THE COMMANDER

While Ryan was busy in the studio re-creating Cubs games, the legendary Bob Elson began his big-league career covering White Sox games at Comiskey Park for WGN.

Elson, of Peoria, Illinois, won a contest to become an announcer on KWK in St. Louis in 1928, but WGN jumped in and offered Elson a job as soon as they heard about the contest. The man soon to be known as “The Commander” headed north and soon began to fill in at the park for Ryan, who was already doing too much anyhow, and became popular with fans for his no-nonsense, businesslike delivery.

Sponsors quickly lined up to advertise on ballgames. By 1929, when the Cubs won the NL pennant, the John R. Thompson quick-lunch restaurants and the Baskin/Hart, Schaffner, & Marx stores served as primary sponsors of both the Cubs and White Sox on WGN. John R. Thompson himself even joined Ryan in the WGN Cubs’ booth during 1930 games.

In February 1931, Quin Ryan re-assumed his old duties as WGN’s station manager. Baseball was never his favorite sport anyway, and with Ryan back in the office, Elson was the natural choice to take over full-time diamond broadcasting duties.

At this point, Elson had a 15-minute pre-game show, starting at 2:45 (games at this time in baseball history began at 3:00, and doubleheaders at 12:30 or 1:30), with Thompson’s again a major sponsor.

WGN had stiff competition on the radio dial for baseball during these halcyon days of radio. WBBM’s popular Pat Flanagan brought his signature brogue and clipped delivery to the games; WIBO had Jimmy Corcoran and Bob Hawk on board, and Totten still reigned at WMAQ. Johnny O’Hara did the honors at WCFL, a station owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor.

Announcers often moved between stations at this time, because their voices were tied not to a particular station, but rather to whatever sponsor was associated with the broadcast. Totten, for example, spent time at WCFL and Flanagan ended up at WJJD.

Working in Chicago—especially because of the Cubs, who had won NL flags in 1929, 1932, 1935, and 1938—served as a steppingstone to national success for many young radio men. Jack Brickhouse began his big-league career in 1942 as Elson’s protégé at WGN, while other soon-to-be-famous broadcasters, including Russ Hodges, Jack Drees, Gene Elston, Jimmy Dudley, Milo Hamilton, and Bill Brundige, spent many a summer covering games in Chicago.

One fellow who re-created Cubs games on WHO in Des Moines during the 1930s ended up as a Hollywood actor. Later, after ditching the Democrats for the Republicans, he was elected Governor of California and, finally, President. Ronald Reagan was always a big baseball nut, although back in the 1930s and 1940s, he pronounced his name “Regan.”

 

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