Broadcasters by Year 1924 2006

By Wikipedia

Joe Castiglione is a radio announcer for the Boston Red Sox baseball team and a member of SABR.

A native of Hamden, Connecticut, Castiglione graduated from Colgate University with a BA in Liberal Arts. Castiglione often playfully ridiculed Colgate's sports teams during Red Sox broadcasts. He then attended Syracuse University and recieved a MFA in their television-radio program. He began his career in Youngstown, Ohio broadcasting football games for $15 a game. His first major job as a sportscaster was in Cleveland in 1979, where he called Cleveland Indians games and did sports reporting for WKYC television.

Castiglione joined the Red Sox broadcast team in 1983, teamed with the late Ken Coleman. He admitted not being in the booth when the ball rolled through Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series, as he was in the clubhouse covering Red Sox' seemingly-impending victory celebration. After Coleman's retirement in 1989 Castiglione became the team's lead radio announcer, and in 1994 Castiglione was joined by Jerry Trupiano, and the two have formed the Red Sox broadcast team ever since. Castiglione's high-pitched, nasal voice is contrasted with the deep and low voice of Trupiano.

He was behind the microphone for many of the great moments from the Red Sox run to the 2004 World Series. His call of the final out of game 4, when Edgar Renteria, then of the St. Louis Cardinals, grounded out, is as follows:

“Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first, and the Boston Red Sox are the world champions! For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball’s world championship! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?”

His autobiography (written with Douglas B. Lyons) was published in August of 2004 and was called Broadcast Rites and Sites: I saw it on radio with the Red Sox.

Castiglione is currently a Lecturer in the department of Communication Studies at Northeastern University in Boston and also teaches at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. He teaches a course on Sports Broadcasting.

Special thanks to Doug Lyons for contributing to this article.

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