| It's more than just a Ballgame |
|
|
| Written by Levi Johnstone - Argonaut | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 07 May 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
It is the longest-running sports radio program in the history of the
University of Idaho, and according to the Society of Professional
Journalists, is now the best sports radio program in the state of Idaho. “This show serves as a platform for me to fulfill a childhood dream to become a play-by-play announcer,” Mallory said. “How many people do what they love for a living? I don’t know, but I’m one of them. I’m one of the lucky ones.” The Johnny Ballgame Show mixes collegiate, professional and amateur sports, and Mallory takes special interest in Vandal athletics. He has had some of the high profile UI athletes as guests on his show which include Yinka Olorunnife, Stanley Franks and most notably this year’s 221st pick in the NFL Draft, Eddie Williams. Olorunnife said she thinks Mallory’s personality makes the show successful. “He’s really funny and always has something new to say or some new phrase,” Olorunnife said. “He makes it interesting for people to listen to. It’s not foul, and it’s always something new. He tries to make a difference.” Mallory has always had a passion for sports, which started when he was young. “When I saw a game where the Seahawks played the Denver Broncos and I saw John Elway play, it changed my life,” Mallory said. “I know that may sound totally ridiculous, but it did.” Mallory said he was captivated by sports from then on, and unlike the average fan, he took pleasure in digging deeper into sports history. “I had this weird thing where I wanted to figure out the history of teams and figure out stats,” Mallory said. He said at such a young age, it was a challenge to obtain information about players, coaches and teams. “Back then, there wasn’t the Internet,” Mallory said. “I was looking on the back of cards to find out how many touchdown passes Dan Fouts had in 1981. I always had this weird geek factor about it.” The show’s lead analyst, Kevin Mallory, said John Mallory knows his sports history and trivia better than most, and that separates him from others in the field. “He’s really great at it,” Kevin Mallory said. “He knows his stuff, and we keep up on the history of it. He’s very well practiced at what he does.” The Johnny Ballgame Show’s current co-host Gavin Ashburn said he is often amazed by John Mallory’s sports knowledge. “I’m just amazed by the years and names and stats he can pull out,” Ashburn said. “I’m normally lucky if I can figure out who’s playing on a team, (let alone) who hit a triple in the 1968 World Series or something.” He said the SPJ award is icing on the cake for the show. “It makes you feel like what you are doing is worthwhile,” he said. “I came to Idaho to be a sports talk radio host, and I didn’t care about the money involved.” Mallory said he hopes the award will help elevate his career as a sports talk radio show host. “It’s not like a six-year-old saying, ‘I want to be an astronaut,’” he said. “It felt like it had substance behind it. The award just lets me know that maybe there is a possibility in this. I mean it can’t be bad for my career, the fact that I have the best sports radio show in the state of Idaho.” It hasn’t been just John Mallory who has brought the show to its peak, however. During the tenure of the Johnny Ballgame Show, he has had two main co-hosts in Nick Heidelberger, who currently is an assistant sports information director at Tennessee Tech University, and Ashburn, a pre-school teacher in Pullman. Kevin Mallory said while the show may seem simple, there is far more to it than meets the naked eye. “He certainly works really hard at it,” Kevin Mallory said. “You know, he talks for three hours, a lot of people don’t realize that, but most radio shows have commercials and breaks and stuff like that, but he doesn’t. It’s a lot harder than people think.” John Mallory said he molded the show after several influential shows he listened to growing up. “The show that made me want to be a sports talk radio guy was Mitch in the Morning, a show on KGR 950 out of Seattle,” he said. “I was working as a dry cleaner, and we would listen to that every day. I’m working 9 to 5 thinking, ‘What am I doing here washing people’s clothes for $10 an hour? I can do that. I know I can do that.’” Mallory also said the Dan Patrick Show and the Jim Rome show were influential in the making of his own show. The man, the legend, Johnny “Ballgame” Mallory Many people consider themselves sports fans, sports geeks or sports gurus. Mallory is no exception to this. In his personal life, work and play overlap, and Mallory has incorporated sports into every aspect of life. His obsessions started in the third grade with a simple card collection. “I got really into cards,” Mallory said. “Baseball, basketball and football cards — I was really into them. I would buy up old cards like Terry Bradshaw and Ray Guy, obscure cards that nobody else wanted.” While he still has the cards, he doesn’t collect them like he used to. “Those just collect dust in my parents’ basement now,” Mallory said. “But I have quite a collection sitting there of rookie cards from way back.” He said he’s always loved competition and the competitive nature of sports, but his interest really comes from a different place entirely. “The greatest aspect of sports is the drama,” Mallory said. “It’s like the theater — only the performers and the audience don’t know the outcome.” Mallory holds sports’ greatest games on a high pedestal. “To me, only sex beats a great game,” Mallory said. “And not by much.” Mallory said that while he is passionate about sports, he tries not to let it dominate his personal life too much. “It’s funny, because most of the girls I have dated initially tell me they love sports,” Mallory said. “I just chuckle and think, ‘Wow, she has no idea what she’s getting herself into,’ but I try not to let my sports passion get in the way of meeting nice girls. I think having a great woman is the best thing a man can have in his life.” Mallory’s apartment is adorned with sports posters from different eras in sports. He said he doesn’t just hang any poster, but only events that hold social significance throughout sports history. “I have huge picture of what I call the Mona Lisa of football — a photo of Johnny Unitas with his arm cocked back in the pocket ready to throw,” Mallory said. “I have a picture of Jack Dempsey, a boxer in the 1920s. It has to be something like that, that I think shows a true classic photo. “Not some action shot, something that means more than just sports, that has social impact and historical impact, not just for sports,” Mallory said. “Things that changed the whole landscape.” As far as memorabilia goes, Mallory does not consider himself a serious poster collector. “I have a John Elway poster I got in the fourth grade that goes everywhere with me,” Mallory said. “It was with me when I was in California, I moved to Oregon I brought it, in Idaho I brought, and it’s with me now. That is the one thing that I take everywhere.” A career in play-by-play Mallory isn’t limited to just sports talk radio. He’s also been the play-by-play announcer for the women’s basketball team for two years. He also announces for the occasional UI football game. UI football play-by-play announcer Tom Morris hired Mallory as women’s basketball play-by-play announcer. “I wanted someone with knowledge of the game, someone who could get along with the students, athletes and coaches,” Morris said. “What I love about John is that he worked to get better and it was a great ride for him.” Morris said he saw the improvements from Mallory from game to game. “He improved each game and was very comfortable with his interviews,” Morris said. “One thing he does in his interviews is makes his interviewees feel very comfortable. We couldn’t have asked for a better fit.” Morris also said that he is amazed by Mallory’s knowledge of the sporting world and attributes that to his success as a broadcaster. “His knowledge of sports, he has almost a cult following,” Morris said. “We will be listening to the game and he’ll mix this knowledge in. Certain plays he’ll say ‘That play reminded me of a play I saw with the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.’ Who would compare an Idaho women’s basketball game with a game played in the ‘70s? It makes it kind of folksy. I’ve never heard that play-by-play, and it’s great and fans love it.” Olorunnife said she has theories on Mallory’s success as a broadcaster as well. “From what I’ve heard from parents and families who like to listen and keep up on games, it’s all compliments,” Olorunnife said. “You can tell he knows the players well and knows the players’ strengths and weaknesses. He keeps it really entertaining.” After nearly three years, the Johnny Ballgame Show will come to an end this June as John Mallory looks to advance his career in sports journalism. Morris said he thinks Mallory has the stuff it takes to make it big someday. “Because of his work ethic, he will,” Morris said. “The business he’s trying to get into is extremely difficult. A lot of radio stations won’t have that kind of programming because it’s hard to sell and money is the bottom line.” Morris said it’s all about Mallory sticking with it until his break comes. “He will have to work his way up to a larger market. I think his work ethic, his knowledge of sports, he could hold his own on a talk show for sure,” Morris said. “He’s just got to get his break, and now is the time he’s got to start working up the ladder, so to speak.” Mallory said that while his career may take him elsewhere, his heart will always be in Moscow as a Vandal. “This university gave me a shot when nobody else did in my life, and I will always be loyal to the University of Idaho,” Mallory said. “I will always be a Vandal at heart, and I’m never going to forget that this is where I got my start.” You can listen to the Johnny Ballgame Show from 8 to 11 p.m. Sundays until the show goes off the air in June.  Add as favorites (115) | Views: 5072
Write Comment
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
