SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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GALLANT FOX
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvXXNoyIYRQ
A newsreel narrated by the great Clem McCarthy, the most famous horse racing broadcaster of the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imtb4OGo6UM
There’s a great story about Clem and Bill Stern, who was the most famous general sports broadcaster of the day. Stern was very popular with the public due to his flamboyant style and an overly sentimental radio show he hosted. (He’s spoofed in Woody Allen’s “Radio
Days” if you’ve ever seen that.) but had little real understanding of the sports he broadcast and was famous for showing up unprepared. He was also known among his colleagues to be an arrogant jerk when the microphone was off. One common scenario for Stern was that a football player would break loose for a long touchdown run and Stern would get his name wrong. A scribbled note would be handed to him: “It’s Jones, not Smith!” He would then announce that Smith lateralled to Jones just before crossing the goal line. He was doing a radio broadcast, not TV so the audience couldn’t see what had happened. There were no transistor radios yet so the people in the stands never heard Stern and the newspapers would just report “Jones, 50 yard run, touchdown” so he got away with it. But the people in the business knew what he was doing. McCarthy was the opposite of Stern: a thorough-going professional who knew his stuff and a great guy to work with. Stern knew this and was jealous of McCarthy's high regard among their colleagues. Old Clem finally made a mistake when he announced the wrong winner of the Derby one year, getting the colors- and thousands of bets- messed up. Stern enjoyed the heck out of that. When he encountered McCarthy sitting in the lobby of a hotel they were staying at, Stern began to crudely rib Clem about his errors. McCarthy, without looking up from his newspaper said “Well, Bill, you can’t lateral a horse!”.
Gallant Fox liked company and refused to work out if he didn’t have other horses around him. He ran the same way in races, getting off slowly and staying in the pack until the end. Gallant Fox was foaled at Clairborne Farms in Kentucky, then sold to Belair Stud in Maryland, which was owned by William Woodard Sr. His trainer was “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons and his jockey was Earl Sande. In 17 races he had a record of 11-3-2. Sande came out of retirement to ride this horse and overcame injuries from an auto accident to ride him in the Belmont.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvXXNoyIYRQ
A newsreel narrated by the great Clem McCarthy, the most famous horse racing broadcaster of the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imtb4OGo6UM
There’s a great story about Clem and Bill Stern, who was the most famous general sports broadcaster of the day. Stern was very popular with the public due to his flamboyant style and an overly sentimental radio show he hosted. (He’s spoofed in Woody Allen’s “Radio
Days” if you’ve ever seen that.) but had little real understanding of the sports he broadcast and was famous for showing up unprepared. He was also known among his colleagues to be an arrogant jerk when the microphone was off. One common scenario for Stern was that a football player would break loose for a long touchdown run and Stern would get his name wrong. A scribbled note would be handed to him: “It’s Jones, not Smith!” He would then announce that Smith lateralled to Jones just before crossing the goal line. He was doing a radio broadcast, not TV so the audience couldn’t see what had happened. There were no transistor radios yet so the people in the stands never heard Stern and the newspapers would just report “Jones, 50 yard run, touchdown” so he got away with it. But the people in the business knew what he was doing. McCarthy was the opposite of Stern: a thorough-going professional who knew his stuff and a great guy to work with. Stern knew this and was jealous of McCarthy's high regard among their colleagues. Old Clem finally made a mistake when he announced the wrong winner of the Derby one year, getting the colors- and thousands of bets- messed up. Stern enjoyed the heck out of that. When he encountered McCarthy sitting in the lobby of a hotel they were staying at, Stern began to crudely rib Clem about his errors. McCarthy, without looking up from his newspaper said “Well, Bill, you can’t lateral a horse!”.
Gallant Fox liked company and refused to work out if he didn’t have other horses around him. He ran the same way in races, getting off slowly and staying in the pack until the end. Gallant Fox was foaled at Clairborne Farms in Kentucky, then sold to Belair Stud in Maryland, which was owned by William Woodard Sr. His trainer was “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons and his jockey was Earl Sande. In 17 races he had a record of 11-3-2. Sande came out of retirement to ride this horse and overcame injuries from an auto accident to ride him in the Belmont.
