OT: Eddie Andelman RIP

[Bill Lee]

Eddie should forever be known as the King of sports radio in Boston

Not to hijack the thread, but Hartford had their own Dean of Sports back in the 1970s, Arnold Dean.

His sports talk show was about as far away from the "shock jock" approach as one could get.

According to that page he was big on Big Band music and:

He was in contact with Geno Auriemma, Artie Shaw, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, and Al Terzi throughout his career.

That's quite a list!

As for Eddie, his Wikipedia page has an interesting quote from him:

Radio should be a theater of the mind, not screaming and stupidity. ... WEEI has too many people who are not trained and not educated. They pay players and coaches to be on their shows. Then they have to watch what questions they ask. I won't pay guests. Sports radio has become public relations. Everyone kisses ass.

Thanks, Eddie, for fighting the good fight!

RIP Arnold (1930-2012) and Eddie (1936-2026).

 

[turkeyneck]

Didnt he eat free at the Kowloon?

I remember one time when the NY Giants were coming to Mass to play the Pats (who were pathetic) and Eddie wanted to build temporary toll booths that charged only cars with NY plates because they were likely Yankee fans.

I should think the Kowloon would spring for the whole funeral he sent so much business their way.

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

His love of Pearl Hot Dogs put me through college so I have nothing bad to say

 

[farn]

It saddens me as a reminder of how much I loved EEI. Once upon a time. And what talk radio has become.

 

[Family]

I'm still at the superfoot competition.

The Patriots pace kickers sucked for a few years, so Eddie ran a radio contest inviting the best soccer players in Europe to compete. There was prize money that was ok back then. As I remember the team agreed to give the top three winners a tryout.

The winner John Smith became the Patriots place Kicker for many years. Eddie actually found the team a permanent place kicker. 10 years.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/smithjoh01.htm

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

That was when Sports radio was entertaining. Now it is just a bunch of frickin trolls that spew hate
RIP Eddie. I had 2 Hotdogs in your honor today. Even though I didn’t know you passed at that time

 

[InRodWeRust]

"266-1100 you're on next on HGH"

I'm going by memory from 40 years ago. I think that's what he used to say. My dad would listen to him all the time when I was a kid. Did I get that quoted right?

 

[FCB02062]

Listened to the sports huddle just about every sunday as my father drove me and my brother back from divorced dad sunday's. Eddie, Mark Whitkin, Jim McCarthy. Remember it was like yesterday. Eddie consoled a legion of red sox fans after game 6 in 1986 as he came on the air until the wee hours. Sports talk was fun back then. they were all fans of our teams - except Eddie hated hockey. One night an 11 or 12 year old FCB just about pissed his pants as they had a contest to see who could do the best Lou Gorman impression. The callers were absolutely hilarious. We partook in several hot dog safaris at Suffolk Downs. Those were the days. The Sports Huddle makes me think of my father. RIP Dad, and RIP Eddie - enjoy a few Pearl Kountry Klub Franks.

 

[Triumph]

Eddie was NE/Boston like Harry Caray was Chicago.

Boston is a baseball town and the Red Sox the star of the show. All those years living through the Curse of the Babe kept Eddie in business, but he delivered too. I suppose its only fitting for Eddie to pass this season when the RS are so bad. His phone lines would have been lit up with customers wanting to vent.

 

[AQPE]

Grew up with th Sports Huddle and listened to the various iterations of Eddie’s shows well into my adulthood, so this is sad news.

My first or second Sunday listening the Sports Huddle they had an ESP game that cost Columbia Pontiac two cars (Ralph Garr and Mel Farr were the answers). My own favorite was probably when they ordered a large prune juice to be sent to Howard Cosell’s hotel room. That and “The Jerks Who Talk Sports on TV” song. I met Gary Doak one time when he was managing the Leo J. Martin golf course and asked him for a bottle of “Doakacola,” he loved that parody as much as I did. The so called “celebrity caller” schtick the shows got into later pale in comparison to Violet the Red Sox fan or “Giants Hater 99 and 3/4” on the Huddle

It was sad when Eddie grew angry and bitter the last few years at EEI and later. I think losing Bruce Kornblatt was the beginning of the end, with all due respect to Lou Lou Lou Umbriano. With that said, at least Eddie had a legit “game,” which is more than can be said for “Napkins” Felger and the legion of no talent dbags following in Felgers mold. And none of those aholes will ever come close to Eddie when it comes to his charitable work from the “Sports Shuttle” that sought to give game tickets to underprivileged kids to the Hot Dog Safari for the Joey Fund.

Kol Hakovod Eddie

 

[Rob0729]

Hated that Hot Dog Safari nonsense.

C'mon, it was for charity. I read somewhere that he raised over $5 million for cystic fibrosis research and treatment.

I went a couple of years. It was for a good cause.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

When the Pats had a big road game coming up, he and Mark and Jim would try to call someone in that city to discuss it on the air, not a sports figure or reporter but just some random business to see what they thought of the Patriots. I remember there was a huge game with the Cowboys coming up (mid-late 70's when we were good), and he called a Dallas funeral home out of the blue, looked it up somehow. Eddie could be uproarious but he also could be very quiet and somber sounding while the other two were choking back laughter, and some lady picked up and after some small talk he asked her if the Patriots were gonna beat the Cowboys, and all the while they had some funeral music playing. It was crazy, as a listener you felt like you were part of the prank.

 

[XLIX]

Not to hijack the thread, but Hartford had their own Dean of Sports back in the 1970s, Arnold Dean.

His sports talk show was about as far away from the "shock jock" approach as one could get.

According to that page he was big on Big Band music and:



That's quite a list!

As for Eddie, his Wikipedia page has an interesting quote from him:



Thanks, Eddie, for fighting the good fight!

RIP Arnold (1930-2012) and Eddie (1936-2026).

The problem with sports radio - and sports talk TV - these days is that it rewards idiocy. When someone says something stupid, everyone comes to forums like this wailing “OMG did you hear what so-and-so said??”

This, of course, is the exact reaction the host wanted. They deliberately say stupid things (which I don’t even believe they believe) to get people talking about them because it is far, far better to have people talking about what a moron you are than not talk about you at all.

 

[captain stone]

As double-digit midgets during the 1970s, my brother & I often listened to the Sports Huddle, especially the beginnings of each program with the funny promos and goofy calliope music in the background... During hockey season, we would listen to the show while watching the Bruins; and they hated hockey, especially Eddie! One time after they moved from WEEI to WHDH, they interviewed the man who was the voice of, among others, Donald Duck; at the end of it he gave a station identification in Donald's voice, and from that point forward at the end of each broadcast, they would sign-off with Donald Duck pronouncing "WHDH, Boston." Classic. Now that I think about it, it was a nice way to end the week, and to prepare for the next one, which on a school night was gonna begin in about 6-1/2 hours from then... Good times, good times...

RIP Eddie, and Thanks for the laughs.