Arch Linn McDonald Sr. (May 23, 1901 – October 16, 1960) was an American radio sportscaster who served as the play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Washington Senators from 1934 to 1956, with the exception of 1939, when he broadcast the New York Yankees and New York Giants.
Arch McDonald | |
---|---|
Born | Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. | May 23, 1901
Died | October 16, 1960 | (aged 59)
Resting place | Suitland, Maryland |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Sports announcer |
Spouse | Cynthia Handley [1] |
Children | 3 [2] |
Awards | Ford C. Frick Award (1999) |
Sports commentary career | |
Team(s) | Washington Senators (1934–38, 1940–56) New York Yankees & New York Giants (1939) |
Genre | Play-by-play |
Sport | Major League Baseball |
McDonald was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[3] During the early 1930s, he broadcast for the Chattanooga Lookouts, a Minor League Baseball team. In 1932, he won a national contest sponsored by The Sporting News for "the most popular sports broadcaster", garnering 57,960 votes[4]—a remarkable achievement, considering that the Lookouts were a Class A team. Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith jumped McDonald straight to broadcasting for the major league team in 1934, and he immediately became a hit.
McDonald was one of the first to use "ducks on the pond" as a term for players on base,[5] and was notable for quoting an old country tune, "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree", after a Senators win.[3] He also gave Joe DiMaggio the nickname "The Yankee Clipper".[5][6] McDonald was best known, however, for his studio re-creations of road games,[3] a common practice in the 1930s, when line charges were too expensive for live road coverage. The radio listeners would hear the click of a ticker tape machine, and the announcer would convey the play; "It's a long fly ball to deep center, going, going... gone. It's a home run." For many years, it was common for Senators fans to crowd around McDonald's studio at a drug store on G Street, near the White House, for his recreations.[3]
In 1939, McDonald became the first full-time voice of the Yankees and Giants,[3] working the second half of the season alongside a young Mel Allen.[7] In June that year, he helped broadcast activities at the opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, for CBS.[8] However, his homespun style didn't play well in New York, and he was back in Washington for the 1940 season.
For the most part, McDonald called losing baseball; the Senators only finished higher than fifth four times during his tenure. Despite the team's losing efforts, McDonald was again named outstanding baseball broadcaster in 1942[9] and 1945.[3] During the 1940s, he began calling Washington Redskins and college football games. McDonald was forced off Senators broadcasts by a sponsor change following their 1956 season,[5] but remained behind the microphone for the Redskins.
McDonald was the Democratic candidate for Maryland's 6th congressional district in the 1946 House of Representatives election,[3] losing to incumbent James Glenn Beall, 58.1% to 41.9%.
McDonald died in 1960, of a heart attack at age 59, while returning to Washington, D.C., via train from a Redskins game in New York City.[5][10] He was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.[3] In 1999, McDonald was posthumously honored with the Ford C. Frick Award, given annually to one baseball broadcaster.[11]