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SPORTS
10 SUMMER 2012 | ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
the voice of the
BIG FIVE
'Big Al'
Spor t s Journa l i s t
Al Me l t zer ’50
Pens Memoi r
by Frank Shields ’54
Al Meltzer '50 says in his memoir
Big Al
(with Robert S. Lyons, Camino
Books, Philadelphia, 2012) that he was
headed for dentistry when he matricu-
lated at St. Lawrence in the fall of 1946.
He explains that he got the nickname
"Big Al" from a younger brother,
perhaps because he was 6-foot-4 by his
senior year at Central High in Syracuse.
A "small scholarship" for basketball
and the fact that his older brother,
Irving ’41, was a St. Lawrence alumnus
led him to the campus, where it was a
collision with Organic Chemistry and
a subsequent opportunity to "sub" on
a radio show on KSLU that reoriented
him toward a 50-year career in sports
broadcasting.
Don Danielson '50, a Phi Sigma
Kappa brother, asked Meltzer to cover
for him on the campus radio station,
and Meltzer not only did "a good job,"
according to Danielson, but actually
enjoyed it. Soon he was doing live
broadcasts of St. Lawrence baseball
games. That experience led him to his
adventure in major league sports.
After a tour in the Air Force during
the Korean War, Meltzer found himself
at WHEN in Syracuse. From there, he
went to Buffalo to cover Bills football
games and ultimately Philadelphia,
where he started with a UHF station
covering the “Big Five" colleges (Penn,
LaSalle, Villanova, Temple and St.
Joseph's). The 10-time Emmy Award-
winner earned his reputation there and
is still remembered as “the voice of the
Big Five” as a member of that consor-
tium's Hall of Fame.
In the early 1970s, “Big Al” joined
WCAU doing sports with the "Eyewit-
ness News" evening broadcast team. It
was all a great adventure:
World Series games, NBA
championships, Eagles
NFL games (including
the first one broadcast on
Monday night) and the
Stanley Cup.
Many St. Lawrence con-
nections developed. “Big
Al" generously mentions
the likes of hockey no-
tables Rejean Shero '84,
Mike Keenan '72 and Bill
Torrey '57 in his book.
Meltzer played golf
with Arnold Palmer and
Nancy Lopez and enjoyed
the confidence of profes-
sional sports owners in
the city. His recollec-
tions of such characters
make his memoir sparkle.
His excellent recall of
his interview with Wilt
Chamberlain, the last be-
fore the originator of the
slam dunk passed away,
is a real treasure. And his
chapter on what he sees
for the future of sports in
America (and elsewhere)
should be required read-
ing for any sports fan.
Among the many sports stars Al Meltzer ’50 interviewed during his
long career as a broadcast journalist was Wilt “The Stilt”
Chamberlain, who was then with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Not far from this spot, in
spring 1950, Al Meltzer
’50 (white shirt) and Don
Danielson ’50 prepare to
broadcast a baseball game
over KSLU, possibly the first
such broadcast in St. Lawrence
University history, says Meltzer,
who went on to a long career
as a sportscaster. The woman is
unidentified.
Retired alumni relations director Frank Shields,
a lifelong sports fan, lives in Glens Falls, N.Y.,
from where he visits his many grandchildren and
writes the 1954 Class Notes.