Hank Greenwald | |
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| Born | Howard Sanford Greenwald (1935-06-26)June 26, 1935 |
| Died | October 22, 2018(2018-10-22) (aged 83) San Francisco,California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Syracuse University |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team(s) | San Francisco Giants (1979–86, 1989–96) New York Yankees (1987–88) Oakland Athletics (2004–05) |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
Howard Sanford "Hank"Greenwald (June 26, 1935 — October 22, 2018)[1] was an American sportscaster, known best for being aplay-by-play announcer for theSan Francisco Giants ofMajor League Baseball.
A native Detroiter, Greenwald changed his name from Howard to Hank to honorDetroit TigersHall of FamerHank Greenberg. Greenwald attendedSyracuse University'sjournalism school and graduated in 1957.[2] He began his broadcasting career onWAER callingSyracuse Orange Football games during the heyday ofJim Brown,Ernie Davis,Floyd Little, andLarry Csonka.[3] He was also a broadcaster for the former NBA team, theSyracuse Nationals.[4] In the 1960s, he broadcastHawaii Islanders baseball in thePacific Coast League.
Greenwald began calling games for the Giants in1979, but ended this stint in1986, after Greenwald had a disagreement with station management.[5] After joining theNew York Yankees radio broadcast team for the next two seasons, Greenwald returned to the Giants in1989 when the team reached theWorld Series. Greenwald later expressed resentment toward Yankees ownerGeorge Steinbrenner, saying "Steinbrenner is everything you've heard, maybe worse."[5]
He remained in San Francisco until1996, when he announced his retirement. At the time he retired, Greenwald had announced 2,798 consecutive games.[5] In his bookThis Copyrighted Broadcast, Greenwald cites disagreements with Giants' Vice PresidentLarry Baer as his reason for retiring.[6] The Giants hired formerBaltimore Orioles andESPN announcerJon Miller as Greenwald's replacement.[6]
Perhaps Hank Greenwald's most memorable call was his emotional description of the final out in Game 5 of the1989 National League Championship Series[7] (which sent the San Francisco Giants to theWorld Series for the first time since1962).
Twenty-seven years of waiting have come to an end! TheGiants have won the pennant!
This came after Greenwald called Giants first basemanWill Clark's pennant clinching hit off ofChicago Cubs relief pitcherMitch Williams in the bottom of the eighth inning:
AndClark hits it up the middle, into center-field, base hit!!!Maldonado scores! Here comesButler...on his way to third isThompson, the Giants lead three to one!!! AndSuperman has done it again!
In1997, Greenwald was employed by theCBS Radio network as a baseball announcer, calling SaturdayGame of the Week broadcasts as well as that year'sNLDS between theGiants andFlorida Marlins.
In2004, Greenwald was hired as a television play-by-play announcer for theOakland Athletics working about 1/3 of the team's telecasts with analystRay Fosse. He announced games for the A's in the 2004 and2005 seasons.
Greenwald also called basketball play-by-play for theGolden State Warriors (with legendary announcerBill King) and theUniversity of San Francisco Dons.
Greenwald married Carla Reiter in 1973.[3] His son Doug[5] (born 1974) is the play-by-play announcer for theFresno Grizzlies, formerly the Giants' AAA affiliate and now theHouston Astros' affiliate. He also has announced baseball and women's basketball for theSanta Clara Broncos.[8][9] His first game announcing for the major league Giants was on September 6, 2009; he filled in for regular announcerDave Flemming.[10]
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