Ledford Cawood Told Reed Billy (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Second Printing. Some minor foxing inside covers and to first and last blank pages. One external tape repair to tear at top of jacket's spine, tapes removal has resulted in a small tearing of upper layer of paper along top of spine. ; Illus. , inscribed and signed by Ledford on the half-title page, dust jacket now in a clear protector ; 302 pages; Signed by Author.

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good. David Coyle (Photography) and Bill Luster (Photogr (illustrator). Presumed First Edition, First printing. 302 pages. Illustrations. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page. Inscription reads Happy Birthday Russell--Good luck! Cawood Ledford. Includes Acknowledgments; Foreword; Hello Everybody, This is Cawood Ledford; The Bear and The Baron; Chasing The Bear's Legend; The Fiddlin' Five; The Bear's Second Coming.Sort Of; Rupp's Runts; Rupp's Last Hurrah; A Peach Of A Season.Finally; The Impossible Job; The Dram Game and The Nightmare in Seattle; Mr. Clean Comes Home; The Stormy Years of Eddie Sutton; Happy Days Are Hear Again; "And Now They Come To Me."; The Last Cup of Coffee; Cawood's Lists; Signing Off. This is Cawood's story and, indeed, the story of Kentucky athletics, told by that old, familiar voice--the one that has come over the crackling airways for 39 years, greeting unmet friends with the same pregame salutation, "Hello everybody, this is Cawood Ledford." Cawood Ledford is a legend in Kentucky. Since calling his first Kentucky game in 1953, the native of Cawood, Ky., has been named Kentucky's Sportscaster of the Year 22 times and has already been named to the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. The Nationally recognized "Voice of the Wildcats" has his honorary jersey retired in Rupp Arena in 1991, making Cawood the only person other than a player or coach to have received that honor. Billy Reed was a Hall of Fame sportswriter himself, and was associated with Sports Illustrated for more than three decades of his half-century in sports journalism. Cawood Ledford (April 24, 1926 - September 5, 2001) was a radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky basketball and football teams. Ledford's style and professionalism endeared himself to many sports fans in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and he remains among the most popular sports figures in the state. A native of Harlan, Kentucky, Ledford was educated at Hall High School and Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He began broadcasting high school basketball and football games for WHLN radio in Harlan in 1951 and began broadcasting Kentucky Wildcats games in 1953 after moving to Lexington. He remained in his position of play-by-play announcer for University of Kentucky basketball for 39 years. His last game as an announcer for a Kentucky basketball game was in 1992, when Kentucky fell to Duke 104-103 in overtime in the NCAA East Regional Final, a game widely considered to be the greatest college basketball game ever played. In a gesture of appreciation, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski walked to the broadcast area immediately after the game's conclusion and congratulated Ledford on his career. He also worked as the play-by-play announcer for national radio broadcasts of the NCAA Men's Final Four on the CBS Radio Network, and called many runnings of the Kentucky Derby for CBS Radio. Ledford also announced broadcasts of basketball games of the Kentucky Colonels, a successful American Basketball Association franchise. Ledford's play-by-play style was known for its technical prowess, excellent command of the English language and colloquialisms, enunciative quality, gentility, timeliness, humor, and rapid but unhurried delivery. Listeners to his basketball radio broadcasts found that he was able to paint an extremely detailed visual picture of the game and call the action as it happened without sounding rushed. Fans observe that Ledford rarely let a call "lag" behind the action (e.g., when the sound of the crowd cheering is heard before the announcer comments on the game's action). Ledford's voice was generally higher pitched and mildly nasal, which allowed for clear enunciation. However, the tonal quality of his voice was smokey and resonant, which balanced a subtle twang and provided his listeners with a smooth and highly articulate delivery.