|
|
Mike Voris worked at Crosley Field in 1955. This was during the time of the second of three scoreboards there. Mike's job at Crosley was to keep track of the "balls, strikes, and outs" on the scoreboard. This was done electronically from the press box. Mike was located in a booth next to the radio booth where Waite Hoyt and Jack Moran did the radio broadcasts. Here, then, is Mike's story:
In the press box I sat next to Jack with a glass partition between us. There was a little sliding glass window through which I delivered the ticker tape scores for relaying over the radio. Waite usually just had his shirt and boxer shorts on if it was a hot day. There was no air conditioning! During commercials, Waite would tease Jack, sometimes unmercifully. Often he ribbed Jack about Jack's less than illustrious minor league career. My duties as operator of the ball, strike, and out count included letting the count remain on the scoreboard a few seconds longer after a home run. This allowed Waite and the sportswriters more time to relay the count at the time the player hit the home run.
One day Waite missed the count, so he asked Jack what the count was. Jack thought that they were on the air, so he held up his fingers to relay the info. Waite said questioningly, "Two and a half"? It seems that that is just what Jack had held up, having lost half of one of his fingers when he was younger!
|
