‘Voice of summer’ Brennaman joins Reds Hall of Fame
Marty Brennaman was the radio broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds for 46 years and was the “voice of summer.” When Brennaman addressed the crowd in his induction speech, the first thing he did was thank the fans for waiting through the rain.
“Of all the Hall of Fames you could possibly go into, this is No. 1 for me,” Brennaman told the crowd. “The obvious question is, ‘Why?’ It’s better than (the MLB Hall of Fame) because I’m here tonight talking to my people. I’m talking to Cincinnatians.”
Brennaman became the 90th person and the first broadcaster to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.
With Reds Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Eric Davis and Barry Larkin sitting beside him, Brennaman thanked Cincinnati for accepting him in 1974.
“If you come from the outside, (Cincinnati) will not withhold judgment on you,” Brennaman said. “If you’re lucky at some point, they will determine you are one of them … I appreciate your acceptance.”
Brennaman said he first felt at home after calling a walk-off hit by Tony Pérez. After that game, Reds fans called the 700 WLW radio station “all night long” to hear Brennaman’s call.
Every time another team came calling, Brennaman declined the opportunity. The closest he came was an offer from the Boston Red Sox, but Brennaman ultimately wasn’t willing to leave Cincinnati.
Brennaman arrived in Cincinnati in 1974 with no ties to the Reds. He stayed as the Reds radio broadcaster until he retired in 2019.
Over 46 years, Brennaman covered every Reds player from Pete Rose to Luis Castillo.
“What I love about Marty is he’s a lot like myself; he tells it like he feels,” Reds Hall of Famer and Cincinnati native Ron Oester said. “He has his opinions. Whether they’re right or wrong, he’ll tell you the way that he thinks. I respect that. He’s not going to say what you want him to say; he’ll say how he feels.”