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the angels & mlb remember

HANK GREENWALD, among the JOHN HALL, former Los Angeles
most beloved of all San Francisco Times and Orange County Regis-
Giants broadcasters, died at Cali- ter sports columnist died last De-
fornia Pacific Medical Center last cember 14. He was 90.
Oct. 22nd. He was 83. Hall was a sports writer and col-
Known for his extensive knowl- umnist for 29 years with the Los
edge and dry wit, Greenwald was Angeles Mirror and the Los An- in memoriam
the Giants lead radio announcer geles Times in the Times-Mirror
from 1979-86, returning in 1989 organization. For the Times, Hall
— after two season with the Yankees — through was the USC and then the Angels beat writer.
the 1996 season. He came out of retirement to He would eventually become best known for his
do a portion of the A’s television broadcasts in Times sports column that usually appeared on
2004-05. page 3 a few days a week. His “The Hall truth,
Greenwald was born in Detroit, where he grew and nothing but the truth … “ columns were a
up listening to Tigers broadcasts and became must-read, for sports fans and sports personal-
so enamored with future Hall of Famer Hank ities alike.
Greenberg, who shared his Jewish faith, that he He joined the Register, then known as the Santa
changed his name from Howard to Hank. After Ana Register, in 1981, to become its lead sports
World War II, Greenwald’s family moved to Roch- columnist.
ester, NY, where he discovered a distinct brand
of baseball heaven, listening to the likes of Red Hall was a basketball standout at Manual Arts
Barber with the Dodgers and Mel Allen with the High School in Los Angeles and attended Stan-
Yankees. ford on a basketball scholarship. Hall had worked
Greenwald graduated from Syracuse University, on the Manual Arts school newspaper and fol-
lowed as a writer for the Stanford Daily. He start-
known for producing many greats of the broad- ed his professional sports writing career at the
casting business, in 1957. Over the years, he an- Hollywood Citizen News before matriculating to
nounced games for Syracuse football and the Syr- the Times-Mirror group.
acuse Nationals of the NBA. In 1964, he moved to
the Bay Area to work with Bill King broadcasting His final 12 years with the Register were spent
for the then-San Francisco Warriors. After calling as a man-about-town columnist for the paper.
minor league baseball for several years, Green- He would later write a similar column for the San
wald joined the Giants in 1979 to work with Lind- Clemente Sun Post.
sey Nelson, one of his broadcast idols. Hall was California Sportswriter of the Year six
The longtime Giants, Warriors and A’s broadcast- times.
er was known for his wit. Some of his memorable He had a penchant for bestowing nicknames. Cal
lines: State Fullerton basketball coach Bobby Dye was
“Dusty Baker will lead off the ninth, and by the “The Wizard of Nutwood,” a play on UCLA coach
sound of the music — the William Tell Overture John Wooden’s “Wizard of Westwood” label, as
— he’ll be followed by the Lone Ranger and Ton- Cal State Fullerton is on Nutwood Ave. And there
to.” was “The Sealy Cyclone” when Sealy, Texas na-
“Three more saves (for Bruce Sutter) and he’ll tie tive Eric Dickerson first made a splash as a Rams
star running back.
John the Baptist.”
“They’re telling us (in St. Louis) the temperature Outside of his writing Hall was involved in many
organizations, some related to sports and oth-
on the field is 143 degrees. With the wind chill, ers to charitable organizations. Hall, as much as
it’s 140.” anyone, helped create the Freedom Bowl college
Upon joining the A’s television crew: “I’ve had football bowl game that was played in Anaheim
seven years off between starts. I should be from 1984 to ’94.
well-rested.” His return, he said, “lends great He is in several halls of fame, including the USC
hope to those who have been waiting for Ted Athletics Hall of Fame.
Williams.”
“If Houston and Montreal stay on top, it will be JACK HAMILTON, pitched for all
the first time the National League playoffs take or part of eight seasons in the
place entirely outside the United States.” major leagues, including two with
Quoting songwriter Cole Porter out of nowhere: the Angels, passed away February
27th of last year at the age of 79.
“It’s a beautiful day to be at Candlestick Park. It’s
delightful. It’s delectable. It’s Delino DeShields Hamilton will long be remem-
leading off for the Expos.” bered for a single moment. He
“Larry Herndon seems to be bothered by insects threw the fastball that struck
the head of slugging Boston Red
at the plate. I don’t know what species it is. May- Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro in August 1967, a
be it’s an infield fly.” difficult episode that shortened the career of a
By the end of his Giants tenure, in 1996, Gre- potential Hall of Famer. In the decades that fol-
enwald had broadcast 2,798 consecutive Major lowed, Hamilton was sought out from time to
League games. time for interviews about that night in Boston, in
a season when the long-shot Red Sox went on to
their Impossible Dream pennant victory.
A journeyman pitcher, Hamilton had been traded
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