Waite Hoyt
Encyclopedia
Waite Charles Hoyt was an American
right-handed pitcher
in Major League Baseball
, one of the dominant pitchers of the 1920s, and the winningest pitcher for the New York Yankees
during that decade. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in .
, New York
and attended Erasmus Hall High School
.
fan, he was signed to a professional contract by New York Giants
manager John McGraw when he was but 15. Because of his extreme youth, he was immediately nickname
d "The Schoolboy Wonder".
After a brief stint with the Giants, McGraw sent the young pitcher to the minors for seasoning. Hoyt soon returned to the majors, this time with the Boston Red Sox
. His performance there attracted the attention of the Yankees, who acquired him in . In his first season as a Yankee, he won 19 games and pitched three complete games in the World Series
without allowing an earned run
— over his career, he would win six American League
pennants with the Yankees and one with the Philadelphia Athletics
. In his finest years with the Yankees, and , Hoyt would post records of 22 wins
and 7 losses with a 2.64 ERA
and 23 wins and 7 losses with a 3.36 ERA. During his 21-year career, he won 10 or more games 12 times, 11 of them consecutively. Hoyt pitched for eight years after leaving the Yankees in , but did not consistently display similar levels of pitching dominance.
Hoyt finished his career with a win-loss record of 237–182 and an ERA of 3.59. By the time he retired in , he was the winningest pitcher in World Series history (his World Series record with the Yankees and A's was 6-4).
His Brooklyn origins, along with his unique surname, led to the probably apocryphal story that he was injured on one occasion, and a fellow Brooklynite remarked, "Hurt's hoyt!"
In addition to the "Schoolboy" moniker appearing on his Hall of Fame plaque, Hoyt was also known as "The Merry Mortician", for when he was not playing baseball, he spent days working as a funeral director and nights appearing on vaudeville. As a vaudevillian, he appeared with many of the most well-known performers of the day, including Jack Benny
, Jimmy Durante
, George Burns
, and others. He kept in shape during the off-season by playing semi-pro basketball.
He added to his repertoire by becoming an accomplished painter and writer. He was well known as the pre-eminent authority on Babe Ruth
, who was his teammate for almost 10 years. Robert Creamer
, author of the definitive Ruth biography Babe, indicated in that book's introduction that the novella-length memoir written by Hoyt shortly after Ruth's death was "by far the most revealing and rewarding work on Ruth".
A longtime member of Alcoholics Anonymous
, during the Old-Timers' Day
game, Hoyt said wistfully that he would have won 300 games if he had stopped drinking during his playing days. After joining A.A., he remained sober for more than 40 years.
. During a stint as the host of "Grandstand and Bandstand" on WMCA
, he tried to audition for the Yankees, but sponsor Wheaties
vetoed him out of hand. The common view at the time was that former players did not have enough of a vocabulary to be successful broadcasters. However, Hoyt was well known for telling umpire
George Moriarty
that he was "out of his element" and was better suited to being a policeman so he could "insult people with impunity".
Dodgers' voice Red Barber
, however, thought more of Hoyt's abilities and hired him as color commentator and host of the pre- and post-game shows in . After two years, he became the play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati Reds
, a post he held for 24 years. He became as much a celebrity with the Reds as he was while a player. He was well known for calling games exclusively in past tense, which was and still is unusual for sportscasting. Where most baseball announcers would say, "Here's the pitch!" Hoyt would say, "There was the pitch!" He told author Curt Smith
that he felt using past tense was accurate because "as I speak to you, what happened a moment ago is gone". He often referred to himself as "a bad-news broadcaster", since the Reds were only a serious contender for the pennant nine times in his tenure. On August 16, , Hoyt paid tribute to Babe Ruth
, speaking on the air without notes for two hours upon learning of his death after a game. He called the 1961 World Series
for NBC
, during a time when it was common for the network to use the home team's primary broadcasters for the Fall Classic.
He retired from full-time broadcasting work in 1965, though he later made appearances on both radio and television, including the color commentary for the Reds telecasts in 1972. Hoyt was known for entertaining radio audiences with anecdotes during rain delays. A selection of these stories is collected on two record albums "The Best of Waite Hoyt in the Rain" and "The Best of Waite Hoyt in the Rain, Volume 2". Hoyt was one of the first professional athletes to develop a successful career in broadcasting and his name frequently appears on "all-time best" broadcaster lists.
On June 10, 2007, the Reds honored Hoyt, Marty Brennaman
, and Joe Nuxhall
with replica microphones that will hang on the wall near the radio booth.
, first President of the Reds and subsequently of the National League
. Betty still lives in Cincinnati. Betty is interviewed extensively in the video biography "Waite's World". The bio was released on VHS in 1997 and includes interviews with his son Chris, the late hall of fame broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, reporter and television personality Nick Clooney, former Red Jim O'Toole and many more.
The aging Hoyt died of heart failure while preparing for what he realized would be his final visit to the Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
right-handed pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in 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...
, one of the dominant pitchers of the 1920s, and the winningest pitcher for the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
during that decade. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in .
Early life
Hoyt was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and attended Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall Campus High School is a four-year public high school in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, United States operated by the New York City Department of Education....
.
Career
Despite being a DodgersLos 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...
fan, he was signed to a professional contract by New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
manager John McGraw when he was but 15. Because of his extreme youth, he was immediately nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d "The Schoolboy Wonder".
After a brief stint with the Giants, McGraw sent the young pitcher to the minors for seasoning. Hoyt soon returned to the majors, this time with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. His performance there attracted the attention of the Yankees, who acquired him in . In his first season as a Yankee, he won 19 games and pitched three complete games in the World Series
1921 World Series
In the 1921 World Series, the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees five games to three. This was the last of the experimental best-five-of-nine series....
without allowing an earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
— over his career, he would win six American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennants with the Yankees and one with the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. In his finest years with the Yankees, and , Hoyt would post records of 22 wins
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
and 7 losses with a 2.64 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
and 23 wins and 7 losses with a 3.36 ERA. During his 21-year career, he won 10 or more games 12 times, 11 of them consecutively. Hoyt pitched for eight years after leaving the Yankees in , but did not consistently display similar levels of pitching dominance.
Hoyt finished his career with a win-loss record of 237–182 and an ERA of 3.59. By the time he retired in , he was the winningest pitcher in World Series history (his World Series record with the Yankees and A's was 6-4).
His Brooklyn origins, along with his unique surname, led to the probably apocryphal story that he was injured on one occasion, and a fellow Brooklynite remarked, "Hurt's hoyt!"
In addition to the "Schoolboy" moniker appearing on his Hall of Fame plaque, Hoyt was also known as "The Merry Mortician", for when he was not playing baseball, he spent days working as a funeral director and nights appearing on vaudeville. As a vaudevillian, he appeared with many of the most well-known performers of the day, including Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
, and others. He kept in shape during the off-season by playing semi-pro basketball.
He added to his repertoire by becoming an accomplished painter and writer. He was well known as the pre-eminent authority on Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, who was his teammate for almost 10 years. Robert Creamer
Robert Creamer
Robert W. Creamer is an American sportswriter and editor. He spent the majority of his career at Sports Illustrated....
, author of the definitive Ruth biography Babe, indicated in that book's introduction that the novella-length memoir written by Hoyt shortly after Ruth's death was "by far the most revealing and rewarding work on Ruth".
A longtime member of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, during the Old-Timers' Day
Old-Timers' Day
Old-Timers' Day generally refers to a tradition in Major League Baseball of a team, especially the New York Yankees, devoting the early afternoon preceding a weekend late afternoon game to celebrate the baseball-related accomplishments of its former players who have since retired...
game, Hoyt said wistfully that he would have won 300 games if he had stopped drinking during his playing days. After joining A.A., he remained sober for more than 40 years.
As a broadcaster
After retiring as a player, Hoyt went into broadcastingBroadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
. During a stint as the host of "Grandstand and Bandstand" on WMCA
WMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
, he tried to audition for the Yankees, but sponsor Wheaties
Wheaties
Wheaties is a brand of General Mills breakfast cereal. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on the exterior of the package, and has become a major cultural icon...
vetoed him out of hand. The common view at the time was that former players did not have enough of a vocabulary to be successful broadcasters. However, Hoyt was well known for telling umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
George Moriarty
George Moriarty
George Joseph Moriarty was an American third baseman, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1940. He played for the Chicago Cubs, New York Highlanders, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox from 1903 to 1916.Moriarty was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he grew up near the Union...
that he was "out of his element" and was better suited to being a policeman so he could "insult people with impunity".
Dodgers' voice Red Barber
Red Barber
Walter Lanier "Red" Barber was an American sportscaster.Barber, nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", was primarily identified with radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four decades with the Cincinnati Reds , Brooklyn Dodgers , and New York Yankees...
, however, thought more of Hoyt's abilities and hired him as color commentator and host of the pre- and post-game shows in . After two years, he became the play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, a post he held for 24 years. He became as much a celebrity with the Reds as he was while a player. He was well known for calling games exclusively in past tense, which was and still is unusual for sportscasting. Where most baseball announcers would say, "Here's the pitch!" Hoyt would say, "There was the pitch!" He told author Curt Smith
Curt 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...
that he felt using past tense was accurate because "as I speak to you, what happened a moment ago is gone". He often referred to himself as "a bad-news broadcaster", since the Reds were only a serious contender for the pennant nine times in his tenure. On August 16, , Hoyt paid tribute to Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, speaking on the air without notes for two hours upon learning of his death after a game. He called the 1961 World Series
1961 World Series
The 1961 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds , with the Yankees winning in five games to earn their 19th championship in 39 seasons. This World Series was surrounded by Cold War political puns pitting the "Reds" against the "Yanks"...
for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, during a time when it was common for the network to use the home team's primary broadcasters for the Fall Classic.
He retired from full-time broadcasting work in 1965, though he later made appearances on both radio and television, including the color commentary for the Reds telecasts in 1972. Hoyt was known for entertaining radio audiences with anecdotes during rain delays. A selection of these stories is collected on two record albums "The Best of Waite Hoyt in the Rain" and "The Best of Waite Hoyt in the Rain, Volume 2". Hoyt was one of the first professional athletes to develop a successful career in broadcasting and his name frequently appears on "all-time best" broadcaster lists.
On June 10, 2007, the Reds honored Hoyt, Marty Brennaman
Marty Brennaman
Franchester Martin "Marty" Brennaman , is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the radio voice of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds on the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network.-Early life:...
, and Joe Nuxhall
Joe Nuxhall
Joseph Henry Nuxhall was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004, and continued part-time up until his death in 2007...
with replica microphones that will hang on the wall near the radio booth.
Later life
An eternal optimist, Hoyt married his third wife, Betty Dearie in 1982. Dearie, a longtime fan, was an associate of Warren GilesWarren Giles
Warren Crandall Giles was a National League executive in Major League Baseball.-Baseball:Giles was elected president of the Moline, Illinois baseball club in the Three-I League in 1919 and began a 50-year career in baseball that saw him rise all the way to the presidency of the National League...
, first President of the Reds and subsequently of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
. Betty still lives in Cincinnati. Betty is interviewed extensively in the video biography "Waite's World". The bio was released on VHS in 1997 and includes interviews with his son Chris, the late hall of fame broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, reporter and television personality Nick Clooney, former Red Jim O'Toole and many more.
The aging Hoyt died of heart failure while preparing for what he realized would be his final visit to the Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
- List of Major League Baseball saves champions
- List of Major League Baseball wins champions