• Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
    • Legislature
    • Politics / Govt
  • Sports
    • The Bill Pollock Show
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support

Missourinet

Your source for Missouri News and Sports

You are here: Home / Business / Veteran St. Louis Cardinal broadcaster grew up in rural Missouri town (AUDIO)

Veteran St. Louis Cardinal broadcaster grew up in rural Missouri town (AUDIO)

January 20, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Longtime St. Louis Cardinal broadcaster John Rooney will be starting his 14th season in the Cardinal booth in 2019.

Veteran Cardinal broadcaster John Rooney (right) takes a photo with Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth on January 18, 2019 in Jefferson City

Rooney served as the emcee at Friday evening’s Cardinal Caravan event at Missouri Farm Bureau headquarters in Jefferson City. A few hundred Cardinal fans braved frigid temperatures to attend the event.

Rooney, who began broadcasting Cardinal games in 2006 after 18 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, grew up in northwest Missouri’s Richmond.

“It was great growing up in Richmond and really growing up in this part of the country, because back then we listened to a lot of baseball on transistor radios,” Rooney says.

Rooney says he listened to Cardinal radio broadcasts growing up, as well as the Kansas City Athletics, Twins and Phillies. He says he learned different styles by listening to different broadcasts and became “hooked” on baseball.

He credits Royals broadcasters Bud Blattner (Blattner died in 2009) and Denny Matthews for helping him early in his career. He also says he learned from the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, current Cardinal broadcaster Mike Shannon and former Cardinal announcer Bob Starr. Mr. Starr died in 1998.

Rooney says his broadcast partner Mike Shannon should be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

“He needs to be in Cooperstown, he needs to be honored because he is one of the beloved team announcers who has the longevity,” says Rooney.

Rooney says Shannon deserves the Ford Frick Award, which is Major League Baseball’s highest award for broadcasters.

Shannon, who graduated from St. Louis’ Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School in 1957, began his career with the Cardinals in 1962.

As for Rooney, he also called Mizzou men’s basketball at one time. While he’s also called NFL and college football, Rooney is best known for baseball.

He says his popular home run call “it’s a goner” originated from an incident near his hometown.

“My mom and I were almost in a big accident coming up the hill near Excelsior Springs, Missouri going toward Richmond and an impaired driver cut that corner and missed us by like a foot,” Rooney says. “Mom said had we been a couple a seconds earlier we all would have been goners.”

Rooney tells Missourinet he used that phrase on home runs in the minor leagues and it’s stayed with him. He doesn’t use it on every home run call.

Cardinal pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Jupiter on February 12, and St. Louis opens the 2019 season on March 28 at Milwaukee.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Cardinal broadcaster John Rooney, which was recorded on January 18, 2019 at Missouri Farm Bureau headquarters in Jefferson City:

https://cdn.missourinet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bh-rooneyinterviewJanuary2019.mp3

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Business, Entertainment, News, Sports

Subscribe to our daily newsletter


Tweets by Missourinet

Sports

Larson’s return complete

Special to … [Read More...]

Pump the brakes on Mizzou hoops and don’t mess with Yadi (PODCAST)

The Bill … [Read More...]

Missouri well represented in college basketball tournaments as March Madness ramps up

Mizzou is … [Read More...]

Missouri State cruises into semis at Arch Madness

Third-seede … [Read More...]

Billikens never trail in topping UMass at A-10 tourney

Saint … [Read More...]

More Sports

Tweets by missourisports

Archives

Opinion/Editorials

TwitterFacebook

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC