Cornelius "Connie" Desmond (January 31, 1908 – March 10, 1983) was an American sportscaster, most prominently for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Biography

Desmond began his

career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...

in 1932 as the voice of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Toledo Mud Hens. In 1940, he was promoted to broadcasting the games of the AAA

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

Mel Allen Mel Allen (born Melvin Allen Israel; February 14, 1913 – June 16, 1996) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1 ...

was impressed enough with Desmond that he asked him to come to New York City as his sidekick on the home games of the Yankees and

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

in 1942. After one year, he left and joined

Red Barber Walter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sports announcer and author. Nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", he was primarily identified with broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four ...

on the Dodgers broadcasts, replacing Al Helfer. During the 1943 season, Barber and Desmond were the only voices of baseball in New York; the Giants and Yankees suspended broadcasts that year for unknown reasons. Desmond remained with the Dodgers until he resigned in August 1956, teaming with Barber (1943–1953), Ernie Harwell (1948–1949), and

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcast work in Major League Baseball. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-se ...

(1950–1956). In the 1940s Desmond also teamed with Barber to call

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

football, and with

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman ...

to call

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

basketball. Desmond battled

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

for many years, and frequently missed games because he was too drunk to go on the air. Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley finally lost patience with him and fired him prior to the 1955 World Series. Thus, Desmond missed his chance to call the Dodgers' only world title on the East Coast. Desmond asked for and got another chance in 1956, but was fired for good after several more absences. He was succeeded by Jerry Doggett. Desmond was a fairly accomplished singer. In the early 1940s he hosted several music shows on WOR, with himself as the featured singer. Desmond briefly returned to baseball broadcasting with his hometown Toledo Mud Hens of the International League in 1967. Desmond died March 10, 1983, in Toledo, Ohio at the age of 75. Desmond and his wife had two children, whom they raised in Flower Hill, New York.

References

External links

"Golden Voices of Baseball" book excerpt

Dodgers Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, Connie 1908 births 1983 deaths American radio sports announcers Brooklyn Dodgers announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters NBA broadcasters NFL announcers New York Giants announcers New York Giants (baseball) announcers New York Knicks announcers New York Yankees announcers People from Flower Hill, New York People from Toledo, Ohio