A History of Phillies Public Address Announcers
Who preceded Dan Baker as the Phillies public address announcer? Who was the franchise’s first?
Well, the answer to the first question is known.
Who the first announcer was is unknown.
Early Voices
We do know one of the earliest PA voices is included in the above photo courtesy of historian Bob Warrington featuring Game 1 of the 1915 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Phillies at North Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.
The four men on the right are umpires Bill Klem, Billy Evans, “Silk” O’Loughlin and “Cy” Rigle. On the left, holding a giant megaphone, is the PA announcer, known only by his surname “Smith.”
“I’ve tried for years to learn Smith’s first name but have struck out so far,” laments Warrington.
More Modern Era
Pete Byron, who handled the chores at Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium from 1951-1964, previously held the record for longest tenure. Byron was also well known as an announcer for boxing events in the city.
He was followed by Matt Guokas, Sr. (1965-66), Eddie Ferenz (1967-69), George Lyle (1970), Art Wolfe (1971) and current microphone holder Dan Baker (1972-).
Prior to Byron, Dave “Zink” Zinkoff had the job in 1949. It is assumed he was also there in 1950 but research has come up empty. He’s not included in the 1950 Phillies Yearbook or World Series program. Other research, including obituaries, only mentions he was “the Phillies PA announcer in the 1940s.” He went on to become more famous as the public address voice of the Philadelphia Warriors and 76ers in the NBA from the 1950s through the early 1980s.
The following photo, provided by Rich Westcott, shows Zinkoff (standing, gray short shirt) next to the Phillies dugout in 1949. We assume “Zink” was there in 1950 but have not been able to confirm that.
The photo also shows Andy Seminick who had hit a home run. That season was the last for the Phillies cream-colored uniforms. Red pinstripes replaced them in 1950.
Leaderboard
Baker’s 50 years with the Phillies is third longest in baseball history, trailing only Bob Sheppard, a 57-year voice of the Yankees (1951-2007) and Pat Pieper’s 59 years with the Cubs (1916-1974).
(Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer archives; Philadelphia Phillies; National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum; Rich Westcott and Bob Warrington).
Larry Shenk is the longtime Philadelphia Phillies official historian, and brought his Minor League Report and other historic pieces to Phillies Nation beginning in 2019.
