My conversation with George Grande, the former long time sportscaster for the Cincinnati Reds and anchor for the very first ESPN SportsCenter. Topics of discussion include:
- What he’s doing during his Covid 19 lockdown.
- Being on the 1969 USC baseball team with multiple future MLB Hall of Famers.
- Working as a go-fer under Vin Scully during college.
- Getting a hit off of Tom Seaver in an inter-squad scrimmage.
- Why he left a good local TV job for then unknown ESPN.
- Everything going wrong during the very first Sports Center.
- The fate of his yellow suit from that first show.
- When he realized that something special was brewing at ESPN.
- Why he eventually left ESPN to pursue play-by-play positions in Major League Baseball.
- Lessons learned from working with Vin Scully.
- Doing play-by-play for two storied MLB franchises, the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.
- Living in Connecticut as the voice of the Cincinnati Reds.
- Balancing family life with the demands of an MLB schedule.
- Figuring out the X’s and O’s of baseball play-by-play on TV.
- Knowing when it was time to step away from jobs.
- His favorite induction speech while working for the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
- The time a skunk came into the ESPN studios while he was on air.
- His broadcast horror stories.
- His favorite broadcasters to listen to on an off night.
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