David Kelly (baseball announcer)
Encyclopedia
David Scott Kelly is an American
sportscaster
.
He is currently a sports anchor/reporter at Belo
Corp. Fox
affiliate KMSB-TV in Tucson, Arizona
. David joined the Fox 11 Sports Force in July 2011. He anchors sports during the Fox 11 News at Nine on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Prior to transitioning to television, Kelly served for two-plus seasons as an anchor for the University of Arizona
Wildcats Radio Network. Kelly hosted the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows during all Arizona Wildcats
football and men's basketball broadcasts as well as served as a play-by-play announcer for the Arizona baseball and softball teams.
Kelly spent three seasons (2005–2007) doing radio and TV play-by-play for the Memphis Redbirds
of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League
.
He is the son of NFL Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly
, who starred with the Cleveland Browns
from 1964-1973. His uncle Pat Kelly
played Major League Baseball
for 15 seasons (1968–1981) with the Minnesota Twins
, Kansas City Royals
, Chicago White Sox
, Baltimore Orioles
, and Cleveland Indians
.
Kelly began his career in August 1991 as Sports Director at KTIP
-AM 1450 in Porterville, CA. The station at the time was owned by Oakland A's announcer Monte Moore
.
His first professional baseball experience came broadcasting games for the Class-A Visalia Oaks
during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. He later moved to KGEO
-AM 1230 in Bakersfield where he became the voice of the Bakersfield Dodgers.
Kelly advanced to Double-A baseball in 1995 where he broadcast games for the Port City Roosters
(Wilmington, North Carolina
) for two seasons.
He was a mainstay at 50000-watt clear channel powerhouse WTAM
-AM 1100 in Cleveland from 1997-2005. He started in the news department as an overnight anchor/morning drive reporter. Eventually moving to sports as an update anchor, beat reporter for the Cleveland Browns, and talk show host.
He has won five Associated Press
first place awards for his work in radio, including being named Ohio's Best Sports Broadcaster in 2005.
Kelly's baseball style is a mixture of old school and new school. He loves to interweave stories about players around his play-by-play call.
His home run call is Goodnight Irene and when the bases are loaded it's a Graaaand Slaaaamma. If a player has a big RBI night, or drives in a lot of "ribs"
(as Kelly refers to them), he's been known to offer that player a wet nap for his performance.
Kelly has adopted Arch McDonald
's famous phrase for a fastball right down the middle of the plate, "right down Broadway
", and changes it to fit a popular boulevard in whatever city he is currently calling games. Some of those streets that fastballs have whizzed down along the way have included Truxtun (Bakersfield), Oleander (Wilmington), Beale Street
(Memphis), and Speedway (Tucson).
Kelly attended University High School (Normal)
, Illinois (1986) and graduated from the University of Southern California
in 1990.
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...
.
He is currently a sports anchor/reporter at Belo
Belo
Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
Corp. Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate KMSB-TV in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. David joined the Fox 11 Sports Force in July 2011. He anchors sports during the Fox 11 News at Nine on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Prior to transitioning to television, Kelly served for two-plus seasons as an anchor for the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
Wildcats Radio Network. Kelly hosted the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows during all Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats
-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...
football and men's basketball broadcasts as well as served as a play-by-play announcer for the Arizona baseball and softball teams.
Kelly spent three seasons (2005–2007) doing radio and TV play-by-play for the Memphis Redbirds
Memphis Redbirds
The Memphis Redbirds are the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They play their home games at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The stadium's capacity is 14,320. They entered the Pacific Coast League as an expansion team in 1998, and were owned as a...
of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
.
He is the son of NFL Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly was an American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League from 1964-73....
, who starred with the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1964-1973. His uncle Pat Kelly
Pat Kelly (baseball outfielder)
Harold Patrick Kelly was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball. From through , Kelly played for the Minnesota Twins , Kansas City Royals , Chicago White Sox , Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians . He batted and threw left-handed...
played 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...
for 15 seasons (1968–1981) with the Minnesota Twins
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...
, Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, 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 Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
.
Kelly began his career in August 1991 as Sports Director at KTIP
KTIP
KTIP is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Porterville, California, USA, the station serves the Visalia-Tulare area. The station is currently owned by Mayberry Broadcasting Co, Inc...
-AM 1450 in Porterville, CA. The station at the time was owned by Oakland A's announcer Monte Moore
Monte Moore
Monte Moore is a former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams.-Voice of the Athletics:...
.
His first professional baseball experience came broadcasting games for the Class-A Visalia Oaks
Visalia Oaks
The Visalia Rawhide are a minor league baseball team in Visalia, California, U.S. They are a Class A - Advanced team of the Arizona Diamondbacks operating in the California League and have recently agreed to renew their affiliation through 2012....
during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. He later moved to KGEO
KGEO
KGEO is a radio station broadcasting a News/talk format. Licensed to Bakersfield, California, USA, it serves inland central California. The station was assigned the KGEO call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on May 18, 1981.- History :In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s the station's...
-AM 1230 in Bakersfield where he became the voice of the Bakersfield Dodgers.
Kelly advanced to Double-A baseball in 1995 where he broadcast games for the Port City Roosters
Port City Roosters
The Port City Roosters were a minor league baseball team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. The team, which played in the Southern League, was the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners major-league club. The Roosters played in Brooks Field on the campus of the University of North Carolina,...
(Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
) for two seasons.
He was a mainstay at 50000-watt clear channel powerhouse WTAM
WTAM
WTAM — branded Newsradio WTAM 1100 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station broadcasts primarily a news/talk format...
-AM 1100 in Cleveland from 1997-2005. He started in the news department as an overnight anchor/morning drive reporter. Eventually moving to sports as an update anchor, beat reporter for the Cleveland Browns, and talk show host.
He has won five Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
first place awards for his work in radio, including being named Ohio's Best Sports Broadcaster in 2005.
Kelly's baseball style is a mixture of old school and new school. He loves to interweave stories about players around his play-by-play call.
His home run call is Goodnight Irene and when the bases are loaded it's a Graaaand Slaaaamma. If a player has a big RBI night, or drives in a lot of "ribs"
Ribs (food)
Ribs of beef, lamb, venison, and pork are a cut of meat. The term ribs usually refers to the less meaty part of the chops, often cooked as a slab .They can be roasted, grilled, baked, braised, or smoked....
(as Kelly refers to them), he's been known to offer that player a wet nap for his performance.
Kelly has adopted 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 ....
's famous phrase for a fastball right down the middle of the plate, "right down Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
", and changes it to fit a popular boulevard in whatever city he is currently calling games. Some of those streets that fastballs have whizzed down along the way have included Truxtun (Bakersfield), Oleander (Wilmington), Beale Street
Beale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
(Memphis), and Speedway (Tucson).
Kelly attended University High School (Normal)
University High School (Normal)
University High School , located in Normal, Illinois, is one of two "laboratory schools" of the College of Education at Illinois State University designed for research and teacher-training; the other is Thomas Metcalf School, an elementary school...
, Illinois (1986) and graduated from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1990.