Red Barber by Judith R. Hiltner & James R. Walker

Author:Judith R. Hiltner & James R. Walker [Hiltner, Judith R. & Walker, James R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SPO003030 Sports & Recreation / Baseball / History, BIO016000 Biography & Autobiography / Sports, BIO005000 Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts
Publisher: Nebraska

The Pains and Joys of Drink

Connie Desmond was a lifelong lover of alcohol, and the passion ultimately cost him his career. In his writings, Barber discussed the drinking problems of Bill Munday and Waite Hoyt, describing how their recovery efforts gave Munday a second chance as a broadcaster and Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt a second career as the voice of the Cincinnati Reds. But Barber appears never to have discussed Desmond’s problem in public. It was likely that he did not want to embarrass his colleague and had persuaded himself that Desmond’s habit was still manageable during their years together in the Dodgers’ booth. Desmond was also a fine announcer, and some fans, although they were a minority, preferred him to Barber. In his interviews with Robert Creamer for Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat, Barber told Creamer that his taped comments about Desmond’s alcoholism should not be in their book: “His drinking was not a sudden onslaught; it was just finally the ultimate weight that tilted the scales. . . . What possessed him to drink, I don’t know, but nobody was going to stop him. . . . He drank up a career and a good one. Desmond in condition was the best fellow I ever worked with. . . . Drank up his family, marriage, everything.”35

One night in St. Louis, Connie’s drinking forced Red to innovate quickly. Desmond and Barber were to do a night game from St. Louis that would be aired on both radio (Desmond) and television (Barber). At the time, televised road games were a rarity and, Red noted, “a big deal. . . . And son of a gun, [Desmond] didn’t show up. You keep waiting and you say he’s going to come in the booth any minute.”36 But he didn’t and Barber, to protect his colleague, improvised. Tom Villante remembered the moment: “Red was terrific. [He] turned to the engineer and asked, ‘Will that radio microphone reach in this booth?’ The radio mic just made it. So we get on the air and Red opens up with, ‘Today we’re going to do something brand new; you’re going to love it. It’s called a simulcast. I’m going to do radio play-by-play at the same time that’s going to be the audio for television. Let us know how you enjoy it.’ [Barber] made it sound like the whole thing was planned.”37 Desmond finally arrived at the booth in the seventh inning, but he was too late to contribute to the broadcast.

Desmond’s career with the Dodgers ended when Walter O’Malley fired him after the 1955 season. O’Malley gave him repeated chances to reform, more opportunities than Barber would have, but Desmond could not give up his habit.38 Three and a half decades after Barber left the Dodgers, he received a letter from Desmond’s son Jim. The younger Desmond had written the Baseball Hall of Fame asking it to consider his father for the Ford C. Frick Award and wanted Barber to send a letter of support.

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