Waite Hoyt: A Biography of the Yankees' Schoolboy Wonder

Rating:
Summary: A lifetime of baseball
Review: I grew up in the 70s listening to Al Michaels, Marty Brenneman and Joe Nuxhall broadcasting Cincinnati Reds baseball. I also spent many nights catching late game broadcasts by Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey, Jack Buck and Mike Shannon, Bob Prince, and Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau on fading AM stations. But my Dad always told me that it didn't compare to Waite Hoyt and his legendary rain delay stories.

This book does a fine job of tying together the story of Waite Hoyt as Hall of Fame pitcher and Cincinnati broadcasting legend. His playing career, especially as a member of the colorful Ruth/Gehrig Yankees, made him a teammate of an amazing number of legendary players. His reputation as a "big game" pitcher is lost on the generations that followed his active career. This obviously gave him the material for his later broadcasting career. It also rounds out the picture of a man that many only knew as a broadcaster. His transition to radio broadcaster in an environment where ballplayers were considered unacceptable material is interesting, especially in an era where being a player is a prerequisite for a color commentator. The story of a broadcaster who was known for his story telling and not for soundbites or a "catch phrase" is unique.

This book fleshed out for me the story of a Cincinnati broadcasting legend that I only knew from my Dad and Hoyt's unmemorable try at television broadcasting in 1972. I only wish that he had completed his own autobiography so I could experience his story telling abilities first hand.

This is a great read for those who grew up listening to baseball prior to the "Big Red Machine" days of the 1970s.