The genius of improv:
A routine fly turned into “a towering shot —caught at the wall!”
Weave in some color: the pitcher wiping sweat, the outfielder shading his eyes, the smell of hot dogs—details that made listeners swear they were at the game.
Pacing the Drama
Stall with anecdotes (“Folks, while the pitcher confers with the catcher…”) while the broadcasters waited for the update being phoned in from the ballpark.
Catch up, then explode into the big moment: “It’s a drive—deep to left—GONE! The Beavers take the lead!”—complete with crowd roar sound effects.
Budgets were tiny; sending the announcer on every PCL road trip was impossible. The station still delivered three hours of riveting baseball.
Future Sonics broadcaster Bob Blackburn and Rollie Truitt doing a Portland Beavers recreation. Blackburn did Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League baseball play-by-play with Truitt for KWJJ and KPOJ for 18 years.
