Many tributes are pouring in today celebrating the life of Jerry Coleman, who died yesterday at the age of 89.
It was quite a life, reports Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press:
Coleman spent more than 70 years in pro baseball, a career that included four World Series titles with the Yankees and was interrupted by World War II and the Korean War, when he served as a Marine Corps pilot.
He flew 120 missions combined in the two wars. Coleman was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 13 Air Medals and three Navy Citations.
Around Petco Park and on Padres radio broadcasts, Coleman was known as “The Colonel,” having retired from the Marines with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Coleman, also known for calls of “Oh, Doctor!” and “You can hang a star on that!” after big plays, received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Vin Scully weighed in on his old friend via Twitter:
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News posted a story he did on Coleman in 2005 when he was honored by the Hall of Fame.
“All I do is have a mike and love the games and tell the people what’s happening and try to get it right,” said Coleman when told there’s plenty of baseball fans this far north of his current digs who tune into The Mighty 1090-AM, or have access now to the Internet or satellite radio, to hear his call.
“With so many people able to tune in, that really ruins my day,” he added in typical self-effacing manner. “Now I have to be right all the time.”
Hoffarth also had a section on his “Colemanisms.”
Jerry Coleman was doing a Yankees-Indians doubleheader for the Yankees’ flagship radio station, WPIX, one afternoon, and for the first six innings of the opener, he had been telling the audience how it was unusual that day that Sam McDowell’s control was so much better than normal. Finally, in the sixth inning, someone at the station called to ask him to double-check the Indians pitcher.
Turns out it was Jack Kralick, another left-hander who was scheduled to pitch the second game.
That isn’t the only memorable malaprop Coleman has made in a baseball broadcasting career that has spanned almost 45 years, starting at the CBS Radio Network in 1960:
–“(Dave) Winfield goes back to the wall … he hits his head on the wall … it’s rolling all the way back to second base. This is a terrible thing for the Padres.”
–“On the mound is Randy Jones, the left-hander with the Karl Marx hairdo.”
–“The first pitch to Tucker Ashford is grounded into left field. No, wait a minute. It’s ball one. Low and outside.”
–“Ozzie Smith just made a play that I have never seen before. And he’s done it more times than anyone else.”
–“(Derrell) Thomas is racing for it, but (Willie) McCovey is there and can’t get his glove to it. That play shows the inexperience, not on Thomas’ part, but on the part of Willie McC … well, not on McCovey’s part either.”
–“George Hendrick simply lost that sun-blown popup.”
–“Larry Lintz steals second standing up – he slid, but he didn’t have to.” “If Pete Rose brings the Reds in first, they ought to bronze him and put him in cement.”
–“Before Glenn (Beckert, who had announced his retirement) leaves, I hope he stops by the booth so we can kiss him goodbye. He’s that kind of guy.”
–“(Manager Steve) Boros is not with the team today because he’s attending his daughter’s funeral. Oh wait, it’s her wedding.”
–“I’ve made a couple of mistakes I’d like to do over.” Coleman, who like Yogi Berra or Ralph Kiner before him, cops to all those. But he says one that was attributed to him is one he never said.
“The only one I deny is that ‘Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen,’ ” Coleman said. “I said he was ‘throwing ’em up in the bullpen.’
“Most of the time people know what I mean. My mouth just gets ahead of my brain. Fortunately, the fans have taken to it. They’ve let me come into their homes. That’s what 99 percent of good broadcasting is. If they don’t like you, it doesn’t work.”