Hello, Friends!
Stories from My Life and Blue Jays Baseball
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- £11.99
Publisher Description
An honest memoir about life, family, and baseball from the longtime, legendary Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcaster
For 36 years, Jerry Howarth ushered in eternal hope each spring and thrived in the drive of each fall as the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1982, the lifelong avid sports fan joined Tom Cheek as full-time play-by-play radio announcer for the Blue Jays, and for the next 23 years, “Tom and Jerry” were the voices of the franchise. Jerry became part of the fabric of a nation and a team, covering historic moments like the rise of the Blue Jays through the 1980s that culminated in back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993. His Hall of Fame–worthy broadcasting career has been nothing short of legendary. When Jerry retired in February 2018, the tributes poured in and made one thing perfectly clear: Toronto baseball would never be the same.
Howarth brings together thoughts on life, family, work, and baseball. Featuring stories about everyone from Dave Stieb, Jack Morris, Duane Ward, Roberto Alomar, and Joe Carter to John Gibbons, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, and the late Roy Halladay, Hello, Friends! is a must-read for sports fans everywhere.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This is as close as most of us will get to a fireside chat with Jerry Howarth—and it’s pretty close. As the Toronto Blue Jays’ radio announcer from 1982 to 2017, Howarth delighted millions while calling World Series games and conveying the stats of future Hall of Famers Roy Halladay and Roberto Alomar. But in this memoir we hear Howarth’s true voice—warm, witty, and amused by his journey from pursuing a law degree to eventually dropping out when his sports obsession proved more powerful. If you don’t share Howarth’s passion for baseball before you start reading this, you will once you’re done.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Howarth, who was the play-by-play radio announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 until 2018, waxes nostalgic on professional baseball and his career in sports broadcasting. Howarth explains that he learned his skills as a broadcaster calling Seattle's Triple-A baseball games: "It taught me to ad lib; think on the fly; make adjustments." He also shows the personal touch that was the hallmark of his Toronto years his "painting the pictures" of the games began when the blind organist of a farm club team asked to sit next to him as he called the game. Throughout, he offers play-by-play descriptions of various Blue Jays games, especially those leading up to the team's 1992 World Series Championship. His best moments come in his profiles of the players who were the core of the Blue Jays' 1993 championship, particularly future Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Roberto Alomar, Jack Morris, and Rickey Henderson. He recalls "the most electrifying moment for Rickey and his Blue Jays teammates," when, in the dugout, Henderson energized them during game six of the 1993 World Series by insisting that his team would win. Howarth's book will entertain baseball aficionados and especially delight Blue Jays fans.
