The Life and Legacy of UA Alumnus and ‘Voice of the New York Yankees’ Mel Allen is Celebrated at the Hoole Library

Tuscaloosa, Ala. –The highly anticipated new book, “How About That! The Life of Mel Allen,” about the former University of Alabama alumnus, will be introduced by the author on April 27 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library located at 500 Hackberry Lane on campus.

Stephen Borelli, author of “How About That! The Life of Mel Allen,” will discuss his new book, which looks at the incredible life of Mel Allen. Borelli, an assistant news director at USAToday.com, has written extensively on baseball and sports. His book is the first biography ever written on perhaps the most famous sports broadcaster in American history.

The book will be available for purchase and signing by the author at the event which is free and open to the public. The schedule of activities follows:

• 4:30-5:15 p.m. Open House/reception/book signing
• 5:15-6:15 p.m. Talk by Stephen Borelli
• 6:15-6:30 p.m. Additional book signing opportunity

Mel Allen was born Melvin Avrom Israel in Birmingham in 1913 to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. He lived in Johns, Ala., before entering UA as a freshman at the age of 15. Earning both undergraduate and law degrees at UA, he began what was to be a stellar broadcasting career on the UA campus. Before moving to New York in 1937 to begin his radio career at CBS, he was a play-by-play announcer on Birmingham radio station WBRC in 1933.

Allen is perhaps best known by his moniker, “the Voice of the New York Yankees,” a position he held until 1964, and where he coined such famous phrases as “It’s going, going, gone!” A legend in sports and in broadcasting, he is a member of both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame.

The biography traces the announcer from tiny towns in Alabama to the glares of Yankee Stadium and the Rose Bowl. Readers will brush shoulders with legendary college football coach Bear Bryant, famous radio host Ralph Edwards, and a lineup of New York Yankees legends that includes Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel. They will also experience baseball’s glorious radio days, when announcers like Allen and Red Barber gave listeners sight and sound and their depictions made ball players seem larger than life.

Allen’s folksy words follow a Yankees dynasty at its height. Readers will learn about his fade from the national eye after the Yankees mysteriously dismissed him in 1964 and his second broadcasting life in the 1970s – 1990s as host of the groundbreaking television show “This Week in Baseball.” During this period, a unique friendship with George Steinbrenner allowed Allen to call one last no-hitter as he became the voice of baseball again.

Borelli conducted extensive research for his book at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, which houses the Mel Allen Papers. Borelli received first-hand help with his research from Allen’s brother and longtime assistant Larry Allen.

An exhibition from the holdings of the Mel Allen Collection will be on display at the Hoole Library in conjunction with the event. The exhibit, curated by Donnelly Lancaster and Jessica Lacher-Feldman from the Hoole Library, will feature unique and exciting materials that reflect Mel Allen’s career as a sports and broadcasting legend.

Among Allen’s many achievements are his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York, the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame. He is the cousin of fellow CC&IS Hall of Fame member and broadcast giant Elmo Ellis.

The exhibition will be on display at the Hoole Library through Sept. 30. Baseball fans, UA sports fans, and anyone interested in American popular culture will enjoy the exhibition, which offers visitors a glimpse into a slice of true Americana – the great American pastime – baseball.

For more information, please visit http://www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/hoole/ or contact Jessica Lacher-Feldman at jlfeldma@bama.ua.edu or 205/348-0500.