Laurila: In memory of Carl Beane, Fenway Park announcer
From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on May 10, 2012:
Fenway Park will be different tonight. To the fans, a familiar voice will be missing. To those who work at the ballpark, a friend will be mourned. Carl Beane died unexpectedly yesterday at the age of 59.
Beane was The Voice of Fenway Park. The native of Agawam, Massachusetts had been the team’s public address announcer since 2003, his deep, rich baritone instantly recognizable to a generation of fans.
His style was straightforward, with only an occasional flourish. When “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Fenway Park” came over the loudspeakers, it was easy to imagine it being a bygone era. Befitting his workplace, Carl Beane loved tradition.
He also loved his job. To many of his friends — and he had no shortage of those — that is how he’ll be remembered. The Voice of Fenway Park didn’t come to work. He came to do something he enjoyed, and it showed. Carl Beane will be missed.
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In the summer of 2005, I talked to Beane about his life and career for the book “Interviews from Red Sox Nation” [Maple Street Press, 2006]. As an appreciation, here are excerpts from that interview:
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Beane on his early days as an entertainer: “I began as a musician, a drummer. I was, and still am, devoted to Buddy Rich. I played with some local bands, but was good at playing with people who didn’t make it. I did play with Chuck Berry once, when I was about 16 years old. He was having one of his annual duels with the IRS and didn’t have a traveling band. Musicians hung out at record stores back in the ’60s, so he’d call one in the town he was coming to and line up local musicians. I was in a store in Holyoke [MA] and the manager asked if I wanted to play with Chuck Berry. The night of the show, we’re standing around waiting for him when this big Cadillac pulls up. We asked if he wanted to do a sound check, but all he wanted was to know that we had played his songs. He said that we’d start a song when he waved his guitar, and we’d end it when he waved his guitar. That was it.”
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/in-memoriam-carl-beane-the-voice-of-fenway-park/
Originally published: May 10, 2012. Last Updated: May 10, 2012.