Rip Lon....

[chickenman]

Listened to him and Russ broadcast many Giant games live from the stick...

The Giants family and Bay Area sports community lost a true gentleman this morning when Hall of Fame broadcaster Lon Simmons peacefully passed away at the age o...f 91.

“Like many fans, my earliest Giants memories were listening to Lon and Russ on my transistor radio,” said Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. “Hearing his broadcasts ignited my and thousands of others’ passion for Giants baseball. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”

To Giants fans everywhere, his voice was synonymous with Giants baseball for five decades. Best known for his booming baritone voice, encyclopedic sports knowledge, flair for the dramatic and self-deprecating sense of humor, Lon was the link between generations of Bay Area sports fans and their hometown teams. He was a legend among Giants fans, whose career with the team spanned five decades – beginning when he joined Russ Hodges in the broadcast booth during the team’s first season in San Francisco in 1958. Simmons and Hodges worked together for 13 years.

In 1973, Simmons retired temporarily and then returned to the Giants in 1976 for three more years. He then moved across the bay to Oakland, where he teamed with Bill King and Ray Fosse to broadcast Athletics games from 1981-95. In 1996, he returned to the Giants broadcast team again, working a partial schedule, until his retirement after the 2002 season. In recent years he was a community ambassador for the Giants, visiting San Francisco on selected homestands as well as during the offseason and Scottsdale for Spring Training.

Simmons broadcast the pennant-winning Giants team of 1962 and he counted as his biggest thrills calling the 600th home run of Willie Mays and the dramatic home run that marked the return of Willie McCovey to San Francisco in 1977. For those and many other home runs, Simmons gave his trademark call of “tell it goodbye!”

Lon was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in the summer of 2004 as the Ford C. Frick award winner.

Lon will be deeply missed by the entire Giants family and our thoughts and prayers are with his daughters Robin, Cindy, Lisa and Kelsey

 

[Mogrow]

sounds alot like cardinal nations great Jack Buck. spent many a night listening to him and Mike Shannon. I was at the game in 87 , last game before the break, playing the Giants by the way, when they told the crown Jack was going into the broadcast hall of fame, huge standing O for the man....
With the advent of tv, the great radio announcers are going by the wayside. I still listen to Mike Shannon on the radio with the tv on, but there is , like this 2 second delay that fucks everything up.

great post chickman. thanks..

 

[the rrock]

Grew up listening to Lon with the Giants and Bill King broadcast the Raiders and GSWarriors.Both gave me great memories over the years. They need to put a Lon Simmons statue somewhere in McCovey cove.

 

[barefoot]

was like family .............R.I.P. Mr. Lon........................

 

[chickenman]

I recall back in the day would walk home ALONE from kindergarten and there was grandpa sitting on front lawn waiting for me to come home and he was listening to Lon broadcasting the game...

 

[chickenman]

Willie Mays My hero, saw him play many times...

 

[G gnome]

Thats awesome dude.

I recall back in the day would walk home ALONE from kindergarten and there was grandpa sitting on front lawn waiting for me to come home and he was listening to Lon broadcasting the game...

 

[chickenman]

I recall back in the day would walk home ALONE from kindergarten and there was grandpa sitting on front lawn waiting for me to come home and he was listening to Lon broadcasting the game...

On his transistor radio....

 

[G gnome]

Down at the old well?

On his transistor radio....

 

[G gnome]

You totally got me in British invasion mode now lol

 

[yooper420]

You lost a great one. Am a Detroit Tigers fan and remember when Ernie Harwell passed what a great loss that was. The good old voices are silenced here, but I bet they`re all sitting around a big table and carrying on like normal somewhere.

 

[G gnome]

Harry Carey