In 1964, after 25 years as a Yankee broadcaster, Allen was unceremoniously fired. Mel Allen was the voice of the New York Yankees from 1939 through 1964 when he was abruptly dismissed for reasons unknown to him or anyone else. What this book did was bring him to life and explain all the other incredible accomplishments and talents. He was an actor and writer, known for The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is the story of the American dream. You experience baseball's glorious radio days, when announcers like Allen and his Brooklyn rival Red Barber gave listeners sight and sound and their depictions made ballplayers seem larger than life. Well researched and written! Gehrig thanked Mel for doing the broadcasts because Gehrig said hearing the games on the radio kept him going. He has covered all levels of baseball as well as numerous other sports and has written for USA TODAY, The Washington Post, Harvard University's Nieman Reports and TENNIS Magazine. I truly enjoyed Stephen Borelli's biography of Mel Allen and strongly recommend for all Mel Allen fans! Mel Allen Quotes. Thankfully, another generation of fans would come to know Mel Allen through his weekly narration of This Week in Baseball. He was suave and debonair. Enjoyed how he did show. How About That! Mel Allen was born on February 14, 1913 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA as Melvin Allen Israel. He was a man who had it all, including a gig as the Voice of the Yankees in the glory years of New York baseball. You brush shoulders with legendary college football coach Bear Bryant, famous radio host Ralph Edwards, and a lineup of New York Yankees legends that includes Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel. Allen had a fan following as frantic as theirs, including legions of female admirers. by Kevin Kernan, New York Post Mel Allen was much more than voice of the Yankees. The women and kids loved him, the men, too. Veeck As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck Please try again. Book on Mel Allen: How About That! Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay The model takes into account factors including the age of a rating, whether the ratings are from verified purchasers, and factors that establish reviewer trustworthiness. I loved Mel Allen, knowing him as the grandfatherly narrator of This Week in Baseball and a voice from a more innocent time. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. “ Heres the pitch. I never heard him swear, I never heard him say a negative thing about anyone.” Allen graduated from the University of Alabama, where he was a schoolmate of an end named Larry Allen, 85, says his brother had a simple philosophy, “Mel always said that he was lucky to have a seat at the ballpark,” Larry explains. Both Allen and Red Barber had a grudging respect for one another, but there was a definite coolness between the two. In 1961, when Maris broke Babe Ruth's record, he wasn't intentionally walked once. The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II “Mel was bigger than the Yankees,” former Yankee second baseman and broadcaster One day in the ‘50s, “the best broadcaster ever” got a phone call from a young man in the Midwest who was entertaining the idea of becoming a broadcaster and wanted some tips. Fans hinged on his every word and associated him with their unprecedented winning as much as they associated the players with it. Mel Allen was tall, dark and handsome. Allen advised Gowdy never to get out of baseball. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. He died on June 16, 1996 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. “Mel was bigger than the Yankees,” former Yankee second baseman and broadcaster Jerry Coleman tells me from his home in San Diego. Allen had feelings of insecurity regarding his broadcasting abilities despite his national reputation. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations He grew up outside New York City, where he learned baseball from watching Mel Allen on This Week in Baseball and going to New York Yankees games. The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife “He was the voice and later when television came about, the face of the Yankees dynasty. Amazon calculates a product’s star ratings based on a machine learned model instead of a raw data average. Very well done and this book answered my questions about why the Braves did not hire Allen when they moved to Atlanta; Allen did not want to go to Atlanta, but was offered the job. There have been several biographies of other baseball announcers, and it is high time this one came out on Mel Allen. Steve's book illustrates what many of us already knew: Mel loved and respected his listening audience--feelings that I find scarce by today's standards. Allen, understandably touched, excused himself saying he had to get up to the booth and wept as he left. His signature calls of "How about that!" Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid One of the most memorable moments of Allen's Yankees' career came when he encountered the stricken Lou Gehrig in the dugout prior to a game.