THE NEWS that Ralph Barbieri has passed was not as shocking to me; respectfully, as I had known for quite some time that Barbieri was in poor health and quite ill. Hopefully, he's in a better place. In fact, knowing Ralph, he's happy this ordeal is over and ready to deal with heaven. That's a much better place given what The Razor has been dealing with the better part of a decade.Some thoughts:
*He settled with Cumulus for $4M dollars --a figure that was disputed by many, but confirmed by his own attorney, Angela Alioto, who told me about the settlement.
*He always pointed out that Cumulus/KNBR fired him with cause because he continually showed up late to the studio even though his ratings were perennially number one.
He was right.
*The Parkinson's disease that killed him wasn't helped by his type two diabetes.
*He was noted for his voice and its shill/edgy distinct tone; he was consistently told early on by a host of radio execs that it would not work on radio. That's why they live outside the studio and The Razor did his thing for over 20 years.
*Barbieri sure, was a load, but one helluva interviewer.
*He challenged Larry Baer, the Giants' front man. That alone should net him a place in the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
*Yes, he could be quite mean but most of the time, he was a gentleman. I have first-hand evidence. We broke bread one time and he told me the radio gig at KNBR was, next to his son, his top priority. I concurred.
*He will be missed.
Damn! Met him in a Novato Safeway some years ago. Had a nice chat and his son was with him. I heard him before I saw him.
ReplyDeleteThinking."The Razor"? Yep. R.I.P Ray. :-(
Awe man. This day didn't have to come but eventually it did. The Razor was talk radio and sports talk radio at its finest. Love or not love Ralph parenthetically saying he was a one of a kind. Rest easy.
ReplyDeleteThe Razor is now reconnecting upstairs with the man who gave him the nickname - Herb Caen.
ReplyDeleteI met Ralph at a Giants game at Candlestick many years ago and he could not have been nicer. He was a unique presence in Bay Area sports talk radio and there will never be another one like him.
ReplyDeleteHe was often great, and sometimes not quite as great, on air. But he was interesting, and he always captured my attention. A truly one of a kind character, who cared. Good reasons why my car radio was invariably tuned into his show.
ReplyDeleteI always got the impression that Ralph really did love the Giants, and San Francisco. I, too, had an exchange with him at The 'Stick. On one of the concourses, in the early '90s. He was very pleasant, and it made my day!
Thanks for the memories, Ralph. We will miss you!
He was a great advocate for abused animals and he was one hell of a radio guy.
ReplyDeleteGreat eulogy.
DeleteI met Ralph in the mid 80’s in Scottsdale spring training. We hit it off at the famous pink pony and party all night for about two weeks.... what a great guy if you knew him he hated BS... R.I.P. my friend
ReplyDeleteBarbieri was known to end his show with a quote from Gilbert K. Chesteton "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly,"
ReplyDeleteWow, that just brought back a flood of memories. I mostly heard Barbieri while in the car going somewhere with my dad. Frank & Mike and The Razor were KNBR back in those days.
DeleteI enjoyed his KNBR show with Tolbert. His style never bothered me, he was entertaining. Rest In Peace.
ReplyDeleteHe and T worked exceptionally well together. Tolbert's show closing tribute, today, was clearly heartfelt.
DeleteI loved Ralph and sorry that he has passed away. Yes he always asked the tough questions and that is what he should be remember for, not the last couple of years where he mailed it in
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to read from all the fans who met Ralph. Sounds like a real gregarious guy off the air. Wish he hadn't suffered so much from the Parkinson's.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the other contributors, I was not a fan of Ralph, but that doesn't mean I want to see anyone leave this earth prematurely. I was at a Giant/Pirate game at the "Stick when Barry Bonds was playing for Pittsburgh. Barry hit a high flyball to CF. The wind played tricks and Willie McGee misjudged it.
ReplyDeleteThe ball fell to the turf and Bonds got a single. He dogged it.
No question about it. He should have had at least a double --
maybe a triple. The next day on KNBR, Ralph was fantastic. He ripped Bonds up one side and down the other and said the true superstars, like Mays, would have been on third. Then Bonds comes to the Giants and I made sure I was tuned in when Ralph
interviewed him for the first time. Sadly, it was BB hero worship at its worst. The most nauseating, ass kissing, softball
questions I've ever heard. No mention of Barry's lack of hustle
the prior season. Sorry to say that this is the most lingering memory I have of Ralph NOT asking the tough questions.
Like you I wasn't a big fan, but I feel that now isn't the right time especially when he can't defend himself and people are mourning his loss. I feel bad for folks who didn't reach out to him before he was gone.
DeleteFirst guy is full of crap. Ralph asked tougher questions than any Bay Area sports journalist ever has.
DeleteYou’re allowed to dislike his style. But don’t hate on him for having one soft interview. As if one soft interview could define the Razer.
I met Ralph once - it was about 40 years ago and I was working as a student-aide for a campus radio station at Leland High School in San Jose. As part of the curriculum the radio teacher had me book radio professionals to come to the school and talk to the students in the radio classes about their jobs. Now in those days most of the kids wanted to be rock n roll dj's and they primarily wanted to hear from people like Dennis Erectus (KOME), Lobster (Paul Wells KSJO) and Dr. Don Rose. But as we explained to the students there was more to radio than rock n roll and we were going to expose them to people from all facets of the business - hey even chief engineers were invited to come in and talk abobut their jobs.
ReplyDeleteAnyway we needed someone from talk radio and I was instructed to call KGO and see about getting a talk host to come down. In those days Ralph was working as a part-time and fill-in talk host on KGO - this is well before his move to KNBR.
KGO sent Ralph down to talk to the kids. He was fabulous and he engaged the students in a real back-and-forth about politics, the issues of the day and radio. He really shined.
Everytime I heard Ralph on the radio I remembered his visit to Leland High and as time wore on I became more impressed with the commitment and character of Ralph Barbieri. He was not paid to come to visit the students. He did it on his own dime and he drove all the way from his home in Novato to the very south end of San Jose (Almaden Valley) - that was one hell of a round-trip (180 miles) and he did it to share his knowledge and passion for broadcasting with our high school students.
That's a side of Ralph that many people didn't know about - a caring, passionate man with a generous heart and spirit. God Bless you Ralph and may you rest in peace.
Great story, thanks for sharing. I remember the first time I heard Ralph was when he was filling in on the overnight shift on KGO, and he was talking about interesting philosophical questions - far from the sports talk he would later become a legend for. Fascinating guy who clearly lived life his way. Probably a good lesson for all of us in that.
DeleteThe Chronicle's obit says it all. Lengthy, but very well written.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 80's I was a TV news photog who got sent a lot to cover Giants games...by myself. This was before satellite/ESPN/other net feeds; if a local station wanted hilites, it had to shoot it for themselves.
ReplyDeleteOne day I was sent to the 'Stick to shoot a Giants-Phillies game. I had some of that early-80's gear--meaning everything was HEAVY (camera, 3/4" tape deck, Miller sticks, on-board "bricks"/batteries...3 or 4 blank tapes, etc.). Our sports guy wanted me to grab an interview w/Mike Schmidt.
So I enter through the player's parking entrance and start heading to the right-field tunnel leading to the bullpen. I'm struggling carrying the gear (I had spent a full day shooting news, and this was a night game...so it was a long day). I hear someone walking behind me, who says "DAMN--that's a lotta crap ya got there. Here--lemme give you a hand." It was Ralph. Being a sports fan, I immediately recognized him. He grabbed my tripod...and we both started walking to the field for BP.
As we were chatting...and he found out I was sent to grab an interview w/Schmidt, we were passing the visitor's clubhouse...and who walks out of there, but none other than Schmidt! He and Ralph exchanged greetings. Then Ralph says, "Hey..can I grab a quick bite with you? In fact, my friend here has a few questions, too)." The always-classy Schmidt readily agreed--and Ralph did the interviewing--holding my stick mic. As he was wrapping up, Ralph turns to me and asks "Ya got anything YOU wanna ask Schmitty?" I told him no, I was "good." Ralph then helped me break down...and carried my tripod up to the photog box upstairs. As he was leaving, he says while laughing, "That's a helluva workout right there, pal, carrying all that gear. You need a RAISE, my good man."
I will never forget that day...and the kindness and generosity of Ralph. RIP, sir.
So many great stories that speak the truth of the man. Not what he did on air or in public, but what he did in moments like this that no one knew about. Thanks for sharing.
Deleteone of these days you'll take a look at the piece of shit behind the bay area radio hall of fame. total scam artist. such bullshit to see it mentioned in articles like its a thing.
ReplyDelete...and I will miss him too, Rich. Listened from afar for many years, loved his entertaining radio ...
ReplyDeleteWasn't a huge Ralph fan, may he rest in peace. I enjoyed Dave Newhouse in the mid 80's on KNBR and along came Ralph to bump Dave off his slot. In your face, edgier type talk sells I guess. Call me old school, but the early KNBR days of Ken Ditto,Dave Newhouse and Hank Greenwald were my cup of tee. Extremely knowledgeable and respectful to their callers. This Limbaugh/JT the Brick crap isn't for me.
ReplyDelete