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Originally Posted by v j stauffer
There was NOTHING basic about any of those guys. Except for accuracy and professionalism.
They were the VOICES of horse racing. Fans hung on their every word. The very first thing I began to love about our sport was how Harry Henson described the action at Del Mar. I was a fan of HIS first before really embracing the sport.
To this day fans reminisce about things all those gentlemen said 50 years ago.
Basic? Try Brilliant.
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Vic, actually I have an extremely high opinion of Joe Hernandez, especially. I think he basically invented your craft, at least in this country.
There are some tape recordings of very old radio broadcasts of the Kentucky Derby, from the 1930's, with pioneer broadcasters like Ted Husing and Clem McCarthy and Bryan Field calling the race, very badly. They couldn't really put together a call-- they meandered, failed to paint a coherent picture of what was going on, and failed to describe the position of the horses.
I've also heard a recording of Joe Hernandez calling the 1936 Santa Anita Handicap, won by Top Row over Time Supply. It is the opposite-- it is careful, clear, and precise. Hernandez had figured out how to do it and had created the basic contours of the modern race call. Everyone who does it now owes a debt to him.
But what I meant by "basic" is this-- Hernandez, Moore, Henson, and their ilk did not add any or much color commentary to the race. They gave an accurate call, but not one with a lot of flourishes. That was how it was done back then.
But don't confuse "basic" with "bad". These guys, especially Hernandez and Henson, were very good. It's just that the idea that you need someone coming up with colorful turns of phrase or the sport is boring is a very modern idea. During the sport's golden era, people managed to get excited by the race, not the call.
