Historic voices

 

Sean Ford and me calling the Gades and the Oneonta Tigers,
Dutchess Stadium, Aug 17, 2008 (Nancy Adams photo)

It's taken a year but I've finally begun to do the things I wanted to do for the Renegades' broadcasts.

We still have to figure out other details but one thing I had thought about was connecting with each of the lead broadcasters in the history of the team.

I figured I had a unique perspective, given I've been going to Gades games since they arrived in 1994 and had broadcast the team off and on since 2001.

But...was I sure of who those voices were? I knew some even though I'd never met them. I knew enough from my own brain. My own memories.

And, of course, my own experiences.

I thought it would be nice to pull together an archive of audio samples. Perhaps I could blend them together as part of the opening of the broadcasts. I wasn't sure exactly where this could go.

Most of all, I wanted to unite all of us as a group of people who had this unique opportunity, beginning in 1994. I wanted to write the story.

First up was the original team broadcaster, Bill Rogan, whom I connected with via social media yesterday. He quickly accepted my request and we chatted a bit online. By the end of last night, I had two calls from Bill and maybe more to follow. Bill was with the team from 1994-1998.

Rick Schultz was with Bill before Rick took over the lead role in 1999 as the Gades marched to their first NY-Penn League championship. Rick, as we speak, is pulling that call together to send to me.

By 2000, Sean Ford was in the driver's seat. I know Sean very well and we remain good friends who don't talk to each other nearly enough. He'll be hearing from me soon. Sean was first with the team in 1999. By 2001 he met this strange guy who would officially get his turn as lead broadcaster 20 years later.

Even if Sean doesn't send me anything (and I know he will) I also know I have a few calls of his in my own collection.

Sean, Harold, and I marched up to Massachusetts for a weekend that included calling the Gades at Fenway Park and the following day in Lowell. 

Geoff Brault followed when Sean didn't come back after 2008. Geoff welcomed me into the booth several times during the 2009 season. We've remained in touch ever since. I'm certain I have some audio of him but I also suspect he'll send me a few highlights. Geoff remains an outstanding broadcaster working at Marist College.

Geoff and I had a fun-filled experience at Aberdeen, MD that included losing power thanks to a mammoth thunderstorm. The IronBrids brought in generators to light the booth and restrooms for the night.

My memories of 2010 are vague but I remember working two games with Nick Gagalis, while Gary Ayd ran the show back in the studio. If my memory is decent, Gary joined Nick at Dutchess Stadium while Nick traveled to the road games. I've remained in contact with each of them. I remember calling one game with Nick on Staten Island and the next day at Brooklyn where we had to pass a phone to each other to call the game.

I was going to join for a few games in 2011 with new broadcaster Jacob Wilkins but it just seemed like we couldn't get the timing right. It also felt like I was an old guy standing in the way. This is when it occurred to me that maybe my time was done. For his part, Jacob moved on to prominence, including as an update reporter on WFAN and Sirius XM, where I would frequently hear him. Now he's with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. We connected on Twitter last night.

Ben Gellman-Chomsky was with the Gades in 2012. He was the first to message me about this and said he'd look for some audio. 

Gregg Caserta followed in 2013. He has stayed active with the Reading Fightin' Phils (one of my favorite ballparks) and we also connected on Twitter so I'm hopeful for some highlights from him.

The 2014 name -- one that I initially struggled to come with -- with Chris Marasco, but I found him on LinkedIn and he graciously accepted my request to connect. I'm also hopeful he'll find a few highlights.

I'm fortunate to know the 2015 broadcaster, JJ Duke, who was in the Greenwich High football booth with Sean Kilkelly for one of the years that I was at HAN. He's going to pull some audio together and send it to me.

And that leads me to the last lead broadcaster, Josh Caray. Josh called the Gades from 2016 until the end of the 2019 season. He's a text away and I should be able to get something, even if I look in my own files. When Josh needed a weekend off, I got a call asking me to step in for him.

That was where the door reopened for me. When Josh announced he was leaving to join the Rocket City Trash Pandas, I texted him to see if he'd be around for that whole season. As he was, I wished him well and said I hoped to see him at the ballpark. Then fate came my way, I auditioned live on the air, and we're now 41 days away from the home opener.

The important thing is to get each person's voice represented somehow. Each one of them deserves to be recognized. Teams remember their players and managers and executives. As a passionate sports broadcasting historian, I felt this was a small thing I could do to honor the legacy of the Renegades and the voices who reported on all of those games prior to 2020.

I will then begin to write the next chapter in the extraordinary story of the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Part I was the Texas Rangers era (1994-1995).

Part II was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Tampa Bay Rays era (1996-2000).

Part III is the New York Yankees era, which begins officially on May 4.

From Bill Rogan through me, these are the voices who have brought you the action. While I'm not new, I still look forward to putting my mark on this story.