Charles Carroll "Pat" Flanagan (April 11, 1893 – July 2, 1963) was a play-by-play broadcaster for Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs from 1929 to 1943.
Pat Flanagan | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) Flanagan in a publicity photo | |
| Born | Charles Carroll Flanagan April 11, 1893[1] Clinton, Iowa, U.S.[1] |
| Died | July 2, 1963 (aged 70) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Grinnell College Palmer College of Chiropractic |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Spouse | Hazel Elinor Rieman[2] |
Biography edit
Flanagan was born in 1893 in Clinton, Iowa; graduated in 1913 from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa; and later studied at the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, during the 1920s.[2] After college, he worked in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and Chicago.[2] He served with the medical detachment of the 33rd Infantry Division during World War I.[2]
Flanagan first broadcast sports for WOC in Davenport in 1921,[3] getting his start as a fill-in announcer.[2] He joined WBBM in Chicago in 1927, and became their first baseball announcer.[2] He served as the radio announcer of Chicago Cubs games from 1929 to 1943,[4] and also announced Chicago White Sox games.[5] While home games in Chicago were broadcast live, Flanagan recreated the play-by-play for road games from reports transmitted by ticker tape.[5]
In 1933, Flanagan served as radio announcer for the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held at Comiskey Park.[6] He also did the play-by-play for three World Series (1932, 1934, and 1938) for CBS Radio.[6] In his final season of announcing for the Cubs, 1943, he was assisted by Bert Wilson, who took over the lead role in 1944.[7]
Flanagan died in 1963 in Scottsdale, Arizona.[3] At the time of his death, he was the sports director for KOOL in Phoenix, Arizona.[3] Flanagan has twice been a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.[8][9]
References edit
- ^ a b "Draft Registration Card". Selective Service System. June 1917. Retrieved November 14, 2021 – via fold3.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "They Started Here: Pat Flanagan, Baseball Broadcaster". Globe Gazette. Mason City, Iowa. September 28, 1940. p. 16. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via iagenweb.org.
- ^ a b c "Pat Flanagan, Pioneer Sportscaster, Dies". The Evansville Press. Evansville, Indiana. UPI. July 3, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved November 14, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cubs Broadcasters". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ a b "2022 Ford C. Frick Award Ballot". baseballhall.org. October 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "2006 Ford Frick Award nominees". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Bert Wilson". baseballhall.org. 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ Yellon, Al (October 22, 2018). "Pat Flanagan, early Cubs broadcaster, is a 2019 Frick Award finalist". bleedcubbieblue.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Hall of Fame announces finalists for 2022 Ford C. Frick Award". The Daily Star. October 16, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.