June 22, 2021 Meeting By James Rayner
Jerry Howarth – Follow Your Heart
You might wonder how a native San Franciscan who was enrolled in Law School became one of the official play-by-play radio announcers for the Toronto Blue Jays. Rather than give a prepared address about his experiences to the club, Jerry Howarth made his appearance a question and answer session. Following is a short summary of how he ended up in Toronto (about which he knew nothing, not even its location) which will be followed by some of the questions from members and Jerry’s answers.
Although he had enrolled in law school, hoping to pursue a career as a lawyer, Jerry decided in first year that law school wasn’t for him. (In fact, he supported his wife while she completed law school! ) Instead of law, Jerry had an intense desire to be a baseball broadcaster and he followed his heart by abandoning law and moving to Tacoma, Washington and, later, to Salt Lake City to do radio broadcasts for their baseball teams.
When the Seattle Mariners entered major league baseball (MLB), he applied to be their play-by-play announcer but failed to get the job. The Toronto Blue Jays entered MLB at the same time and his wife Mary suggested applying to Toronto for the same job. She was from Kalamazoo, Michigan, so was at least familiar with Toronto and its location, something that Jerry had to find in an atlas.
So, Jerry sent an audition tape to Toronto, but forgot to do any paper work. However, the Blue Jays managed to track him down and brought him to Detroit to broadcast games there as Early Wynn, the regular broadcaster, was needed for the All Star Game. It didn’t hurt that Jimy Williams, the Jays’ coach at the time, had known Jerry in Salt Lake City. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. This took place in 1980 and Jerry was the voice of the Blue Jays (along with Tom Cheek) for 36 years. He has lived in Etobicoke for all that time, in a home near Kipling and Rathburn. He has coached basketball at Islington Middle School and Etobicoke Collegiate Institute. This has all been part of his dream. Because it was his dream, he has immersed himself in the games that he has called and seems able to recall the details of any game that was mentioned in the questions.
Q. Which is his favourite ball park?
A. Fenway in Boston. He recalled that he visited Fenway in 1967 and watched a game where the Red Sox were managed by Dick Williams. Second choice would be Camden Yards, Baltimore with honourable mention going to Wrigley Field, Chicago.
Q. Was there any broadcast location that was challenging?
A. Pittsburgh. The best was Tiger Stadium, Detroit.
Q. Do you recall any outstanding triple plays?
A. Jerry gave all the details of a controversial triple play involving Kelly Gruber where the umpire was wrong in calling the runner safe but didn’t admit it until the game was over.
Q. Do you know anything about the late, lamented, Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League?
A. Yes, he knew about several of the Leafs’ star players including Rocky Nelson who even I remember from my childhood.
Q. Why has the typical baseball game gone from 2 hours and 10 minutes to over 3 hours long?
A. TV commercials and balls not being put into play as fast—batters either swing and miss or try for a home run. They also don’t stay in the batter’s box as they should.
This is but a short summary of his address. Jerry Howarth proved to be an amazing walking encyclopedia of information, not just about the Toronto Blue Jays but about Major League Baseball in general. If you want to know anything about Major League Baseball, ask Jerry. More details about Jerry’s life and career can be found in his book Hello Friends, a phrase he used to begin his broadcasts.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 