 And that's where you had the famous foul of 35 times you fouled it off. I never counted I don't know how many but I know that it was set a world record. Well the moist changed a bit hasn't she? Yes, I was just telling him when we came in here just coming in from the airport everything looks so natural But I was a great surprise. I just in my mind. I was going to go to 914 Walnut. Yeah, right? I was wondering whether we'd be in The studio on the right or the one on the left? Got some lovely water with you. Oh, yes, and we've been hearing for days and You got much news today You got much news today Yeah, you have My name is Jim Zabel I've been sports director of WHO radio since 1944 and Obviously, we're honored and excited today to have the president of the United States Ronald Reagan who sat behind his microphone on many occasions From 1933 to 1937 when he had my job. He was sports director here at WHO president Great to have you here and of course your friend and a great friend of WHO's Charlie Gross HR gross the former news director here Yes, now the memories that this microphone right here evokes in you. What are they? Oh, my goodness There are so many it's it's like a film montage there of everything the various events and the I Remember probably one outstanding occasion the microphone of that kind out at a Berlin park and they were having the Olympic tryouts out there the AU tryouts for the for the Olympic team and We were feeding network going to feed the NBC network and that was really tops for when we had a half an hour to fill and some of the Olympic officials got in an argument and I was on the air for 30 minutes Nationwide and they did not run off one single swimming event. I think I described every drop of water in the pool Everyone that was warming up and what they were doing and talking about what events were going to be held Went off the air in two minutes after we were off the air They had the first event, but your ad libability really was put to a super test of that machine right there The old Western Union ticker tape that used to bring in the Chicago Cubs Recreations to you. Yes, you had a stick one time in that famous story you fouled it off 34 times 35 times Yes, it was you sat there was a window here curly Waddell was the operator sat on that side and With the headphones and he would type and slip it under the window to me And they used to keep track because there'd be seven or eight stations competing and broadcasting and most of them live right at the park and We were within a half a pitch of right up with the live ball game all the time to do that He had to abbreviate things down like in would come the paper and it would say out for three Well that meant out from second base to first base that meant it had to be a grounder. So you take it and you'd say and Dean comes out of the wind up and here comes the pitch and it's a hard-hit ground ball down towards second base So and so going over after the ball picks it up Puffs it over to first just in time for the out and by this time you're waiting for the next one Or he would send you s1c and that meant strike one calls So you'd say he's got the sign comes out of the wind up Here's the pitch and it's a call strike breaking over the outside corner just above the knees and all of that but the thing that you're talking about was the time that it was the night thinning the cards and the Cubs tied up zero zero and He was typing and I thought there's gone a play coming And he kept shaking his head when I had and it was Dean on the mound And I had to Billy Jurgers at the plate And I had him getting his sign from the catcher and finally here comes the slip of paper and said the wires have gone dead And I knew in that night thinning if I suddenly Said well, we'll have a little interlude of music while we get back connected with the ballpark We'd lose every they'd all turn on some of those other stations So I thought there's only one thing that can get in the doesn't get in the scorebook Foul balls so I had Jurgers foul one And then I had him foul another and then I had him foul one that missed a home run by a foot Then I described two kids down back a third baseman and fight over the ball that had gone into the stands And pretty soon I know I'm beginning to set a world record for somebody standing at the plate and hitting successive fouls If anyone ever kept those figures and I was beginning to sweat a little because I knew now that if I told him We'd lost the wire. They'd know I'd Wasn't had been telling the truth finally didn't get the hit in that game Well, just pretty soon Curly started typing and I had him throw another pitch and in came the slip And then I started giggling. I had trouble getting it out because the slip said Jurgers popped out on the first ball pitch That's good Charlie gross. Let's bring you in here. You were known as kind of a meticulous Perfectionist at the time. It was a young sportscaster. Did he live up to your standards when you were here a young sportscaster. Oh, yes, sir Yes, sir, you can I made it to the source of all sports news around here by way of radio this gentlemen here president Did you project in him at that time when he was 22 23 years old the qualities that enabled him to become president of the United States No, never he was Democrat. He belongs to the wrong party Yeah, but I outgrew that but he outgrew it. That's right. Okay No, I Never thought of course that he would become president of the United States and that I would be here But he sighed tonight Mr. President this microphone brings back you were selected a Wheaties sportscaster of the year one time He did a Wheaties commercially to the Kentucky Club. Yeah, they they sponsored an awful lot of Baseball Wheaties did and when you came into Des Moines today a down-floor drive from the airport Did you notice some changes about the city of Des Moines? Well along about the time we got here by the time that I got here I was just prepared to turn right and go to 914 Walnut Street and I Have a whole new institution I've got to tell you one about Well, let me just tell you he is a pioneer and a true pioneer under the Fair Trade Practices Act back in those depression days radio was not allowed to do news and Because it would be unfair they thought that you could just go and put it in the microphone instead of having to have it put in print and out on the streets and B.J. Palmer was then the head of the Central Broadcasting Decided that he was going to challenge that we were going to have news and only one news service would provide us with a news wire and Charlie was the whole news department including the Writing and rewriting of the stories and we went on the air with news and it was a first-in radio that and became a daily twice a day feature for his news and and Then of course he was a pioneer in another thing as you know when he went to Congress It was no surprise to those of us that knew him That he would be known as the conscience of the Congress that His colleagues would go to him because they knew he had read the bills and they'd go to him before they voted to find out I'm not okay, Charlie Mr. President you told me when I did an interview with you in 1974 on the 50th anniversary of whl radio But the five years you spent here were five of the happiest years of your life. Oh, yeah, that's that finally Oh, yes, they were really those were foundation years, and I think everything that Happened came out of came out of this well It's the true American hero story hitchhiking to Davenport, I believe to get the job in the first place Yes Had a rather unusual audition from Pete McArthur who was the program director then I Had been told that in looking for a job on those depression days And I'd hitchhiked all the way around the country quite a bit. I've been told that you should Ask an employer not for what you wanted to be a sports announcer Just tell him you'd take any job to get in the Station and then take your chances on moving up from there So I made my usual pitch of that kind after a number of turn downs to Pete and This time the turn down was Really disappointing because he said where were you last week? We auditioned 90 people and hired an announcer and on my way out the door I said, how do you ever get to be a sports announcer if you can't get in a station and went on down to the Elevator which fortunately wasn't there and Pete who was badly handicapped with arthritis and on two canes I didn't know until I heard him thumping down the hall yelling at me and he Asked me what that was I said about sports and I told him that's what I'd like to be and he said You know anything about football and I said I played it for eight years He said do you think he could tell me about a game and if I was sitting there listening? I could see the game was and I said I think so He took me in a studio Put me in front of one of these No, they weren't even this one. This was a modern. Yeah, this was the old carbon Mike Right and he put me in front of that and he said when the red light goes on you start broadcasting an imaginary football game And I did for about 15 minutes. It wasn't really imaginary. I knew I had to have names so I picked a game that I'd played in college the year but previous fall and Which we won in the last 20 seconds by 65-yard touchdown run. I did not make the run So I chose that game and said when the light came on started that we were in the fourth quarter You know, I had everything I had the long blue shadows settling over the field the famous long blue Yeah, chill wind coming in through the end of the stadium. We didn't have a stadium. We had bleachers and I Did it for about the 15 minutes and made that winning touchdown one thing I did put in As a running guard coming out around and leading the interference on that play that day Eureka College, I missed my man the first man in the secondary And I don't know how bud Cole got by and reverse the field because I missed him in the broadcast I nailed him. It was a magnificent block key to the whole success of the play and He came in and told me that to be there on Saturday That I was broadcasting the Iowa Minnesota game and he would give me five dollars in bus fare. The price hasn't changed No, I'm saying that facetiously. Well, Mr. President, obviously we're just thrilled and happy to have you here to reminisce about the old Well, let me ask you one question for sportscaster to sportscaster Would you have stayed a sportscaster of the telegram and not come from Warner Brothers? Do you think I? Think so. Yes There's always been a sneaking Lust in my heart for the theatric end of the of the business. Well, we have about eight to ten thousand people I think of a full house waiting up at the auditorium. Can you tell us what you're going to tell them up there tonight? Well, I don't think anything that I say is Has been said by any of the eight other candidates who've been running around the state I might have a little different twist on things than that, but I'm going to talk about This recovery that we have going and what I think is needed to keep it going How does it feel to be back in the morning? Oh great. It's it's too short as always but Give me another seven and a half minutes. I'd be so far down nostalgia lane Let me ask you one question a lot of people ask of me about you. What type of sportscaster were you? I mean, how do you categorize categorize your style? What? What was it? Oh, I don't know. I always thought I I always had in mind of a listener out there and I thought that I was painting a word picture If I was in the stadium over at University of Iowa broadcasting an Iowa football game I always tried to use references like Saying not just that they're on the 20 yard line 15 yards in from the side of the field I would say they're down here to the right On their own 20 yard line 15 yards in from this this side of the field or place them I always figured that he in his net viewer out there he or she must be able to To get a picture in their minds of what it what it looked like. Well, you give them a lot of pictures, mr. President the thrill to have you here. Listen, I've rambled on but you should return me loose Well, the fans love it. I'm sure. Thank you very much. Good luck to you tonight. Well, thank you Congressman gross. Thank you for being here with us. Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you Republicans Three weeks ago