None greater then Lon. It stands out to me when he said on the radio "See? you should have came to the park today and saw Dave Kingman's first home run" Then he laughed. It stuck with me.
So many people grew up on Giants baseball with Lon. Fellow hall-of-famers Dennis Eckersley, Joe Morgan, and Jon Miller attest to the thrill of hearing Lon's home-run call, "Tell it goodbye!" His Hall of Fame speech was classic Lon ("Eck . . . the ugly pills aren't working"). It was great that KNBR brought him back to the booth in the late 1990's for the send-off from Candlestick and the first few years of PacBell/SBC/AT&T Park. Kruk nicknamed him "The Gray Panther". Jon Miller would try to imitate Lon's deep baritone voice. Lon was a Bay Area broadcasting icon.
Thanks for your kind words about this wonderful gentleman Rich. It's a shame that today's new generation of sportscasters don't seem to share either his enthusiasm, voice, knowledge or even-handed approach on the air. Lon was one of a kind and he will be missed, but what a great run he had!
A truly great voice, broadcaster and legend--Lon Simmons, RIP
Bye Bye Baby!
ReplyDeleteR.I.P.
None greater then Lon. It stands out to me when he said on the radio "See? you should have came to the park today and saw Dave Kingman's first home run" Then he laughed.
ReplyDeleteIt stuck with me.
91, what a fantastic run! God bless.
ReplyDeleteSo many people grew up on Giants baseball with Lon. Fellow hall-of-famers Dennis Eckersley, Joe Morgan, and Jon Miller attest to the thrill of hearing Lon's home-run call, "Tell it goodbye!" His Hall of Fame speech was classic Lon ("Eck . . . the ugly pills aren't working"). It was great that KNBR brought him back to the booth in the late 1990's for the send-off from Candlestick and the first few years of PacBell/SBC/AT&T Park. Kruk nicknamed him "The Gray Panther". Jon Miller would try to imitate Lon's deep baritone voice. Lon was a Bay Area broadcasting icon.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed Mr.Simmons, & thank you for the memories!
ReplyDeleteJon Miller is a clown compared to Lon Simmons!
ReplyDeleteRIP Lon!
Agreed. In addition, Kruk and Kuip are amateurs compared to Lon and Russ Hodges.
DeleteWhere does that place Ron Fairly on the spectrum?
DeleteOr David Glass? Or Phil Stone? LOL to all comparisons!
DeleteThanks for your kind words about this wonderful gentleman Rich. It's a shame that today's new generation of sportscasters don't seem to share either his enthusiasm, voice, knowledge or even-handed approach on the air. Lon was one of a kind and he will be missed, but what a great run he had!
ReplyDelete