Jerry Doggett
Encyclopedia
Jerry Doggett was an American sportscaster
who called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers
of Major League Baseball
from 1956 to 1987.
, USA and began his announcing career in Texas
. In 1941, he moved to WRR
before it became an FM
station in Dallas
to begin a 15-year career as the play-by-play baseball announcer for the Dallas Rebels
of the Texas League
. He also called major-league games for the Liberty Broadcasting System
in the early 1950s.
wrote a letter to another radio owner about his qualifications before hiring Doggett for the Dodgers. During his 32-year career broadcasting for the Dodgers, Doggett played second banana to Vin Scully
, who had been broadcasting Dodgers games since 1950.
, and was on the ballot for the 2007 Ford C. Frick Award
for broadcasting excellence.
The character of John Doggett
on the television series The X-Files
was named in homage of Jerry Doggett; the show's creator, Chris Carter
, is a Dodgers fan and had previously named the show's Dana Scully
character for Vin Scully.
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
who called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
from 1956 to 1987.
Early days
Doggett was born in Moberly, MissouriMoberly, Missouri
Moberly is a city in Randolph County, Missouri, United States. According to the 2008 census bureau estimate, the population was 14,227. The city was incorporated 1868. The Moberly Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Randolph County....
, USA and began his announcing career in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In 1941, he moved to WRR
KTCK
KTCK , is a sports talk radio station based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station, currently owned by Cumulus Media, has been made popular by the incorporation of humor alongside the sports talk....
before it became an FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
station in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
to begin a 15-year career as the play-by-play baseball announcer for the Dallas Rebels
Dallas Rangers
The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas, from 1958-64. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958-59 and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960-63...
of the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
. He also called major-league games for the Liberty Broadcasting System
Liberty Broadcasting System
The Liberty Broadcasting System was a U.S. radio network of the late 1940s and early 1950s founded by Gordon McLendon, which mainly broadcast live recreations of Major League Baseball games, by following the action via Western Union ticker reports. The sound effects were very realistic, and many...
in the early 1950s.
Radio career
In 1956, Walter O'MalleyWalter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from to . He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in...
wrote a letter to another radio owner about his qualifications before hiring Doggett for the Dodgers. During his 32-year career broadcasting for the Dodgers, Doggett played second banana to Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
, who had been broadcasting Dodgers games since 1950.
Legacy
Doggett was named number 88 broadcaster in The Voices of Summer by Curt SmithCurt Smith (author)
Curt Smith is an American author, media host and columnist.Smith is a 1973 graduate of SUNY at Geneseo. He worked as a Gannett Company reporter, a speechwriter to former Texas Governor John Connolly, and an editor at the Saturday Evening Post. In 1989 he joined the George H.W...
, and was on the ballot for the 2007 Ford C. Frick Award
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball...
for broadcasting excellence.
The character of John Doggett
John Doggett
FBI Special agent John Jay Doggett is a fictional character in the American Fox television series The X-Files, a science fiction show about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of alien existence...
on the television series The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
was named in homage of Jerry Doggett; the show's creator, Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
, is a Dodgers fan and had previously named the show's Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
character for Vin Scully.