Audio tape rescue

[Dave A]

Back in October, an old friend passed away. One Bill Campbell...the "dean" of Phila sports broadcasters. I have known Bill for 35 years and that is just only half of his history. He arrived in Phila in 1942, eight years before I was born, and went on to be the play-by-play on radio for the Sixers (including Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game), Eagles, and Phillies. He was still doing commentaries on KYW radio this last summer from home on a DSL connection

He was a little guy but huge in Phila broadcast history and a good friend. He was gruff in person but never forgot you.

When he passed, his family gave the Phillies all of his old tapes for our archives. I grabbed the one R/R tape in the box. The cassettes are also being restored including the Wilt game. I dug out an elderly Sony TC-280 deck and oiled it up to working. The 1/4" tape was paper tape on a 20 minute reel. Not vinyl. I have never seen paper tape and it did what I thought it would do. It broke many times after 65 years. I fixed them with a knife and scotch tape.

The tape was a mystery to us at the Phillies. The recording is the 8th inning of a game on July 4, 1950. The second half of a double-header and clearly Bill. This was 12 years before he became the Phils radio announcer. Checking the Phils staff that may remember, we think this is an audition tape recorded in a meaningless game. Why else would there be a recorder at Shibe Park?

His announcing style is so 1950 by a rookie announcer. There is no mention of the type of pitch. "Ashburn comes to bat at 1 for 5....(long silence)...strike"

It is a wonderful bit of broadcast history. I will be working to post this at the Phillies website and at broadcastpioneers.com

Stay tuned. DA