Chuck Thompson was a sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of
Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles. He was well-recognized for
his resonant voice, crisply descriptive style of play-by-play, and signature on-air exclamations
"Ain't the beer cold!" and "Go to war, Miss Agnes!"
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Thompson began his broadcasting career with
the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies
in 1947. In 1949 he was hired by the Orioles of the minor International League;
when the former St. Louis Browns moved
to Baltimore and were rechristened as the major-league Orioles in 1954, Thompson
broadcast for them until 1958, moved to the Washington
Senators in 1960, and returned to Baltimore in 1962.
Thompson broadcast regularly on Orioles radio until 1983, then switched to
television and occasional radio broadcasts. In addition to his baseball work, he
called games for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League from the
1950s until their departure for Indianapolis in 1984.
Thompson cut back on his play-by-play duties in the 1990s due to age and
failing eyesight caused by macular degeneration. He received the Ford C. Frick
Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
In addition to his broadcasts for the Orioles and Colts, Thompson is
remembered for this flawed but endearing call of the sudden-victory finish to
the 1960 World Series, for which he was a "guest" play-by-play
announcer for NBC Radio. This event was replayed in full on an MLB radio special
some years ago, during one of the players' strikes. The pitcher was actually
Ralph Terry. Art Ditmar was warming in the bullpen, and besides that error,
Chuck just kind of got caught up in the moment:
"Well, a little while ago, when we said that this one, uh, in typical
fashion, was going right down to the wire, little did we know! ... Art Ditmar
throws ... There's a swing and a high fly ball going deep to left, this may do
it! ... Back to the wall goes Berra, it is ... over the fence, home run, the
Pirates win! ... (long pause for crowd noise) ... Ladies and gentleman, Bill
Mazeroski has just hit a one-nothing pitch over the left field wall to win the
1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of ten to nothing! ...
Once again, that final score, the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates TEN, and
the New York Yankees NINE!"
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