Relive the Sound of the Game’s History with ‘Memories from the Microphone’

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – One hundred years ago, a new technology carried descriptions of the Aug. 5, 1921, Pirates vs. Phillies game beyond Forbes Field and into a few hundred homes with receivers within reach of KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh.

It was the start of an unbreakable bond between broadcasting and baseball – one that brought the National Pastime to more fans than ever.

“Memories from the Microphone: A Century of Baseball Broadcasting” brings to the written page the magic of baseball over the airwaves. The new book, authored by renowned historian and author Curt Smith, takes readers behind the scenes of some of baseball’s greatest moments with the announcers who brought those games to millions of fans.

“If a baseball broadcaster bonds with the public, he becomes an extended member of the family,” Smith said. “‘Memories from the Microphone’ tells how for the last one hundred years on radio, then television, America’s family has been buoyed by Major League Baseball on the air.”

Organized chronologically, “Memories from the Microphone” charts the history of baseball broadcasting through the stories and personalities that have shaped the game. Featuring rich content detailing iconic moments described by legendary announcers like Mel Allen, Red Barber, Harry Caray, and Vin Scully, the book – published by National Baseball Hall of Fame Books, a division of Mango Media Inc. – accompanies the reader on a journey through baseball history via the men and women whose descriptions turned hits and runs into history.

Featuring a forward by Hall of Famer and longtime Orioles broadcaster Brooks Robinson, “Memories from the Microphone” is available for preorder by clicking here.

“I was privileged to work with the greatest players and coaches when I played and some of the greatest announcers when my playing career was through,” Robinson wrote in the forward. “Those broadcasters helped continue and strengthen the connection between the game and the fans – a bond that has made baseball the National Pastime.”

“Memories from the Microphone” also includes stories on the winners of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Since its inception in 1978, the Frick Award has honored 45 pre-eminent broadcasters from the first 100 years of baseball broadcasts.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will celebrate the anniversary of the first baseball game broadcast on radio with a virtual program with the book’s author, Curt Smith, discussing the book and baseball broadcasting history at 2 p.m. ET Aug. 5.

The partnership between Mango Publishing and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum continues to grow with National Baseball Hall of Fame Books. Mango’s new imprint marries the Baseball Hall of Fame’s curatorial and editorial prowess, and its unequalled archive of historic material, with Mango’s innovative approach to marketing books. The imprint publishes books that celebrate the game of baseball, its history, and its place in our culture. Titles from National Baseball Hall of Fame Books appeal to a broad and diverse readership – all those fascinated by and enamored of America’s National Pastime.