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Monday, September 15, 1997

Holtz broadcast was something you didn't want to miss

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - My first recollection of baseball announcers was fashioned by the colorful Harry Carey.

Eons ago when he was the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, I'd go outside and turn on my parents' car radio to catch his "HOLY Cows" from Sportsman's Park.

The signal, beamed to the Chevrolet on a hill on the east side of White Rock Lake, was my only link to major league baseball at the time. Harry's voice put you in the ballpark way back there in the 1950s.

Eventually, it was his voice that lured me and a high school buddy to our very first major league game in a car we knew would breakdown before we left home and it did.

But it was worth it. Cardinal baseball was everything Harry's broadcasts promised it would be.

Also during that time, the Dallas Eagle baseball games were being broadcast by Jerry Doggett, who later was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

We didn't know how good we had it and their voices helped with the boredom of a lot of summer nights.

Then along came Mark Holtz decades later doing Texas Ranger broadcasts like Harry and Jerry did theirs.

He took what could have been a thankless task - how many great Ranger teams have there been? - and turned it into something you didn't want to miss, a Holtz broadcast.

He was witty. He was informative. He told stories on himself. He knew the game and he did it with a smile and energy and enthusiasm for 17 seasons. Forget the score. Holtzie was entertainment.

There were 17 seasons of his trademark "Hello, win column" when the Rangers won and his "You can kiss it goodbye" home run calls.

He found the perfect teammate in Eric Nadel and they played off each other beautifully.

Who could forget Mark's call of Nolan Ryan's seventh no-hitter when Roberto Alomar struck out on a 2-2 pitch to end the game.

"Hello no-hitter No. 7," Holtz said.

Print writers loved "Holtzie" as we called him.

He would usually visit the writers press box during his off innings and discuss the finer points of what had transpired. He could be critical of players and managers but he was always fair.

The only thing he was prejudiced against were slow baseball games.

"Great pace, great pace," he might say sarcastically.

Even though Holtz had been diagnosed with a life-threatening bone disease in 1994, he rarely complained.

Mark went to television paired with Tom Grieve in 1995. We kidded him about having to dress up because he was on the tube, telling him we hoped he got a wardrobe raise in his contract.

"Just another pretty face on television," he would crack back.

On May 22nd, 1997, he worked his final broadcast, a 10-7 win over Oakland and signed off with his patented call "Hello Win column."

On Sept. 7, Holtz died at Baylor Medical Center.

Rangers' president Tom Schieffer said it well when he put Holtz in the same class with Carey and Red Barber. Only Holtz never had the national audience the other two men commanded.

Rangers fans will miss Holtz because, if anything, he was our well-kept secret nationally. He was a giant in the game but only Ranger fans got to enjoy his broadcasts.

He had a great voice and a wonderful sense for the game. Of all professional sports, baseball is the one that demands knowledge of the game. You can't fake it.

Holtz was the voice you wanted on your car radio, or your patio radio, or your living room radio.

He was a down to earth guy. And a very special talent.

And we're glad we were lucky enough to get to hear him.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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