Ep. 11. Marty Brennaman, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Broadcaster

10/08/23 • 89 min

Today we discuss Marty Brennaman's amazing Hall of Fame broadcast career, including his early days and getting his start in baseball; Hank Aaron's 714th record tying home run; the 1975 World Series; why Pete Rose should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame; Ken Griffey Jr.'s milestone home runs, numbers 500 and 600; and why the city of Cincinnati is so special to him, among many other things. Thank you!
Host's note: You will hear an answer about Hank Aaron's 714th home run twice, due to a technical recording error from our interview. In an effort to not get cute with editing and miss anything, I left the repeat question and answer in here, as we had to begin the recording again from a hard stop. I assume full responsibility for this ZOOM glitch and want to assure all that Mr. Brennaman is still very much with the program. The host we aren't so sure about!
Welcome! And thank you for joining us today on the Heroes and Icons podcast. I am your host, Greg Randolph. Please find me on Instagram @HeroesandIconspodcast to get updates for great shows like this and others. If you’re enjoying the podcast, please subscribe, rate, and share the show, I would appreciate that very much.

We have another special guest today. If you are a baseball fan, especially of the Cincinnati Reds and the World Series, this gentleman needs no introduction. The National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted him as the Ford C. Frick Award Winner “for major contributions to the game of baseball” in 2000. He was hired by the Cincinnati Reds in 1974 to replace Al Michaels and alongside the legendary Joe Nuxhall they formed the beloved “Marty and Joe “ combination for several decades. Notable calls include being behind the mic in his first Reds game in 1974 to call Hank Aaron’s record tying 714th home run to tie Babe Ruth; hit number 4,192 in 1985 by Pete Rose to pass Ty Cobb on the all-time hit list; three World Series wins in 1975, 1976, and 1990; eight no-hitters, one of which was a Perfect Game by Tom Browning, and another was the only one thrown by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, as well as milestone home runs numbers 500 and 600 by Ken Griffey Jr. In 2007 he had the privilege of calling a Reds game with his son Thom. He called his last game for the Reds on September 26, 2019. In 2019 he was also the first Reds non-player to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. My guest today on the Heroes and Icons podcast is Marty Brennaman.
Please see links below for the DragonFly Foundation (and donate if so inclined), Marty's website , MartyBrennman.com,; and the amazing novel Game Six, by Mark Frost.
Special thanks: Amanda Brennaman
Thank you for listening! GR
The Dragonfly Foundation | Supporting Pediatric Cancer Patients & Their Families
Marty Brennaman LLC - Radio Broadcaster
Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime: Frost, Mark: 9781401323103: Amazon.com: Books
#baseball
#cincinnatireds
#cincinnati
#broadcasters
#baseballhalloffame
#redshalloffame
#dragonflyfoundationcincinnati
#1975WorldSeries
#GameSix
#MarkFrost
#PeteRose

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Ep.10. Art Howe: That's Howe You Do It: REMASTERED

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HOST's note: This is to commemorate the one year anniversary of my first recorded podcast. I greatly appreciate you all for listening.! GR
The career of major league baseball player, coach, scout and manager Art Howe is discussed here, with details about his early playing days, managerial styles and strategies. He played in the National League from 1974 to 1985 and was a coach, scout, and manager for several major league teams from 1986 to 2003. Please contribute to the KATA foundation KATA Foundation - Fanconi anemia Denver to cure Fanconi Anemia. Thank you!! Image credit: TOPPS Card Company.

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Ep. 12. Reid Ryan, Baseball Executive and CEO of Ryan-Sanders Sports & Entertainment

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Welcome! And thank you for joining us today on the Heroes and Icons podcast. I am your host, Greg Randolph.
We have another special guest today. If you are a baseball fan, especially of the Houston Astros and great minor league affiliates like the Round Rock Express and the San Antonio Missions, this gentleman needs no introduction. He was named the President of Business Operations for the Houston Astros in May 2013, becoming one of the youngest team presidents in baseball. His time in Houston included the best stretch of on-field success in franchise history, as the Astros captured the 2017 World Series title as well as the American League pennant in 2019, and the creation of the Astros Hall of Fame, among several other notable renovations and accomplishments which will forever be felt by Astros fans and Minute Maid Park visitors.

He grew up in the Astrodome as a bat boy for the Astros while his father and Hall of Famer Nolan pitched in the Astrodome in the 1980s. He later pitched collegiately at the University of Texas and Texas Christian University, winning two Southwest Conference titles. He pitched two seasons in the Texas Rangers organization after being drafted in the 17th round of the 1994 MLB Draft. He became the sixth member, and first executive, to be inducted into the Round Rock Express Hall of Fame on August 16, 2019. He was also the executive producer of the amazing and widely acclaimed baseball movie, Facing Nolan, which I personally recommend. Fantastic movie.

Presently he is the CEO of Ryan-Sanders Sports & Entertainment. Obviously, along with his brother Reese, he is one of Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan’s two sons. My guest today on the Heroes and icons podcast is of course, Reid Ryan!
Here we discuss present day happenings at Ryan-Sanders Sports and Entertainment, what makes a baseball organization run, the greatness of his dad Nolan Ryan, how critical his mom Ruth was to Nolan's career, the Astrodome, the meaning of baseball, how his faith in God has carried him through his stellar baseball career, and a whole lot more. Please sponsor the Nolan Ryan Foundation to help make a difference in the lives of youth with their education as well as community development in and around the Austin, TX area. Thank you for listening!