Thanks to Lori Grossman for including me in her feature story "Speaking of the Rangers" in Texas Rangers Magazine, the official souvenir program at Globe Life Park:
Four Rangers television and radio announcers from different eras discuss their time in the broadcast booth.
Included in this issue was a look back at the first division championship team in club history 20 years ago, the 1996 Al West Champion Rangers.
I was the fortunate (or unfortunate) one who drew the assignment of conducting interviews in the champagne soaked Ramgers clubhouse on the postgame show that night. I still have that suit, though I've never worn it since then. It was an old one I pulled out from the back of my closet rack just for that occasion.
This is the 45th season that the Rangers have made their home in Arlington. I remember listening on the radio to the first game they ever played in 1972, with Bill Mercer and Don Drysdale on the call from Anaheim.
Bill Mercer was the original "Voice of the Rangers" back in 1972-73. Norm Hitzges was a TV analyst in 1986-89 and 1991-95. Brad Sham took a hiatus from doing Cowboys games to partner with Eric Nadel on Rangers radio from 1995-97. I got to do the television broadcasts with Tom Grieve from 1997-2001.
When did you know that you wanted to be a sports broadcaster?
Looking back on it, I probably knew when I was about 8 years old, growing up in Irving. I loved sports. I loved talking about it. I used to read the sports section of the newspaper, out loud, much to the chagrin of my sisters!
I loved listening to games on the radio. In fact, I remember listening to the first game the Rangers ever played while lying in bed. It was a late game in Anaheim, and I didn't fall asleep until Bill Mercer had signed off for the night following a 1-0 loss to the Angels.
As a kid, my heroes were as much broadcasters as they were athletes. Dick Risenhoover on Rangers games, Frank Glieber and Verne Lundquist doing Cowboys games, and Terry Stembridge on the old ABA Dallas Chaparrals were my favorites.
How did you become a Rangers broadcaster?
I received a call from the Rangers in May 1997, asking me to do a play-by-play audition at a Rangers-Yankees game the next day. They set me up in a broadcast booth. I put on a headset, and did the play-by-play and analysis of that game. Well, the next day, the Rangers called and said they needed me to fill in for Mark Holtz on a few upcoming games, but they didn't say why.
As it turns out, tragically, Mark had been diagnosed with leukemia and was in need of a bone marrow transplant. This was horrible news. Mark was my all-time favorite Rangers broadcaster and, just six months earlier, he had made a point to come over to me in the dugout prior to a Rangers-Yankees postseason game and give me words of encouragement that still inspire me to this day.
Holtzie was one of a kind. Even during my first week of broadcasting Rangers games, he would call to encourage me and pass along a few pointers. All of this while he was in the fight of his life. As it turns out, I finished out the season for Mark, a total of 110 games. But, along the way, we lost Holtzie. He passed away in early September.
Any special memories connected with your first broadcast?
My first broadcast on May 23, 1997 was at old Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The press box was so close to home plate that it felt like you were hanging right on top of the backstop. However, where our TV booth was located, as Tom Grieve forewarned me, when a left-handed batter came to the plate, you had to be ready to duck for cover. Those foul balls could rifle back at you at over 100 miles per hour.
Well, about the fifth inning, I'm getting relaxed, gaining some confidence on my first ever baseball broadcast. Then, all of a sudden, I heard this WHAP! And then a WHOOSH! Followed by a WHACK behind my left ear!
Left-handed hitter Warren Newson had sent a foul ball whizzing into our booth, and only by the grace of God did this rookie broadcaster survive it. The ball flew right past my left ear and knocked a thermostat, located directly behind my head, plumb off the wall
Tom exclaimed, "Welcome to the big leagues, Bill!"
Fondest memory as a Rangers broadcaster?
My fondest memories are the three division titles I was able to broadcast, but the lasting memories revolve around the daily "grind" of the season. People call it a grind, but it's really not. When you're living out your dream at the big league level, whether you're a player, manager, coach, or broadcaster, it's not a grind. It's a joy. And, I'm forever grateful for the opportunity the Rangers gave me.