“HOT ZIGGITY DOG ~ AND GOOD OLD SASAFRAS TEA! ~ HOLD ON, FOLKS!”
THE BUFFS/COLTS/ASTROS MAY STILL BE DOWN BY 8 IN THE 7TH, BUT….
THAT BUNT SINGLE MAY AS WELL BE A TRUMPET ~ BLOWIN’ CLEAR ….
…. WE AIN’T DEAD YET!!!”
LOEL PASSE
Houston Buffs Radio Broadcaster, 1950-1961;
Houston MLB Broadcaster, 1962-1976.
“NOW YOU GOIN’, GANG!!!!”
Thank You, Darrell Pittman, for finding and submitting this article for note and credit to Jim Bishop and the Victoria Advocate for their earlier publication on July 20, 1997. Large parts of Houston Baseball history would otherwise be lost were it not for writers like Jim Bishop and this also history-energized South Texas newspaper.
Yeah, we know. The print was a little small, but if you knew, or remember Loel as a broadcaster, we hope it will be worth the squint. Loel was one of the lights that filled in the landscape before we even came close to the level that now fills the house of the current World Champions, the 2017 Houston Astros.
********************
Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
Tags: Memories of Loel Passe
The Pecan Park Eagle 
July 16, 2018 at 2:33 am |
Loel Passe was born on May 29, 1917, the same day and year as President John F. Kennedy,
July 16, 2018 at 5:27 am |
There are a couple of radio broadcasts that have been preserved of Colt 45 games called by Loel Passe and Gene Elston. A google search of OTR archives baseball broadcasts provides a treasure trove of great games from 1934 to 1973 that have been preserved. The 1964 Ken Johnson no hitter from the Houston radio network that the Colt 45s lost 1-0 is available over the internet thanks to the OTR archives. There are some 1962 Mets-Colt 45s games from the New York network available as well on the OTR archives site. Those complete game broadcasts from the OTR archives are great to hear at any time of the year. Tomorrow is a day without Major League Baseball but thanks to the OTR site tomorrow does not have to be a day without a major league radio broadcast to hear.
July 16, 2018 at 1:35 pm |
His call of many a strikeout was great: “He breezed him!”
July 16, 2018 at 1:37 pm |
Or was I thinking of Gene Elston on the strikeout call? Memory loss seems to start creeping in at an early age.
July 16, 2018 at 3:55 pm |
I vividly recall sitting at the desk in my bedroom supposedly doing high school homework. Instead, I was listening to Mr. Hot Ziggity Dog. I had to keep the speaker on my tiny radio turned up just barely into human hearing range to avoid being detected by my father passing in the hall outside my door. (Okay, darn it, I did have to squint to read that article.)
July 16, 2018 at 5:30 pm |
I tuned in faithfully every night in the sanctity of my bedroom to listen to Loel Passe and Gene Elston call the games. “Now you chunkin’ in dare Frenchy!” exclaimed Mr. Passe after Claude Raymond fanned a batter. He was unforgettable. Thank you for this article Bill.
October 15, 2021 at 6:18 pm |
I grew up in north TX in Wichita Falls in the 1960’s. Gene & Loel were my life line to MLB during week days. One of my best friends, Jerry Cluley, listened to these games also. We still talk about them today. My most memorial game was Don Wilson’s no hitter against the Reds, the day after the Astros were no hit by them.