|
|
Hal Baird, 'The Voice', has been silenced, but he will never be forgotten!
 Jan 30 - It will never be the same at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. The Voice has been silenced.
The Stratford Brakettes will open their 75th season June 4 without a key member of the organization. With the passing of Harold 'Hal' Baird last December 22nd, the Brakettes will be missing their long-time public address announcer. He had become a fixture with the team two years before they moved to their present home in 1988.
“Sure, we will be able to get someone to do the announcing for us,” said Brakettes General Manager Bob Baird, ironically no relation to Hal. “However, you will never replace someone like Hal. He was to Brakettes Softball what the late Bob Sheppard was to the New York Yankees.”
A veteran radio announcer for over 20 years, working at both of Bridgeport's AM stations WNAB and WICC, he possessed a unique, comforting, and professional voice that welcomed everyone to the ballgame with his familiar, “Good evening, and welcome to Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, home of the Stratford Brakettes.”
He was neither a cheerleader nor a homer over the microphone. He was spot on with difficult names, pronouncing each one with care and precision. He never wavered from being the consummate professional, letting fans know who was batting, who was playing afield, along with timely and well-written advertisements and announcements during play.
His 35th and final season with the Brakettes was a precarious one, not only from the perils of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hal had been in failing health for over a year and just making it up the stairs to his press box seat had become a struggle. But he did his job, just as he did for so many years without fanfare or fuss. Ultimately, it was the coronavirus that robbed us of this talented softball afficionado and his platinum voice.
A life-long Brakettes Softball fan, and proud of it, Hal also enjoyed hockey and was well-known for his 20-plus years of service announcing the games of New Haven-based professional teams the New Haven Blades and American Hockey League franchise New Haven Nighthawks.
The long-time Stratford resident also worked at Sterling House Community Center and was well-respected by all. In his spare time, he would spend many Fridays reading to the blind. He never sought to hang out in the limelight, rather he performed his duties in the background, specifically the confines of the press box.
In addition to announcing 1,265 Brakettes home games since the team moved from iconic Raybestos Memorial Field in the center of Stratford, to a former slow pitch ballfield on South Main Street, Hal also worked 14 other ASA National tournaments and three visits by the USA Olympic team, which were brought to town by Stratford Softball Tournament, Inc. On each occasion he also performed the duty of master-of-ceremonies prior to their start. Each of those tournaments featured a minimum of 30 games, so you do the math. He spent a good portion of his adult life hunkered down at DeLuca Field, first in the rickety old green press box, propped up by cement blocks and resembling the guard tower on the venerable TV show F-Troop, to the modern version built in 2000. Whenever the boom box malfunctioned and he was unable to play the National Anthem, Hal would sing it himself.
Once the night's games were over, he would complete his duties by addressing the fans with “Thank you for coming tonight and please drive home safely.”
Yes, The Voice may be gone, but he will never be forgotten!
|
|
