Overview

Radio and television broadcasting were as important to the growth and popularity of boxing as it was to the reshaping of our very culture. In The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television, Frederick V. Romano explores the many roles that each medium played in both the development and the depiction of the sport. Principal among the topics covered are the ever-changing role of technology during the four-decade-plus period, how it impacted the manner in which the sport was presented to its public audience, the exponential growth of those audiences, and the influence radio and television had on the financial aspects of the sport, including the selective use of radio and television and the financial boom that the mediums created. The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television also assays radio and boxing during World War II, the role of organized crime, and the monopolistic practices during the television era. Romano also presents a detailed account of announcers such as Don Dunphy and Ted Husing who brought the action to the listeners and viewers, the many appearances that boxers including Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano made on radio and television when they were not in the ring, and the mediums' portrayal of the sport in an array of programming from drama to comedy. This is a must-have for all serious boxing fans.

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9781631440748

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Reviews

Like Gary Cooper at High Noon, the most compelling sports are solitary: one man against another. Their announcer becomes a listener's eyes and ears, spawning an Everest of phrase and mood. The panoply of baseball artists spawns Mel Allen, Vin Scully, and Harry Caray. Golf putt-and-drive men include Verne Lundquist and Pat Summerall. Now, The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television: A Blow-By-Blow History from 1921 to 1964 by Frederick V. Romano details the series, technical vehicles, and personalities that brought boxing into America's living room for nearly half-a-century. They include the change from radio to TV, kinescope to videotape, the great Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, and the sport's announcers: among them, the elegant Ted Husing, precocious Chris Schenkel, gravelly Russ Hodges, and towering Don Dunphy. These Voices became household words, a soundtrack for Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, and then-Cassius Clay. Such a memory deserves a testament, and now boxing has it, in this riveting, arresting book. --Curt Smith, author, Voices of The Game: The Acclaimed Chronicle of Baseball Radio and Television Broadcasting From 1921 to the Present In its day, boxing fascinated American sports fans, even more so than football does today. Meticulously researched, Frederick Romano's The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television is absorbing. The text details the rich role that prizefights played in radio and television's formative years, profiles the colorful announcers behind the microphones and repaints word pictures that captured historic fights! --David J. Halberstam, author, Sports on New York Radio Romano deserves credit for having undertaking an enormous amount of research...'The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television' is a valuable resource. --Thomas Hauser, The Ring

Like Gary Cooper at High Noon, the most compelling sports are solitary: one man against another. Their announcer becomes a listener's eyes and ears, spawning an Everest of phrase and mood. The panoply of baseball artists spawns Mel Allen, Vin Scully, and Harry Caray. Golf putt-and-drive men include Verne Lundquist and Pat Summerall. Now, The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television: A Blow-By-Blow History from 1921 to 1964 by Frederick V. Romano details the series, technical vehicles, and personalities that brought boxing into America's living room for nearly half-a-century. They include the change from radio to TV, kinescope to videotape, the great Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, and the sport's announcers: among them, the elegant Ted Husing, precocious Chris Schenkel, gravelly Russ Hodges, and towering Don Dunphy. These Voices became household words, a soundtrack for Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, and then-Cassius Clay. Such a memory deserves a testament, and now boxing has it, in this riveting, arresting book. --Curt Smith, author, Voices of The Game: The Acclaimed Chronicle of Baseball Radio and Television Broadcasting From 1921 to the Present In its day, boxing fascinated American sports fans, even more so than football does today. Meticulously researched, Frederick Romano's The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television is absorbing. The text details the rich role that prizefights played in radio and television's formative years, profiles the colorful announcers behind the microphones and repaints word pictures that captured historic fights! --David J. Halberstam, author, Sports on New York Radio Romano deserves credit for having undertaking an enormous amount of research...'The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television' is a valuable resource. --Thomas Hauser, The Ring The book delves nicely into how technology and presentation shaped how America came to view boxing and, in some instances, abhor it. --Marty Mulcahey, Undisputed Champion Network

Like Gary Cooper at High Noon, the most compelling sports are solitary: one man against another. Their announcer becomes a listener's eyes and ears, spawning an Everest of phrase and mood. The panoply of baseball artists spawns Mel Allen, Vin Scully, and Harry Caray. Golf putt-and-drive men include Verne Lundquist and Pat Summerall. Now, The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television: A Blow-By-Blow History from 1921 to 1964 by Frederick V. Romano details the series, technical vehicles, and personalities that brought boxing into America's living room for nearly half-a-century. They include the change from radio to TV, kinescope to videotape, the great Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, and the sport's announcers: among them, the elegant Ted Husing, precocious Chris Schenkel, gravelly Russ Hodges, and towering Don Dunphy. These Voices became household words, a soundtrack for Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, and then-Cassius Clay. Such a memory deserves a testament, and now boxing has it, in this riveting, arresting book. --Curt Smith, author, Voices of The Game: The Acclaimed Chronicle of Baseball Radio and Television Broadcasting From 1921 to the Present In its day, boxing fascinated American sports fans, even more so than football does today. Meticulously researched, Frederick Romano's The Golden Age of Boxing on Radio and Television is absorbing. The text details the rich role that prizefights played in radio and television's formative years, profiles the colorful announcers behind the microphones and repaints word pictures that captured historic fights! --David J. Halberstam, author, Sports on New York Radio

Author Information

Frederick V. Romano is a boxing historian with over thirty-five years of experience in the sport. He has served as a research consultant for HBO Boxing, produced and hosted a cable television show devoted to boxing, and acted as a certified amateur judge for matches throughout the New York area, including the prestigious Golden Gloves finals held annually in New York City. His first book, The Boxing Filmography, was published in 2004. He resides in Eastchester, New York.

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