Holy Cow! The Life and Times of Halsey Hall
Posted by Rhubarb_Runner on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 5:30 am
[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]
Holy Cow! The Life and Times of Halsey Hall
by Stew Thornley
Copyright © 1991 by Nodin Press
hardcover, 246 pages
About the Author: Sports historian Stew Thornley has been a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) since 1979 and is a founder and past president of SABR's Halsey Hall Chapter.
A batboy for the Minnesota Gophers under the legendary Dick Siebert in the late 1960s, Thornley later worked as a sportscaster at radio stations in Missouri and Minnesota.
Thornley is the author of Basketball's Original Dynasty: The History of the Lakers and the award-winning On to Nicollet: The Glory and Fame of the Minnesota Millers. He also collaborated with fromer Macalester football coach Tom Hosier on Mac is Back: The Story Behind the Ending of College Football's Longest Losing Streak.
- - - - - - - - - -
About the Book: (from the jacket) "Holy Cow!" was the trademark of Halsey Hall and a term familiar to thousands of sports fans who listened to Halsey use the expression on sports broadcasts for nearly half-a-century.
One of the most beloved media personalities the Upper Midwest has ever known, Halsey's popularity was so lasting that he was ranked as the top sportscaster in Minnesota in a poll taken two years after his death.
In addition to his announcing, Halsey had a long and illustrious career as a sports columnist with several newspapers in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
When major-league baseball arrived in the state in 1961, Halsey became part of the original broadcast crew for the Minnesota Twins and regaled fans throughout the region with his many stories and memories.
Halsey died in 1977, but the stories -- the ones he told and the ones told about him -- live on, making the rounds in broadcast booths, barrooms, and back porches throughout Minnesota and surrounding states.
Whether you're a longtime Halsey fan or are being introduced to him for the first time, Stew Thornley's lively and captivating biography of this irreverent sports journalist will make you laugh and cry -- often at the same time.
- - - - - - - - - -
Personal notes:
- I can barely remember as a kid hearing Halsey doing Twins broadcasts. And I remember all the ribbing he took when the ashes of one of his ever-present cigars caught his sportscoat on fire during a broadcast.
- A couple of great quotes -- On flying: "I'd like one chance to Chicago, please." On rickety Nicollet Park (home of the Minneapolis Millers): "Every time a foul ball hits the roof, all the toilets flush."
Please drop an email to SBGLibrary (at) hotmail (dot) com if you have a suggestion or a submission for the SBG Library.
Loading ...
I never heard Hall broadcast. Heck, my parents hadn't even met by the time he died. Still, it's interesting to hear about the impact he had on Minnesota sports.
Oh man, this is great! An mp3 of an aircheck with Halsey Hall on WCCO from December 1962, from radiotapes.com. I remembered him a bit more gravelly-voiced, but I also remember him 7-10 years after this recording, though.
I have no memory of Halsey Hall, other than people taking how great he was. I didn't listen to, or watch many Twins games until about 1982 or so. My 4 brothers and I were outside playing ball. I only really followed the Twins through the boxscores and my baseball cards. It was a less frustrating way to follow the team than the avenues I currently employ.
I was also scanning boxscores, sorting baseball cards, and outside playing ball. The games were mostly at night, though, so there's no excuse to falling asleep with Herb talking into my ear in my crystal radio earbud.