Evening star., 1937-01-23

stars act when you get them
on the radio. you ask? Well
they don't all 60 over with bang on
the air, but from my own experience
in chaperoning to the mike many OF
the big shots of Sportsdom who have
appeared in this vicinity, I'll say they
have the edge on most of the folks
who think that all they need is one
addition to break into the networks.
Most of the athletes who amount to
anything in their line have ample op-
portunity to exercise their talents on
the air these days, for they are much
sought after by the radio interviewers
everywhere. At least l have found
that they are very willing stooges for
the mikeman and that takes plenty CT
patience at times.
Ever since the 2Os. when the radio
listeners started insisting on hearing
foot ball, base ball, golf and tennis
matches, racing, prizeights and other
sports spectacles while they stretched
out In the old armchair, a new art has
been developed in broadcasting. The
sports fan, the armchair halfback and
the cracker barrel base ball manager
wanted to see with their ears, and it
was up to the sports broadcaster to
make them do it.
In the beginning, sports broadcast
ing was a stunt. A big game or event
was described by the studio announcer
available at the time, but it didn't take
long for the fans to see the flaws OF this
method. The fans demanded the same
kind of reporting over the air that they
got in the sports pages. That is, they
demanded an expert. They didn't want
or expect the same kind of story.
They wanted to read that by their fa-
vorite writer, but they did want some
body on the job who knew what was
going on.
THAT was the first step. The sports
IL broadcaster was developed. Then
came another step, the natural de-
mand of the listener to get chance
to see with his ears the contestants in
the sports world themselves. That's
what brought about the air interviews.
It was In these interviews. from time
TO time, that began to realize that
sports broadcasting wasn't all records,
touchdowns, hits and errors, blrdles,
yolIeys, triumphs and defeats.
In many respects, my joo as sports
announcer has been comparable to
that of the sports writer, but when 1t
comes to interviewing sports celeb
rity. the comparison with the sports
writer ends. The sports big shot may
be so dumb that even his manager
can't make him talk and so does most
OF the talking for the athlete, but the
sports writer sill has at least TWO mn
gers and plenty of copy paper. It's a
different story when the little green
light turns on and it's time to go on
the air. It's feeling hard to explain
when you're sitting across the table
from hurly- y-burly Joe Doakes, the in
ternational something or other cham
pion. There's no time for the blue
pencil, no time to look up last years
record. And the surprising part OF IL
all is that the guy in most cases makes
good. And what a relief when ne
Goes. Phew!
T THINK the biggest job is to make
the one being interviewed as human
as possible. You may know the thrill
ing story somewhere behind that par
ticular crack of The bat whose echo
has hardly died, that particular thud
of the glove that did work few min
ytes before, or the touchdown that
won the game or any other OF the
split seconds that set the bleachers
roaring. You may know that story.
The hero of the dramatic incident
knows the story, but try to get it out
Of him!
Sometimes it's modesty, sometimes
It's Just plain stage fright, and some
times it's just the old vacuum up
there over the eyebrows that figures
in the procedure. But often the story
comes out, just as easy and natural
as when grandpa tells how ne RODE
the horse cars.
On the whole, however, have found,
through personal contact with some
Of the foremost athletes OF our day,
that as a group the lads that pun ana
strain and punch and groan cannot
be beaten in their high regard for ac-
comp.ishment in their line, and true
sense of honesty, and the rewards OF
diligence and strict training. But, Ike
the people that you run across In
every walk OF life, the athletes run
the gamut from A to z, beginning,
perhaps, as I have found it, with the
sobriety of certain well-educated fig
ures, such as Glenn Cunningham, the
famous Kansas miller, and ending with
the loquacious, linguistic fiuency OF
Kingfsh Levinsky, the heavyweight.
I am going to start the local sports
picture of with the No. l personality
of them all-Clark Griffith, the Old
Fox.
1t was at the beginning Of the last
base ball season that I first had the
pleasure of introducing Clark Griffith
over the air. The Washington base
ball club president, the only man in
the big leagues today who has risen
from the dark dusty dugout to the
sparkling mahogany desk Of the front
once, is numbered among my most
priced guests. He preferred to read
his remarks about his ball club. jotted
down in his own hand. His voice was
firm and filled with assurance as ne
prophesied that this year he believed
he was giving the Washington fans
one of the fightingest ball clubs In his
reign at Florida avenue. And how
true he was as the Nationals thundered
down the stretch, to finish in the first
division, upsetting all the dope. ]
couldn't help but be impressed by the
fact that seated there at the mike was