Clem McCarthy
Encyclopedia
Clem McCarthy was an American sportscaster
and public address
announcer. He also lent his voice to Pathe News
's RKO newsreels. He was known for his gravelly voice and dramatic style, a "whiskey tenor" as sports announcer and executive David J. Halberstam
has called it.
As Halberstam's book Sports on New York Radio notes, McCarthy is considered one of horse racing
's great callers
, setting the stage for well-known voices from Cawood Ledford
to Dave Johnson
. He was the first public-address announcer at a major American racetrack, Arlington Park
in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
In addition to being a race caller for racetracks and NBC
Radio, he was a top boxing announcer, too. His most often replayed boxing sportscast is probably his NBC radio call of the 1938 Joe Louis
-Max Schmeling
rematch at Yankee Stadium
:
Later that same year he called the famous Seabiscuit
/ War Admiral
match race, including this phrase in the final stretch run, as Seabiscuit shocked the horse racing world by outrunning the heavily-favored War Admiral:
McCarthy is also known for having mis-called the 1947 Preakness Stakes
when a crowd standing on a platform blocked his view of the far turn, just as two horses with similar silks switched places. (Chic Anderson
, one of McCarthy's most famous descendants as a track announcer, made a similar mistake in the 1975 Kentucky Derby
.) As with Anderson later, McCarthy's quick and humble admission of the mistake helped the criticism eventually blow over.
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
inducted McCarthy into its Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1987, McCarthy was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
Hall of Fame along with veteran ABC Sports announcer Jim McKay
.
Comedian Doodles Weaver
mimicked McCarthy in his 1948 novelty recording (with Spike Jones
) of the "William Tell Overture
".
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...
and public address
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
announcer. He also lent his voice to Pathe News
Pathe News
Pathé Newsreels were produced from 1910 until the 1970s, when production of newsreels was in general stopped. Pathé News today is known as British Pathé and its archive of over 90,000 reels is fully digitised and online.-History:...
's RKO newsreels. He was known for his gravelly voice and dramatic style, a "whiskey tenor" as sports announcer and executive David J. Halberstam
David J. Halberstam
David J. Halberstam is the EVP/General Manager of Westwood One Sports. Previously, he was the play-by-play announcer for the Miami Heat and St...
has called it.
As Halberstam's book Sports on New York Radio notes, McCarthy is considered one of horse racing
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
's great callers
Race caller
A race caller is a public-address announcer or sportscaster who describes the progress of a race, either for on-track or radio and TV fans. They are most prominent in horse racing, auto racing and track-and-field events....
, setting the stage for well-known voices from Cawood Ledford
Cawood Ledford
Cawood Ledford was a longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky basketball and football teams...
to Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson (announcer)
Dave Johnson is an American announcer and sportscaster, best known for his work in horse racing with ABC and NBC Sports and at various race tracks in New York and New Jersey...
. He was the first public-address announcer at a major American racetrack, Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
In addition to being a race caller for racetracks and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Radio, he was a top boxing announcer, too. His most often replayed boxing sportscast is probably his NBC radio call of the 1938 Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
-Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling
Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations...
rematch at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
:
- Louis, right and left to the head, a left to the jaw, a right to the head, and [referee Art] Donovan is watching carefully. Louis measures him. Right to the body, a left up to the jaw, and Schmeling is down! The count is five! Five, six, seven, eight -- the men are in the ring! The fight is over, on a technical knock out. Max Schmeling is beaten in one round!
Later that same year he called the famous Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
/ War Admiral
War Admiral
War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...
match race, including this phrase in the final stretch run, as Seabiscuit shocked the horse racing world by outrunning the heavily-favored War Admiral:
- Seabiscuit by three! Seabiscuit by three!
McCarthy is also known for having mis-called the 1947 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
when a crowd standing on a platform blocked his view of the far turn, just as two horses with similar silks switched places. (Chic Anderson
Chic Anderson
Charles David Anderson was an American sportscaster and public address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing...
, one of McCarthy's most famous descendants as a track announcer, made a similar mistake in the 1975 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
.) As with Anderson later, McCarthy's quick and humble admission of the mistake helped the criticism eventually blow over.
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, or NSSA, is an organization of sports media members in the United States. It constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Press Association ....
inducted McCarthy into its Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1987, McCarthy was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of the professional sports broadcaster.-History:In 1980, Louis O...
Hall of Fame along with veteran ABC Sports announcer Jim McKay
Jim McKay
James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
.
Comedian Doodles Weaver
Doodles Weaver
Winstead Sheffield Weaver , who used the professional name Doodles Weaver, was an American actor and comedian on radio, recordings, and television. He was the brother of NBC executive Sylvester "Pat" Weaver and the uncle of actress Sigourney Weaver.Born in Los Angeles, Weaver was given the nickname...
mimicked McCarthy in his 1948 novelty recording (with Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
) of the "William Tell Overture
William Tell Overture (Spike Jones song)
Spike Jones and his City Slickers recorded a cover of Gioachino Rossini's William Tell Overture. This version reproduces the original with significant modification of style and replaces the conclusion with the imitated horse race calls of the famous announcer Clem McCarthy.Jones released his...
".