...
as the voice of the NFL's Saturday night Game of the Week on the DuMont Television Network
NFL on DuMont
The NFL on DuMont was an American television program that broadcast National Football League games on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The program ran from 1951 to 1955.-1951-1952:...
, as well as that year's NFL Championship Game
NFL Championship Game, 1954
The 1954 National Football League championship game was the 22nd annual championship game. The NFL title game was held on December 26, 1954, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio. This was the third straight title game between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns.The Detroit Lions...
. Four years later, he teamed with Chris Schenkel
Chris Schenkel
Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio...
to call the telecast of the legendary 1958 Championship Game
NFL Championship Game, 1958
The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first ever National Football League playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. The game has since...
on NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
. The announcers flipped a coin
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
to determine play-by-play assignments for the two halves. Schenkel won the toss and chose the second half. Thompson ended up broadcasting the first-ever sudden-victory overtime in professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
history. Thompson also called the 1959
NFL Championship Game, 1959
The 1959 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 27, 1959 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. The game was a rematch of the 1958 championship game that went into overtime. The 1959 game was the 27th annual NFL championship game...
and 1964
NFL Championship Game, 1964
The 1964 National Football League championship game was the 32nd annual championship game. The NFL title game was held on December 27, 1964 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio before a crowd of 79,544...
Championship Games for NBC and CBS, respectively, and regular-season NFL games for the Mutual
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
radio network. In 1988, he was among several veteran announcers who called some September NFL telecasts for NBC while many of the network's regular broadcasters were working that year's Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
.
Thompson also did baseball work for the Peacock Network, beginning with the Game of the Week
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
in 1959 and 1960. He, along with Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
, covered the Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
legs of the World Series in 1966, 1970
1970 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 10, 1970 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioThe Jackson 5 performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the game, which almost became an embarrassment when the group realized shortly before their performance that they weren't familiar with the lyrics...
and 1971
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
, and conducted the victorious post-Series clubhouse interviews in 1966 and 1970.
He is particularly remembered for his flawed but endearing call of Bill Mazeroski
Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski , nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
's championship-clinching home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
to end the 1960 World Series
1960 World Series
The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League from October 5 to October 13, 1960...
, for which he was the play-by-play announcer for NBC Radio.(Audio) This event was replayed in full on an MLB radio special some years ago, during one of the players' strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. The pitcher was actually Ralph Terry
Ralph Terry
Ralph Willard Terry is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees , Kansas City Athletics , Cleveland Indians and New York Mets...
; Art Ditmar
Art Ditmar
Arthur John Ditmar is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Athletics and the New York Yankees . He batted and threw right-handed.A finesse control pitcher, Ditmar divided his career between the Athletics and Yankees...
was warming up in the bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
, and besides that error, Thompson just got caught up in the moment:
In 1985, Thompson's Ditmar-Terry flub became a commercial hit, featured as an audio-over in a nostalgia-immersed Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
TV ad during that year's World Series
1985 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 19, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri-Game 2:Sunday, October 20, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri...
. A libel lawsuit subsequently filed by Ditmar against Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
and its advertising agency for the commercial was ultimately rejected by a United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
.
Later career
Thompson came out of retirement in 1991 to work part-time on Orioles games for WBAL-AM when Jon MillerJon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
was away broadcasting ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Failing eyesight caused by macular degeneration
Macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
forced him to retire for good in 2000. He received the Ford C. Frick Award
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball...
from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
in 1993. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Thompson 34th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.
Death
Thompson, who lived in Lutherville, Maryland, at the time, died at Greater Baltimore Medical CenterGreater Baltimore Medical Center
Greater Baltimore Medical Center, known to many simply as GBMC, is a hospital located in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland. GBMC serves more than 26,700 inpatient cases and approximately 60,000 emergency room visits annually. GBMC’s main campus also includes three medical office...
on March 6, 2005, after suffering a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
.
Catch phrase origins
"Go to war, Miss Agnes!" was picked up from a golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
ing friend who never swore and whose putting failed to improve even after reading a book about it. Thompson explained the details in Curt Smith
Curt Smith (author)
Curt Smith is an American author, media host and columnist.Smith is a 1973 graduate of SUNY at Geneseo. He worked as a Gannett Company reporter, a speechwriter to former Texas Governor John Connolly, and an editor at the Saturday Evening Post. In 1989 he joined the George H.W...
's Voices of The Game:
Thompson phased out the expression when the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was protracted.
"Ain't the beer cold!" became the title of Thompson's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, in which he described the story behind the exclamation: