Hi, Ed…You may-or may not- remember that as Sports Director of the biggest sports station in America in 1951-(WHN_WMGM,) I hired the first female sports broadcaster, a “celebrated” Wimbledon participant-thanks to her lacy, ruffled white panties, Gussie Moran.
She was an ostensible patrician ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’, supposedly a perfect example of probity and sports wisdom.
Imagine my surprise: she turned out to be anything but!
Although she was a remarkable tennis athlete, she had one terribly efficient fault. She couldn’t play in front of an audience; she froze.
When she played against other ranked females–and even some males-
without an audience, she beat them. BUT, in front of an audience she died the death of the lonely..
However, her response in front of a microphone was almost magical and often hilarious in the most serious sense.
Once, following a Brooklyn Dodger game broadcast on a show called “Sports Extra”,, and before the Kentucky Derby, she asked the great Marty Glickman,the creator of the broadcasting technique for basketball, who had just started calling the standard-bred horse races at Yonkers Raceway, (she assumed that Glickman was an expert of thoroughbred racing as well–which he wasn’t), “how did they breed those little jockeys?”…after an extended pause (for hysterical laughing) Glickman said, “the old fashioned way…the stork brought them.”
Gussie was, and still is in my mind, an altogether lovely, kind and
thoughtful broadcaster.
The essence, these days, of a typical female sports broadcaster, is that she usually knows MORE (and looks a lot better than) the males she;s competing with. (see ESPN) But, Gussie was early in the game and, in my opinion, made a major contribution.
Nat Asch
Bertha Brainard had the intelligence to recognize one of radio’s great women, Gertrude Berg, creator (and star!) of “The Goldbergs.” Decades later, I had the pleasure of working at NBC with Gertrude Berg’s granddaughter, Carlotta Berg, an associate director.
Hi, Ed…You may-or may not- remember that as Sports Director of the biggest sports station in America in 1951-(WHN_WMGM,) I hired the first female sports broadcaster, a “celebrated” Wimbledon participant-thanks to her lacy, ruffled white panties, Gussie Moran.
She was an ostensible patrician ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’, supposedly a perfect example of probity and sports wisdom.
Imagine my surprise: she turned out to be anything but!
Although she was a remarkable tennis athlete, she had one terribly efficient fault. She couldn’t play in front of an audience; she froze.
When she played against other ranked females–and even some males-
without an audience, she beat them. BUT, in front of an audience she died the death of the lonely..
However, her response in front of a microphone was almost magical and often hilarious in the most serious sense.
Once, following a Brooklyn Dodger game broadcast on a show called “Sports Extra”,, and before the Kentucky Derby, she asked the great Marty Glickman,the creator of the broadcasting technique for basketball, who had just started calling the standard-bred horse races at Yonkers Raceway, (she assumed that Glickman was an expert of thoroughbred racing as well–which he wasn’t), “how did they breed those little jockeys?”…after an extended pause (for hysterical laughing) Glickman said, “the old fashioned way…the stork brought them.”
Gussie was, and still is in my mind, an altogether lovely, kind and
thoughtful broadcaster.
The essence, these days, of a typical female sports broadcaster, is that she usually knows MORE (and looks a lot better than) the males she;s competing with. (see ESPN) But, Gussie was early in the game and, in my opinion, made a major contribution.
Nat Asch
Bertha Brainard had the intelligence to recognize one of radio’s great women, Gertrude Berg, creator (and star!) of “The Goldbergs.” Decades later, I had the pleasure of working at NBC with Gertrude Berg’s granddaughter, Carlotta Berg, an associate director.