Hello, Friends!: Stories from My Life and Blue Jays Baseball - Hardcover

Howarth, Jerry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1770414983 ISBN 13: 9781770414983

Verlag: ECW PR, 2019

Inhaltsangabe

An honest memoir about life, family, and baseball from the longtime, legendary Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcasterFor 36 years, Jerry Howarth ushered in eternal hope each spring and thrived in the drive of each fall as the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1982, the lifelong avid sports fan joined Tom Cheek as full-time play-by-play radio announcer for the Blue Jays, and for the next 23 years, “Tom and Jerry” were the voices of the franchise. Jerry became part of the fabric of a nation and a team, covering historic moments like the rise of the Blue Jays through the 1980s that culminated in back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993. His Hall of Fame–worthy broadcasting career has been nothing short of legendary. When Jerry retired in February 2018, the tributes poured in and made one thing perfectly clear: Toronto baseball would never be the same.Howarth brings together thoughts on life, family, work, and baseball. Featuring stories about everyone from Dave Stieb, Jack Morris, Duane Ward, Roberto Alomar, and Joe Carter to John Gibbons, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, and the late Roy Halladay, Hello, Friends! is a must-read for sports fans everywhere. Include in Father’s Day promotionSocial media targeting of baseball stars, fans, broadcasters, and teamsFeature on ECW InsidersTarget conversations around spring trainingWork with the Toronto Blue JaysWork with author to leverage existing sports media relationshipsPitch to Blue Jays and baseball specific websites, radio, TV, and podcasts, i.e., The Hardball Times, Birds All Day, At the Letters, Baseball Central, Prime Time Sports, etc.Pitch excerpts, interviews, and features to baseball and sports publications, i.e., Baseball Digest, Sportsnet Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, etc.Pitch to major Canadian dailies and general interest publications, i.e., Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Metro, PostMedia network, Maclean’s, The Walrus, etc.Pitch for interviews with general interest Canadian radio and television shows, i.e., CBC’s Metro Morning, CP24 Breakfast, Breakfast Television

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Born in York, Pennsylvania, and raised in San Francisco, California, Jerry Howarth became a Canadian citizen in 1994. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Mary.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

For 36 years, Jerry Howarth ushered in eternal hope each spring and thrived in the drive of each fall as the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1982, the lifelong avid sports fan joined Tom Cheek as full-time play-by-play radio announcer for the Blue Jays, and for the next 23 years, “Tom and Jerry” were the voices of the franchise. Jerry became part of the fabric of a nation and a team, covering historic moments like the rise of the Blue Jays through the 1980s that culminated in back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993. His Hall of Fame–worthy broadcasting career has been nothing short of legendary. When Jerry retired in February 2018, the tributes poured in and made one thing perfectly clear: Toronto baseball would never be the same.Howarth brings together thoughts on life, family, work, and baseball. Featuring stories about everyone from Dave Stieb, Jack Morris, Duane Ward, Roberto Alomar, and Joe Carter to John Gibbons, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, and the late Roy Halladay, Hello, Friends! is a must-read for sports fans everywhere.“There HE goes but here he stays. Fortunately, Jerry, Mary, and their boys came north to our country. That was truly a positive for the Blue Jays and baseball fans across Canada.” — Brian Williams, O.C.“Jerry’s known as one of the great guys in the game of baseball. I miss our daily back and forth, talking baseball and life, and, of course, ‘The Blue Jays are in flight.’” — John Gibbons, former Blue Jays manager“Whether it was Blue Jays closer Tom Henke saying ‘Hellllllo, friends!’ when Jerry Howarth walked down the aisle on a team charter, an opposing player near the batting cage, or a 12-year-old broadcasting his sandlot game to his buddies, ‘Hello, friends!’ became Howarth’s trademark. In fact, the two words are greeted with the same warmth and familiarity from coast to coast in Canada.” — Bob Elliott, sports journalist“For four years, I was privileged to sit alongside Jerry — master storyteller, consummate professional, exemplary broadcaster. Now fans can pull up a chair and enjoy the excerpts from my partner, mentor, and friend.” — Joe Siddall, Blue Jays broadcaster“Jerry Howarth is a Canadian national treasure and his story is tremendously inspiring. As joyful a person as I’ve ever met, Jerry made friends with millions of baseball fans during his long career and brought his warmth, humour, insights, and descriptions into their living rooms. Readers of his story will have a further opportunity to revel in his positive outlook on life as well as countless fascinating memories.” — Eric Nadel, Texas Rangers radio broadcasterBorn in York, Pennsylvania, and raised in San Francisco, California, Jerry Howarth became a Canadian citizen in 1994. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Mary.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Hello, Friends!

Stories from My Life and Blue Jays Baseball

By Jerry Howarth

ECW PRESS

Copyright © 2019 Jerry Howarth
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-77041-498-3

Contents

Foreword by Paul Beeston, 
Introduction by Drew Dudley, 
Preface, 
Chapter 1 Thrill of a Lifetime, 
Chapter 2 Developing an Interior Life, 
Chapter 3 Two Life-Changing Moments, 
Chapter 4 Handling Disappointment, 
Chapter 5 Starting My Broadcasting Career, 
Chapter 6 A Glimpse into the Future, 
Chapter 7 Time to Pinch Myself, 
Chapter 8 The Major Leagues, 
Chapter 9 Doing What I Love to Do, 
Chapter 10 Offseason to Remember, 
Chapter 11 Veterans and Rookies Alike, 
Chapter 12 Key Moment, 
Chapter 13 Watch Out, American League, 
Chapter 14 Changing of the Guard, 
Chapter 15 Continuing to Refine, 
Chapter 16 Special Year for All, 
Chapter 17 Reaching the Promised Land, 
Chapter 18 How Sweet It Is (Again), 
Chapter 19 Finishing the Decade, 
Chapter 20 Trying to Kick-Start the Engine, 
Chapter 21 Moving in the Right Direction, 
Chapter 22 Memorable Moments, 
Chapter 23 Breaking the Postseason Barrier, 
Chapter 24 Quite a Ride, 
Afterword, 
Postscript, 
Photo Section, 
Acknowledgements, 
About the Author, 
Copyright, 

CHAPTER 1

Thrill of a Lifetime

I was born in York, Pennsylvania, on March 12, 1946. A month later, my parents moved to San Francisco so my dad could start a new job working in refrigeration and air-cooling systems. He was an excellent mechanical engineer and would be starting a new company with one of his close friends. My older son, Ben, graduated from Purdue in 2000, with a degree in electrical engineering. Skilled engineers, my dad and Ben both excelled in math and science. Somehow, those genes skipped right past me. All I do is watch baseball games.

Within a year and a half, my sister, Anita, was born. Shortly after, we moved to Santa Rosa, 60 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, to escape the expensive downtown San Francisco area. By the first grade, sports were already starting to become a part of my life. One day, during recess at St. Rose's Catholic School, we were playing with a soccer ball that sailed over the fence into the shrubs. Everyone thought that ended our game. Except me. I climbed over the fence to get that ball, not even considering the consequences. Suddenly, I was in the principal's office surrounded by smiling nuns, including Sister Kevin, who gently reminded me that it was probably not a good idea to climb fences to retrieve soccer balls. Better to wait and ask someone to get it for you. They loved me, and I could feel that.

In the fifth grade, sports would again leave its imprint on my life. In the midst of a hard-played game of football on the playground, a pass came my way. I jumped to catch it at the same time as my classmate, Rod Thorn. That was the last thing I remember. I came down hard and hit the blacktop face first. I was lying there, knocked out, with my four front teeth nearly knocked out, too. My mother quickly arrived on the scene and rushed me straight to our dentist, Dr. Nordstrom. He used what looked like bubble gum to push my front teeth back into the roof of my mouth and said to come back in a week.

The next week, after removing the gum-like substance, he put ice cubes on my teeth and asked me if I could feel anything. I said no. He said to come back in another week and if I didn't feel anything at that time, he would have to remove my four front teeth and put in a plate of false teeth. The following week, he repeated the test. When I winced and jumped a little bit, he smiled at my mom. My teeth could be saved. Little did I know I would become a broadcaster, where bouncing your tongue off the roof of your mouth rather than a plate is so much better for your artic-u-la-tion.

After the fifth grade, we remained in Santa Rosa but moved out to the country to an area called Rincon Valley. I would ride my bike to school, a mile each way. Right beside the school was a fire station. I was enamoured with the big red fire trucks and would stop by to see them. The firemen were very gracious and always welcomed me. On weekends they taught me how to play chess, checkers, and shuffleboard. That was where I first learned to compete.

We moved from Santa Rosa to Novato when I was in the middle of the sixth grade. This allowed Dad to cut his commute to San Francisco from an hour to thirty minutes. It was also in these middle school years that I began playing a lot of baseball and basketball. I even tried to referee a basketball game on the playground as an eighth grader, but at the end of it I vowed never again. I couldn't please anyone. My friends were all staring me down and complaining. Because of that brief experience, I have a much greater appreciation for umpires and their hard task calling games.

On radio, I let home plate umpires call the 300 balls and strikes per game, without being judgmental on certain borderline pitches. Plus, TV angles from centre field can be very misleading, even with the updated "strike zone" boxes on the screen. I have said many times on the air: "Umpires are required to start from a state of perfection and then they are asked to improve." I have also noted, perhaps somewhat controversially, that I have never seen the Blue Jays lose a game because of an umpire's call. There are too many other innings and missed opportunities that lead to defeats.

It was also in the sixth grade that I went to Kezar Stadium in downtown San Francisco to watch my first 49ers games. My parents were season-ticket holders on the 35 yard line about 30 rows up. Perfect seats for a youngster to see the game. At the end of the 1957 season, the 49ers had a playoff game at Kezar against the Detroit Lions. I was 11 years old. Dad got me a ticket on the goal line in the very front row. Sounded pretty good until I realized I couldn't see the other half of the field because the players were standing in the way.

The 49ers led 27 –7 early in the second half, with the winner to play the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship game the following week. Final Score: Lions 31, 49ers 27. It broke my heart. A few days later, I wrote a five-page essay on that game as part of an in-class assignment that allowed us to pick any topic. When the bell rang for recess, all my classmates went out to play. But not me. I wish I still had that essay because I know in my heart of hearts that my love for sports and writing and eventually broadcasting began with those five pages.

Meeting Willie McCovey

Middle school then led to four wonderful years at Novato High School, which happened to be just 500 yards up the street from where I lived. Sports continued to consume my time. I was the backup quarterback on the junior varsity football team for a season; and a guard on the freshman basketball team before moving full-time to baseball. Baseball was dominant. I played with my high school team all four years, then semi-pro baseball in the summer and on a winter ball team in nearby Fairfax. This was with and against some of the best athletes in the area. I put in the work to try to get better at playing third base and centre field, batting leadoff, and stealing bases, as well as improving my overall conditioning.

One of my most memorable experiences occurred when I was 16 years old, standing on the first tee at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club where my father was a member. I grew up on the golf...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: ECW PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1770414983
• ISBN 13: 9781770414983
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 360
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchpark GmbH; gpsr@buchpark.de; ; Krügerweg 1; Trebbin; Brandenburg; 14959; Deutschland