This weekend I was attending a recognition day for an 87 year old lady who had been my teacher two years in a row some 65 years ago.  First I should explain that ‘two years in a row’ thing…no, I didn’t flunk a grade!  When I was in the second grade my teacher taught a combined class of 2nd and 3rd graders.  The next year she taught only 3rd graders and since I had successfully passed the 2nd grade I was in her third grade class….phew, hopefully I stopped the ‘rumor mill’ on that one! 🙂  You might remember she was my favorite teacher of all times as I discussed in an earlier blog so I was ecstatic to be in her class again.

She was being honored for being on the local hospital board for 40 years.  During that time the hospital had grown into a remarkable facility wonderfully staffed and with an abundance of doctors.  Something very difficult to accomplish in a small western Minnesota community like Ortonville.  I had no idea that that recognition event would lead to this week’s blog.

Here’s how it happened.  The room was full of hospital personnel.  I noticed a doctor sitting at another table who resembled very much a man I had taught with at Wheaton during my first year of teaching.  This teacher left at the end of that school year and moved to Ortonville.  The resemblance was so striking that I asked a local couple who were sharing our table if  the young doctor was the son of my past teaching mate.  They said, yes, he was indeed the son.  So I decided to introduce myself and share with him my history with his father.  Of course I also planned on commenting on his resemblance to his dad which I’m sure he had heard a million times already.

As we were shaking hands and I was explaining my relationship with his dad his response caught me off guard.  He changed the subject completely when he said, “You were that long time sports announcer from Wheaton and did you know you sounded just like that sports announcer who announced at William’s Arena for the Minnesota Golden Gophers?”

“Yes,” I replied.  “That’s because he was my idol and I did pattern my announcing after him.”  That’s when I realized this doctor had once been a member of the Ortonville Trojan basketball team many years ago and I had announced his name a time or two.

But that encounter got me thinking about my 30+ years of sports announcing at the Wheaton High School.  When my parents named me Mike they had no idea that 30 years later it would be a ‘mike’ (microphone) that would become a tool in an activity that I enjoyed immensely .

I heard Jules Perlt announce for the first time when our high school basketball team (go Rockets!) attended the Minnesota State High School Basketball Tournament at William’s Arena in 1961.  I wish I could say we were playing in the tournament but that would be a lie and a few seconds of Googling would quickly expose me as that liar.  The fact is we took third place in the sub-district tournament that spring so we were attending the state tournament strictly as spectators.

Mr. Perlt’s unique announcing style and the response of the thousands of spectators to his voice gave me goosebumps.  It was then that I decided I would like to be an announcer and not just any old announcer.  I wanted to announce like Mr. Jules Perlt!

I got my first announcing opportunity when Wheaton was having a ten team wrestling tournament that started on a Friday evening and continued all day Saturday with the championship matches ending around 10:00 pm.  The gymnasium was packed and the crowd response was awesome.  The more excited the crowd got the more exuberant my announcing became.  My Jules Perlt imitation got plenty of practice during that wrestling tournament and the many that followed.

Soon I was announcing football games and basketball games.  At a basketball game one evening I received my the finest complement when the referee came over during a time out and said to me, “You know when you announce you sound just like Jules Perlt who announces for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.”  Wow!  It was a dream come true. 🙂

The only bad thing about announcing is you can’t take back a mistake.  Once words come out of ones mouth they are there for everyone to hear.  Like the time I announced the wrong team name….a team that wasn’t even playing.  There was a high school football playoff game at our field and when I welcomed everyone I got the first team correct but their opponents I didn’t do so well on.  I announced them as the neighboring school down the road a few miles.  After a few boo’s and hiss’s I managed to recover and thankfully no one climbed up into the crows nest and beat me bloody.  Whew!

The Lutherans still hate me in Fargo.  We were playing Oak Grove a Lutheran High School from Fargo in football one fall.  On that particular Friday night there was no band to play the National Anthem so as the announcer I was assigned the task of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  I’ll admit I wasn’t paying full attention as I recited the Pledge when I heard a gasp come from the Lutheran fans seated below me.  As I finished up the pledge I looked at the clock man and asked him what had happened.  He said you left out “under God” in the pledge!  Luckily the Lutherans had given up burning heretics at the stake or I think our crow’s nest would have become a blazing inferno!  I feel better about the whole thing now as several years later I was reminded that “under God” was added to the pledge in l954 by President Eisenhower.  I started school in 1950 so I had been leaving “under God” out of the pledge for four years prior to that.  My lack of attention as I was reciting the pledge caused my brain to go back too many years and it dug up the wrong version.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 🙂

While introducing the starting line up it is not wise to introduce the wrong player.  I did that one time and I feared the head coach was going to leap over the scorer’s table and strangle me.  I think he was a little high strung.  A young man by the name of Lucas Kracht played for the Warriors for several years.  He was a starter whom I introduced often and  he was an excellent 5′ 10″ guard.  Five or so years later Wheaton had a 6′ 10″ center named Lucas Koch whom I introduced as Lucas Kracht several times during his senior year.  Those mistakes don’t go by unnoticed as the crowd corrects you loudly from the stands.  During those times I pretended I dropped something on the floor and disappeared under the scorer’s table for several seconds. 🙂

Before a game I always checked pronunciations of the visiting team’s players.  There is no quicker way to upset fans by mispronouncing a players name.  I’ve had small children climb the long flight of stairs to the press box to tell me I was pronouncing someone’s name incorrectly.  Those Polish athletes were never my favorite names to pronounce.  Give me Larson, Hanson, Johnson and Smith anytime. 🙂

My dream of course was to some day make the ‘big time’.  Announcing at William’s Arena would have been a blast.  The closest I came was an opportunity to announce at the individual  6A sectional wrestling tournament.  The athletic director at a neighboring school where the tournament was to be held had wrestled in high school. He had won the District 21 Championship at his weight class.  That tournament had taken place in the Wheaton High School and I was the announcer.  My announcing voice was part of his championship memory and he liked my Jules Perlt style so he called me and asked if I was interested in announcing the sectional tournament.  My big chance for the big time!

Upon my arrival things didn’t go smoothly.  Their normal announcer was there too and he seemed unaware that I was also going to be announcing.  We took turns doing the first rounds of wrestling and I ended up doing the evening championship matches.  I left feeling I had stepped on his toes a little although the A.D. insisted the local announcer was told I was coming.  The second problem occurred weeks later when I realized I never got paid for announcing.  I never asked about the amount I would be paid when I agreed to announce  which was my fault.  I just assumed they would send me a check for what the regular announcer was paid for a sectional event.  When the high school league was billed for the school hosting the tournament they probably only paid for one announcer so the local fella got my check.

I saw the A.D. a year later at another function.  I didn’t bring up the free services I had provided to his sectional wrestling tournament.  I think he was feeling a little guilty because he told me that one of the state tournament wrestling announcers was retiring that next year and he would put in a  good word  in for me.  I’m still waiting for that call.

Two years ago I retired from the mike.  I hope my 30 years made Jules Perlt proud.  I gave it my best shot.  The younger announcers are changing the announcing style.  When I announced I treated each side equally.  Both teams were introduced with the same enthusiasm and excitement.  Each basket, touchdown or wrestling pin was announced with gusto no matter which team accomplished it.  I felt that was the announcer’s responsibility  and a part of demonstrating good sportsmanship.

Now to keep my announcing skills sharp I watch the birds at the bird feeder and do a little play by play.  I call a lot of fouls on the blue jays.  The chickadees steal a lot of sunflower seeds and the squirrels make some fantastic acrobatic moves as they attempt to reach the bird feeder.  It’s not the same though….I miss the roar of the crowd.  🙂

Until next time.