Editing Mel Allen

{{Short description|American sports announcer (1913–1996)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox person 
| name = Mel Allen
| image = Mel Allen NYWTS.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Allen in 1955
| birth_name= Melvin Allen Israel
| birth_date = February 14, 1913
| birth_place = [[Birmingham, Alabama]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1996|6|16|1913|2|14}}
| death_place = [[Greenwich, Connecticut]], U.S.
| alma_mater = [[University of Alabama]]
| occupation = [[Sportscaster]]
}}

'''Mel Allen''' (born '''Melvin Allen Israel'''; February 14, 1913 – June 16, 1996) was an American [[sportscaster]], best known for his long tenure as the primary [[play-by-play]] announcer for the [[New York Yankees]]. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Allen was arguably the most prominent member of his profession, his voice familiar to millions. Years after his death, he is still promoted as having been "The Voice of the Yankees."

In his later years, Allen was the first host of ''[[This Week in Baseball]]''.

==Early life and career==
Allen was born Melvin Allen Israel was born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]]. He attended the [[University of Alabama]], where he was a member of the [[Kappa Nu]] fraternity as an undergraduate.<ref name="Smith2007">{{cite book|author=Curt Smith|title=The Voice: Mel Allen's Untold Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77MSvgAACAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-1-59921-094-0|pages=114–}}</ref>

During his time at Alabama, Israel served as the [[public address]] announcer for [[Alabama Crimson Tide football]] games. In 1933, when the station manager or sports director of Birmingham's radio station [[WERC (AM)|WBRC]] asked Alabama coach [[Frank Thomas (football coach)|Frank Thomas]] to recommend a new play-by-play announcer, he suggested Allen. His first broadcast was Alabama's home opener that year, against the [[Tulane Green Wave football|Tulane Green Wave]].<ref name="Ph.D.2013">{{cite book|author=Aubrey J. Sher, Ph.D.|title=Those Great Old-Time Radio Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NX56AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42|date=August 15, 2013|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4836-7909-9|pages=42–}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}}<ref name=halloffame>{{cite web|title=Mel Allen|url=http://www.radiohof.org/mel_allen.htm|publisher=National Radio Hall Of Fame}}</ref>

Allen graduated from the [[University of Alabama School of Law]] in 1937. Shortly after graduating, Allen took a train to New York City for a week's vacation. While on that vacation, he auditioned for a staff announcer's position at the [[CBS Radio Network]].  CBS executives already knew of Allen; the network's top sportscaster, [[Ted Husing]], had heard many of his Crimson Tide broadcasts. He was hired at $45 ({{Inflation|US|45|1937|fmt=eq}}) a week.<ref name="SABRbio">{{cite web |url=http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=760&pid=16892 |title=Society for American Baseball Research bio of Mel Allen |access-date=2007-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514082926/http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=760&pid=16892 |archive-date=2011-05-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  He often did non-sports announcing such as for [[big band]] remotes, or "emceeing" [[game show]]s such as ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'', serving as an understudy for both sportscaster Husing and newscaster [[Robert Trout|Bob Trout]].<ref name="Ph.D.2013"/><ref name=halloffame/><ref name="Nachman2012">{{cite book|author=Gerald Nachman|author-link=Gerald Nachman (journalist)|title=Raised on Radio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RkCiJ4KvzPYC&pg=PT439|date=October 17, 2012|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-82894-1|pages=439–}}</ref>

In his first year at CBS, Allen announced [[Hindenburg disaster|the crash]] of the ''[[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]'' when the station cut away from singer [[Kate Smith]]'s show. He first became a national celebrity when he [[ad lib]]bed for a half-hour during the rain-delayed [[Vanderbilt Cup]] from an airplane.<ref name="Voices">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Curt |author-link=Curt Smith (author) |title=Voices of Summer |year=2005 |publisher=Carroll & Graf |location=New York City |isbn=0-7867-1446-8}}</ref> In 1939, he was the announcer for the Warner Brothers & Vitaphone film musical short-subject, ''On the Air'', with [[Leith Stevens]] and the Saturday Night Swing Club.<ref name="Dupuis2005">{{cite book|author=Robert Dupuis|title=Bunny Berigan: Elusive Legend of Jazz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnY1Y1bMlEMC&pg=PA129|year=2005|publisher=LSU Press|isbn=978-0-8071-3068-1|pages=129–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=On The Air (1939)|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/894348/on-the-air|publisher=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref>

Stephen Borelli, in his biography ''How About That?!'' (a favorite expression of Allen's after an outstanding play by the home team), states that it was at CBS's suggestion in 1937, the year Melvin Israel joined the network, that he go by a different last name on the air. He chose Allen, his father's middle name as well as his own, and legally changed his name to Melvin Allen in 1943.<ref name=halloffame/>

==Broadcasting career==

===Baseball===
Allen was used as a [[color commentator]] for [[Major League Baseball on CBS Radio|CBS's radio]] broadcast of the [[1938 World Series]]. This led [[Wheaties]] to tap him to replace [[Arch McDonald]], who was moving on to New York as the first full-time radio voice of both the Yankees and the [[History of the New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] for their home games, as the voice of the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] for [[1939 Washington Senators season|the 1939 season]]. Senators' owner [[Clark Griffith]] wanted [[Walter Johnson]], a former Senators pitcher, instead of Allen, and Wheaties relented.<ref name="SABRbio"/>

In June 1939, Garnett Marks, McDonald's partner on Yankee broadcasts, twice mispronounced [[Ivory (soap)|Ivory Soap]], the Yankees' sponsor at the time, as "[[Ovary]] Soap." He was fired, and Allen was tapped to replace him. McDonald himself went back to Washington after only one season, and Allen became the Yankees' and Giants' lead announcer,<ref name="SABRbio"/> doing double duty for both teams because only their home games were broadcast at that time.

He periodically recounted an anecdote that occurred during his first full season ([[1940 New York Yankees season|1940]]) as Yankee play-by-play man. [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]] first baseman [[Lou Gehrig]] had been forced to retire the year before after having been diagnosed with [[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]], a fatal illness. Speaking with Allen in the Yankee dugout, Gehrig told him "Mel, I never got a chance to listen to your games before because I was playing every day. But I want you to know they're the only thing that keeps me going." Allen broke down in tears after Gehrig departed.<ref name="SABRbio"/>

Allen's stint with the Yankees and Giants was interrupted in 1941, when no sponsor could be found and both teams went off the air, but the broadcasts resumed in 1942.  Allen was the voice of both the Yankees and the Giants until 1943, when he entered the [[United States Army]] during [[World War II]], broadcasting on ''The Army Hour'' and [[Armed Forces Radio]].<ref name=halloffame/>

After the war, Allen called Yankee games exclusively. By this time, road games were added to the broadcast schedule. Before long Allen and the Yankees were fused in the public consciousness,<ref name="Ph.D.2013a">{{cite book|author=Aubrey J. Sher, Ph.D.|title=Those Great Old-Time Radio Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NX56AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|date=August 15, 2013|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4836-7909-9|pages=43–}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}} an association strengthened by the team's frequent [[World Series]] appearances. Allen eventually called 22 World Series on radio or television, including all but one in the 17-year stretch between [[1947 World Series|1947]] and [[1963 World Series|1963]], and also called 24 [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Games]].<ref name=halloffame/> Interestingly, Allen's play-by-play of the [[1948 World Series]] between the [[Cleveland Indians]] and the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] alongside [[1948 Boston Braves season|Boston Braves]] 
announcer [[Jim Britt]] occurred because neither [[1948 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians]] announcer was selected by [[Commissioner of Baseball|MLB commissioner]] [[Happy Chandler]];<ref name="Pittsb19481001">{{Cite news|last=Steinhauser|first=Si|date=October 1, 1948|title=Chandler Names Announcers for World Series: Britt and Allen Get the Nod|page=47|newspaper=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86419332/chandler-names-announcers-for-world-seri/|access-date=October 3, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> [[Jack Graney]] was ineligible due to having been a former player, and [[Jimmy Dudley]] was passed over due to a lack of experience.<ref name="AkronB194810012">{{Cite news|date=October 1, 1948|title=Allen, Britt Series Announcers|page=38|newspaper=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|publisher=[[Knight Ridder|Knight Newspapers]]|location=Akron, Ohio|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45113155/allen-britt-series-announcers/|access-date=October 3, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In 1952, Allen was one of the first three celebrities spoofed in the just-created ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' satirical comic book. In the second issue, Allen, Giant manager [[Leo Durocher]] and Hall of Fame Yankee catcher [[Yogi Berra]] were all caricatured in a baseball story, "Hex!", illustrated by [[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]]. His likeness was also licensed by [[Standard Comics]] for a two-issue "Mel Allen's Sports Comics" series between 1949 and 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comics.org/series/19299/covers/|title=GCD :: Covers :: Mel Allen Sports Comics|website=www.comics.org}}</ref>

After [[Russ Hodges]] departed from the Yankee booth to become the longtime [[List of San Francisco Giants broadcasters|voice]] of the New York (and starting in [[1958 San Francisco Giants season|1958]], San Francisco) [[San Francisco Giants|Giants]], the young [[Curt Gowdy]] replaced him as Allen's broadcast partner in 1949 & 1950, having been brought in from [[Oklahoma City]] after winning a national audition. Gowdy, originally from [[Wyoming]], credited Mel Allen's mentoring as a big factor in his own success as a broadcaster and became [[List of Boston Red Sox broadcasters|the voice]] of the [[Boston Red Sox]] from [[1951 Boston Red Sox season|1951]] to [[1965 Boston Red Sox season|1965]]. [[Red Barber]], the former [[List of Los Angeles Dodgers broadcasters|Brooklyn Dodgers announcer]] who had served as Allen's crosstown rival and frequent World Series broadcast partner, joined the Yankees' booth in [[1954 New York Yankees season|1954]] and teamed with Allen until the latter's dismissal a decade later.

Allen called the second half of Game 7 of the [[1960 World Series]], as broadcasting duties were split between Allen and [[List of Pittsburgh Pirates broadcasters|Pittsburgh broadcaster]] [[Bob Prince]].<ref>{{cite web |title=50 Years Ago Today, Bill Mazeroski Shocked The World |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/490011-50-years-ago-today-bill-mazeroski-shocked-the-world |publisher=Bleacher Report |access-date=5 September 2020 |date=12 October 2010}}</ref> [[Bill Mazeroski]] hit a walk-off home run off [[Ralph Terry]] to win the [[World Series|fall classic]] for the [[1960 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh Pirates]]. It was the only [[walk-off home run]] ever to occur in a Game 7 of a World Series.

{{blockquote|''There's a drive into deep left field, look out now…! That ball is going… going gone! And the World Series is over! Mazeroski… hits it over the left field fence for a home run, and the Pirates win it 10–9 and win the World Series…!''|Mel Allen calling [[Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series home run|Bill Mazeroski's game winning home run]] in Game 7 of the [[1960 World Series]] on [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]] television.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-OCXYjVL4U  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/A-OCXYjVL4U |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live| work=Public Domain | title=WS1960 Gm7: Mazeroski hits a walk-off homer in Game 7}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}

Allen lost his voice late in the fourth and last game of the [[1963 World Series]], in which the [[1963 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Dodgers]] swept the [[1963 New York Yankees season|Yankees]] in four games and their longtime announcer, [[Vin Scully]], paired with Allen on the national telecast, spontaneously took over from him for the end of the game after he could no longer talk, telling him soothingly, "That's all right, Mel." (Scully had announced the first half of the game, and Allen had begun to announce the second half.)<ref name="SABRbio"/>

Among Allen's many [[catchphrase]]s were "Hello there, everybody!" to start a game, "How a-''bout'' that?!" on outstanding Yankee plays, "There's a  drive, hit deep to right. That ball is go-ing, go-ing, gonnne!!" for Yankee home runs, for [[full count]]s, "Three and two. What'll he do?" and after a robust Yankee swing and miss, "He took a good cut!"<ref name="Voices"/>

===Other sports===
[[File:President John F. Kennedy Attends Football Hall of Fame Dinner in New York City - ST-M7-7-61.jpg|thumb|President [[John F. Kennedy]] stands with attendees of the Football Hall of Fame Dinner. L-R: White House Army Signal Agency (WHASA) staff member, Jack Rubley; University of Alabama football coach, [[Bear Bryant]]; WHASA staff member, John J. Cochran (in back); University of Alabama quarterback, [[Pat Trammell]]; University of Alabama President, Dr. [[Frank Rose (academic)|Frank Rose]]; President Kennedy; sportscaster, Mel Allen; Alabama Sports Hall of Famer, Young Boozer Jr.; ''Birmingham News'' sports writer, [[Benny Marshall]]; Alabama businessman, Tom Russell; and Jeff Coleman.]]
Allen variously called regular-season [[college football]] for the [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]], [[NBC College Football Game of the Week|NBC]], and [[College Football on ABC|ABC]] networks throughout the 1950s and early '60s. He also broadcast a number of [[bowl games]], including 14 [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]]s, two [[Orange Bowl]]s, and two [[Sugar Bowl]]s.<ref name=american>{{cite web|title=1985 Hall of Fame Inductee, Mel Allen|url=http://www.americansportscastersonline.com/allen.html|publisher=American Sportscasters Online}}</ref> In the [[National Football League]], Allen served as play-by-play announcer for the [[Washington Redskins]] in 1952 and 1953 and for the [[New York Giants]] on [[WCBS-AM]] in 1960, with some of the Giants' broadcasts also carried nationally by the [[CBS Radio Network]]. He also did radio play-by-play for the [[Miami Dolphins]] and for the [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami Hurricanes]].<ref name=corbett>{{cite web|author=Warren Corbett|title=Mel Allen|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/a5f04df9|publisher=Society For American Baseball Research}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mel Allen|url=http://bryantmuseum.com/stories.asp?ID=7|publisher=Bryant Museum|access-date=January 20, 2015|archive-date=August 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807062204/http://www.bryantmuseum.com/stories.asp?ID=7|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Allen hosted ''[[Jackpot Bowling]]'' on NBC in 1959 after [[Leo Durocher]] had left to return to major league baseball coaching, but his lack of bowling knowledge made him an unpopular host and [[Bud Palmer]] replaced him as the show's host in April.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/LandingPage.aspx?type=glpnews&search=mel%20allen&img=\\na0030\6540742\22888651.html|title=NewspaperARCHIVE.com – Search old newspaper articles online<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/LandingPage.aspx?type=glpnews&search=mel%20allen&img=\\na0022\3055107\16080057.html|title=NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

Allen narrated a film about the [[1961 Maccabiah Games]] which took place in Israel, titled ''The Sixth World Maccabiah Games''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/03/30/90164230.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|title=ISRAELI GAMES FILM TO AID '65 U.S. TEAM|work=The New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/12/13/104228915.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|title=Lovell Renamed Chairman of Maccabiah Team; Seventh World Games Listed by Israel for August Olympians Expected to Aid Strong U.S. Squad|work=The New York Times }}</ref>

===Non-sports work===
In the early 1940s, Allen hosted ''Thirty Minutes to Play'' on [[CBS]] radio. The program featured "interviews of sports and musical personalities."<ref>{{cite news|title=(untitled brief)|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/42-OCR/1942-10-19-BC-OCR-Page-0031.pdf|access-date=11 August 2015|agency=Broadcasting|date=October 19, 1942|page=35}}</ref> In the early 1940s Mel Allen announced a few Glenn Miller radio programs as well.

In 1947, Allen was a [[disc jockey]] on 1010 [[WINS (AM)|WINS]] in New York City, with a 2–5 p.m. program daily. An ad for the station in ''[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]'' called the show "the initial step in our plans for bloc [sic] programming."<ref>{{cite news|title=WINS ad|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1947/1947-12-08-BC.pdf|access-date=26 October 2014|magazine=Broadcasting|date=December 8, 1947}}</ref>

In the early 1960s, Allen hosted the three-hour Saturday morning segment of the weekend [[NBC Radio]] program ''[[Monitor (NBC Radio)|Monitor]]''. He also contributed sportscasts to the program until the late 1960s. Allen also provided [[voiceover]] narration for [[20th Century Fox|Fox]] [[Movietone News|Movietone]] [[newsreel]]s for many years.

Allen appeared in a cameo role in the 1988 comedy film ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!]]''.

In 1994, he voiced the stadium announcer for the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] revival of ''[[Damn Yankees]]'', as himself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/person/mel-allen-vault-0000092673|title=Playbill.com page|access-date=July 18, 2021}}</ref>

===Fired by the Yankees===
On September 21, 1964—prior to the start of the World Series—the Yankees informed Allen that his contract with the team would not be renewed for 1965. In those days, the main announcers for both Series participants always called the World Series on [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC television]].  Although Allen was thus technically eligible to call the [[1964 World Series]], Baseball Commissioner [[Ford Frick]] honored the Yankees' request to have retired Yankee star shortstop [[Phil Rizzuto]], Allen's sidekick in the radio booth, join the Series crew instead. It would be one of only four Yankee World Series going back to [[1938 World Series|1938]] that Allen had not broadcast, and the first since [[1943 World Series|1943]] (which he'd missed due to his Army service).{{cn|date=June 2022}}

On December 17, 1964, after much media speculation and many letters to the Yankees from fans disgruntled by Allen's absence from the Series, the Yankees issued a terse press release announcing Allen's firing; he was replaced by [[Joe Garagiola Sr.|Joe Garagiola]]. NBC and Movietone dropped him soon afterward. To this day, the Yankees have never given an explanation for the sudden firing, and rumors abounded.  Depending on the rumor, Allen was either [[homosexual]], an [[alcoholic]], a [[drug addict]], or had a [[nervous breakdown]].<ref name="Voices"/>{{pn|date=June 2022}}

Years later, Allen told author [[Curt Smith (author)|Curt Smith]] that the Yankees had fired him under pressure from the team's longtime sponsor, [[Ballantine (brewery)|Ballantine Beer]]. According to Allen, he was fired as a cost-cutting move by Ballantine, which had been experiencing poor sales for years<ref name="Voices"/>{{pn|date=June 2022}} (it would eventually be sold in 1969). Smith, in his book ''Voices of Summer'', also indicated that the medications Allen took to see him through his busy schedule may have affected his on-air performance. (Stephen Borelli, another biographer, has also pointed out that Allen's heavy workload did not allow him time to take care of his health.){{cn|date=June 2022}}

Allen became [[Merle Harmon]]'s partner for [[Milwaukee Braves (1953–65)|Milwaukee Braves]] games in [[1965 Milwaukee Braves season|1965]], and worked [[Cleveland Indians]] games on television in [[1968 Cleveland Indians season|1968]]. But he would not commit to either team full-time, nor to the [[Oakland Athletics]], who also wanted to hire him after the team's move from Kansas City. Despite the firing in 1964, Allen remained loyal to the Yankees for the remainder of his life, and to this day—years after his death—he is still popularly known as "the Voice of the Yankees."<ref name=american/><ref name=corbett/><ref>{{cite web|author=Richard Sandomir|title=Mel Allen Is Dead at 83; Golden Voice of Yankees|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/17/sports/mel-allen-is-dead-at-83-golden-voice-of-yankees.html|work=The New York Times|date=June 17, 1996}}</ref><ref name="ESPN">{{cite web|author=Larry Schwartz|title=Mel Allen, Legendary Yankees voice, dies at 83|url=https://www.espn.com/classic/s/moment010616_mel_allen.html|publisher=ESPN|date=November 19, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Voices of the Game, A Tribute to Baseball's Greatest Broadcasters, Mel Allen|url=http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall02/Travers/allen.html|publisher=University of Florida|access-date=January 20, 2015|archive-date=July 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711224004/http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall02/Travers/allen.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Yankees eventually brought Allen back to emcee special [[Yankee Stadium]] ceremonies, including [[Old-Timers' Day]], which Allen had originally handled when he was lead announcer. Although Yankee broadcaster [[Frank Messer]], who joined the club in [[1968 New York Yankees season|1968]], replaced him as emcee for Old-Timers' Day and other special events like [[Mickey Mantle]] Day, the Yankees continued to invite Allen to call the actual exhibition game between the Old Timers, and to take part in players' number-retirement ceremonies.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

===Return to the Yankees===
Allen was brought back to the Yankees' on-air team in 1976 as a pre/post-game host for the cable telecasts with [[John Sterling (sportscaster)|John Sterling]], and also started calling play-by-play again. He announced Yankees cable telecasts on SportsChannel New York (now [[MSG Plus]]) with [[Phil Rizzuto]], [[Bill White (first baseman)|Bill White]], [[Frank Messer]], and occasionally, [[Fran Healy (baseball)|Fran Healy]].<ref name="Sterling2004">{{cite book|author=Christopher H. Sterling|title=Encyclopedia of Radio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UeveLMilioC&pg=PA80|date=March 1, 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-45649-8|pages=80–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Jery Barmash|title=Baseball Veteran Bill White Reflects on Time with Yankees, Phil Rizzuto, in New Book ''uppity''|url=http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/baseball-veteran-bill-white-reflects-on-time-with-yankees-phil-rizzuto-in-new-book-uppity/37207|publisher=FishbowlNY|date=May 23, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=All-Time Broadcasters|url=http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/broadcasters.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501153619/http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/broadcasters.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2007|work=MLB.com}}</ref>

Allen remained with the Yankees' play-by-play crew until 1985 and made occasional appearances on Yankee telecasts and commercials into the late 1980s. In 1990, Allen called play-by-play for a [[WPIX]] Yankees game to officially make him baseball's first seven-decade announcer.  Among the memorable moments Allen called in his latter stretch were Yankee outfielder [[Reggie Jackson]]'s 400th home run in [[1980 in baseball|1980]], and Yankee pitcher [[Dave Righetti]]'s no-hitter on July 4, 1983.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bob Sims|title=Play-by-play announcer: Mel Allen|url=http://blog.al.com/bn/2007/07/playbyplay_announcer_mel_allen.html|publisher=AL.com|date=July 11, 2007}}</ref>

==''This Week in Baseball''==
{{Main|This Week in Baseball}}
In his later years, Allen was exposed to a new audience as the host of the syndicated highlights show ''[[This Week in Baseball]]'', which he hosted from its inception in 1977 until his death. When [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] relaunched ''TWIB'' in [[2000 in baseball|2000]] (after a one-year hiatus), it used a [[claymation]] version of Allen to open and close the show until [[2002 in baseball|2002]].{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}

==Computer games==
Allen recorded the play-by-play for two computer baseball games, ''[[Tony La Russa Baseball]]'' and ''[[Old Time Baseball]]'', which were published by [[Stormfront Studios]]. The games included his signature ''"How about that?!"'' home run call. He also used the same catch-phrase during his cameo appearances in the films ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!|The Naked Gun]]'' (1988) and ''[[Needful Things (film)|Needful Things]]'' (1993).<ref>{{cite web|author=Ricky Doyle|title=Who is your favorite non-Red Sox baseball broadcaster of all time?|url=http://nesn.com/2011/05/who-is-your-favorite-non-red-sox-baseball-broadcaster-of-all-time/|publisher=New England Sports Network|date=May 26, 2011}}</ref>

Producer [[Don Daglow]] said in a 1995 interview with ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' that

{{blockquote|Allen was a dream to work with. If something sounded the least bit off, he caught it himself and self-corrected before you even had a chance to ask for another take. Sometimes he'd hear a problem live that we would only have noticed later. When he was reading the long list of numbers that would be spliced into sentences to announce batting averages and so on, he stopped suddenly and said, 'That's not good.' Then he started again and finished the list. When we checked the tape we heard that he had just started to get a sing-song rhythm from repeating too many numbers in a row, and he'd noticed before anyone else had.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}}}

==Awards==
The [[National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association]] inducted Allen into its Hall of Fame in 1972. In [[1978 in baseball|1978]], he was one of the first two winners of the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]]'s [[Ford C. Frick Award]] for broadcasting, along with [[Red Barber]]. In 1985, Allen was inducted into the [[American Sportscasters Association]] Hall of Fame along with former Yankee partner (and later Red Sox and NBC Sports voice) [[Curt Gowdy]] and Chicago legend [[Jack Brickhouse]]. He was inducted into the [[National Radio Hall of Fame]] in 1988.<ref name="Sterling2004"/> In 2009, the [[American Sportscasters Association]] ranked Allen as the #2 greatest sportscaster of all time, second only to [[Vin Scully]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americansportscastersonline.com/top50sportscasters.html|title=Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time|access-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Allen died of heart failure at age 83 on June 16, 1996; he had undergone open-heart surgery in 1989.<ref name="ESPN" /> His one-week vacation to New York had turned into 60 years; he had settled in New York after landing a job at [[CBS Radio]] and lived there and in southwestern Connecticut for the rest of his life.

Allen was buried at Temple Beth El Cemetery in [[Stamford, Connecticut]]. On July 25, 1998, the Yankees dedicated a plaque in his memory at [[Monument Park (Yankee Stadium)|Monument Park]] at Yankee Stadium. The plaque calls him "A Yankee institution, a national treasure" and includes his much-spoken line "How about that?!"<ref>{{cite web|title=Mel Allen|url=http://thefinalfootprint.com/2014/06/16/day-in-history-16-june-mel-allen/|publisher=Finalfootprint|access-date=2015-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120171547/http://thefinalfootprint.com/2014/06/16/day-in-history-16-june-mel-allen/|archive-date=2015-01-20|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Film roles==
*''[[The Babe Ruth Story]]'' (1948) – New York Yankees Radio Announcer
*''[[The Flamingo Kid]]'' (1984) – Himself (voice)
*''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!|The Naked Gun]]'' (1988) – The Baseball Announcer #4
*''[[Born on the Fourth of July (film)|Born on the Fourth of July]]'' (1989) – Himself (voice)
*''[[Needful Things (film)|Needful Things]]'' (1993) – Baseball Announcer

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/frick/mel-allen Mel Allen] Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
*[https://www.radiohalloffame.com/mel-allen Mel Allen] at the Radio Hall of Fame
*{{IMDb name|id=0020827|name=Mel Allen}}
*[http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/search/all/%22mel%20allen%22?page=1&limit=20 A guide to the Mel Allen papers, photographs, etc.] at University Libraries Division of Special Collections, [[The University of Alabama]]
* {{Find a Grave|4081}}

{{1978 Baseball HOF}}
{{New York Yankees HOF}}
{{Ford C. Frick Award}}
{{Monument Park honorees}}
{{Major League Baseball on Mutual}}
{{Major League Baseball on CBS Radio}}
{{Major League Baseball on NBC}}
{{Major League Baseball on NBC Radio}}
{{Thoroughbred Racing on CBS}}
{{This Week in Baseball}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Mel}}
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