"The biggest sports story in the country ... that's the New York Yankees. Day in and day out, more words are written, more people cover and more words are spoken on TV and radio about the Yankees than any other sports organization anywhere. The New York metropolitan press, the wire services, syndicated columnists, regional writers from cities where other clubs play .... all cover the Yankees in spring and throughout the season. Yankee games are broadcast daily, televised on more than 130 occasions and TVd [sic] over the CBS Television Network on the 'Game of the Week' on Saturdays and Sundays.
-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook
WRITERS
John Drebinger (New York Times)
Charles Feeney (Long Island Star-Journal and Press)
Til Ferdenzi (New York Journal American)
Hy Goldberg (New York News)
Tommy Holmes (New York Herald Tribune)
Steve Jacobson (Newsday)
Jim Ogle (Newark Star-Ledger)
Phil Pepe (New York World-Telegram and Sun)
Leonard Schecter (New York Post)
Ken Smith (New York Mirror)
Joe Trimble (New York News)
-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook
BROADCASTERS
"The distinguished team of four broadcasters who give Yankee fans the play-by-play each day of the season is a noted team of mike men: Mel Allen, Walter 'Red' Barber, Phil Rizzuto and Jerry Coleman.
Allen is the 'dean' of the Yankee broadcasters, having been the 'Voice of the Yankees' since 1939. Barber now in his 30th year before a mike, has been a Yankee broadcaster since1954 and Phil joined the team a few seasons back. This will be Coleman's first year before the Yankee mikes.
WCBS is the originating station of the Yankees' 40-station 'Home of Champions' network. The originating outlet is WPIX (Channel 11)."
-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook
MEL ALLEN (WPIX, WCBS)
"Mel Allen is the rebel who became the most durable of Yankees. Born in Alabama, he graduated from the University with intentions of being a lawyer. On a visit to New York, he auditioned as an announcer and the bench (legal style) lost a prospect.
He started his diamond career by calling only the home games of the Yankees and Giants. He rapidly became a national figure through World Series, Rose Bowl and Kentucky Derby assignments and perhaps is the most famous and highly paid in his profession.
Mel Allen made 'How About That?' a universal phrase."
-Don Schiffer, 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook
"Hello there, everybody, this is Mel Allen." That introduction is one of the most familiar in the world of sports.
Yankee fans always want to hear what Mel has to say- the Yankees making an inning-ending double play or some Pinstriped hero driving in the winning run in the ninth. The Voice of the Yankees is like an old friend- with a sad recollection of Lou Gehrig's final days as a Yankee or an awe-inspiring story of DiMaggio's hitting streak or one of Mantle's most towering home runs. Mel's on-air narration of a Yankee game is as much as part of the New York scene as the Empire State Building or a Broadway show.
RED BARBER (WPIX, WCBS)
"Walter Lanier ('Red') Barber stands alone in his profession. The man who gave 'rhubarb' to the business was supreme while a daily reporter out of Cincinnati and Ebbets Field. Keen and analytical, his dramatizations were unsurpassed and never did he hesitate at simplifying the most complicated of any playing situation.
Now an announcer of Yankee home games, his pre- and post-game interviews are based on a solid understanding of the sport, and the players appreciate his mature knowledge of their problems."
-Don Schiffer, 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook
Red Barber is a man who tells it like it is, no matter what.
In 1939, he broadcast the first major league game shown on television. The Ol' Redhead has also broadcast the NFL Championship Game, the Army-Navy Game and the Orange Bowl.
Hired by the Yankees away from Dodgers in 1954, the legendary broadcaster is known throughout baseball for his fairness. And when following a long fly ball, Red watches the outfielder, not the ball, and always makes the right call.
PHIL RIZZUTO (WPIX, WCBS)
"Phil Rizzuto represents the growing new breed of ex-ball players now populating the sound waves. An honest observer, he lets listeners know when he's having a 'bad' day and calls attention to his 'fluffs.'
Small, aggressive and artful on the field, he was Yankee shortstop 14 years and had a .281 lifetime average. He turned down managerial offers to start his new career.
Rizzuto also does a national radio sports show via CBS."
-Don Schiffer, 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook
The all-time Yankee shortstop has been covering the club on radio and television since 1957. Playing for the Yankees from 1941-56, with three years of military service in World War II, Phil was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1950.
JERRY COLEMAN (WPIX, WCBS)
Jerry Coleman joins the Yankee broadcast team this year. The Associated Press Rookie of the Year in 1949, Jerry made the All-Star team in 1950 and won the Babe Ruth Award in that year's World Series. He was a Marine Corps fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korean War.
