I would watch the Cubs broadcast and listen to the radio broadcasters. In my humble opinion, Brickhouse was boring. I don't think I was wrong simply because he was beloved by millions of fans. There has to be a few other people that felt the same way as myself. 

When Ron Santo was traded to the White Sox, I was so mad at the Cubs for trading Santo (my favorite player) that I became a Sox fan. Harry Carey was the announcer for the White Sox, and made the game incredibly entertaining. Harry expressed his opinions and criticisms of the team. Why did he do that? He did it because he cared about the game, and specifically the Chicago White Sox. He wanted to help improve the fan's understanding of the game in an entertaining manner. He loved the game - it wasn't a job for Harry, it was a passion. He expressed his love of the game by the way he described the action on the field. In contrast, Jack Brickhouse was a big yawn.

When Brickhouse died, Harry had just made a verbal agreement to extend his contract with the Sox. He decided to ask the Cubs if they were interested in his services. They were interested, and the rest is history. Harry Carey was to become the Cubs TV broadcaster, who would be replacing the iconic Jack Brickhouse. Since I was such a big fan of Harry, I was asked at the time if I would change my allegiance to the Cubs, just like I did when Santo was traded. No, I wasn't "that" big of a fan.

I became less of a fan when I read about the verbal contract agreement that Harry had agreed to, which was followed by his successful attempt to jump ship. A verbal contract is a contract. My opinion of Harry went down. Oh, well, nobody is perfect. 

Harry's stroke and his advancing age brought noticeable changes to his style. He was starting to become the "B" word. He was boring. He didn't have the pizzazz that he used to have. Just like playing the game of baseball is a young man's game, the same can be said about the announcer's position. Harry & Jack became too old, and simply worked on auto-pilot. 

Like I said, Jack Brickhouse was beloved by millions. The Tribune Company (owner of the Cubs and WGN during Jack's employment) placed a statue of Brickhouse near the corporate headquarters, on Chicago's Michigan Avenue. I took a night time photo of the long time Cubs broadcaster. I hope you enjoy it.










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