Jon Miller Radio Call from 1986

[Dreadnought]

Short excerpt from the greatest age of Orioles radio:  Jon Miller (later joined by Joe Angel).   Sounds like Tom Marr at 8:04.    I well recall the former minor league reporter for this site, John Hoffman,  blaming Angelos for Jon Miller leaving after 1996 and the impact it had on his drives to and from minor league games by having to listen to the post-1996 crew.  That crew was the oily Jim Hunter and the bumbling, but amiable, Fred Manfra.  

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Dreadnought

[Owen21]

This is outstanding! I have memory of hearing this. I used to sit in my car at certain locations and listen to games because it was the only radio that would receive reception in Berks County Pennsylvania. Sadly miss listening to Jon & Joe. I grew up with Chuck & Bill. A bucket list moment would be an O's world series with Jon & Joe making the call.

[Dreadnought]

I also listened to Chuck and Bill from out of state, but they were from a prior generation of announcer, giving a more rose-colored view, and without criticism of anyone.   Personally, I preferred the era of Miller and Angel, with some irreverence but still insightful and entertaining

[Punchandjudy]

Very close friends of my family saw  Miller on the night he was let go having dinner at Geniere’s (a now gone restaurant in the Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood).  They didn’t know the news and he told them Angelos said his services were no longer needed.  Miller said he evidently wasn’t “rah rah”enough to paraphrase and if it were up to him, he would never want to leave but it wasn’t up to him.  I seem to remember him still maintaining a house in Baltimore till his daughter(s) finished high school.

[Owen21]

On 1/14/2023 at 10:40 PM, Punchandjudy said:

Very close friends of my family saw  Miller on the night he was let go having dinner at Geniere’s (a now gone restaurant in the Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood).  They didn’t know the news and he told them Angelos said his services were no longer needed.  Miller said he evidently wasn’t “rah rah”enough to paraphrase and if it were up to him, he would never want to leave but it wasn’t up to him.  I seem to remember him still maintaining a house in Baltimore till his daughter(s) finished high school.

Damn Angelos! Would love to have Miller back. When I’m having a tough day, I occasionally put on a recorded Miller call. One of my faves is a 9th inning home game 3-2 pitch with 2 down to Hoiles from Norm Charlton with the Mariners in front 13-10.  I think you know what happened. Miller’s call sent me running through a brick wall.

[crowmst3k!]

On 1/18/2023 at 7:35 PM, Owen21 said:

Damn Angelos! Would love to have Miller back. When I’m having a tough day, I occasionally put on a recorded Miller call. One of my faves is a 9th inning home game 3-2 pitch with 2 down to Hoiles from Norm Charlton with the Mariners in front 13-10.  I think you know what happened. Miller’s call sent me running through a brick wall.

It was Georgia Angelos who told Peter that Miller wasn't 'rah rah' enough. Then, Peter made the call to dismiss Jon Miller.  

My source is a retired veteran WBAL personality who was very close friends with Jon Miller. 

[Billy F-Face3]

Jon Miller is the gold standard. In all my life, I've never enjoyed baseball more than when he was calling Orioles games. I have so many nostalgic memories of him calling the games on the radio when I was around 10 years old. And then those motel commercials would come on during the commercial breaks promising that, "We'll leave the light on for you".

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

On 1/14/2023 at 10:40 PM, Punchandjudy said:

Very close friends of my family saw  Miller on the night he was let go having dinner at Geniere’s (a now gone restaurant in the Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood).  They didn’t know the news and he told them Angelos said his services were no longer needed.  Miller said he evidently wasn’t “rah rah”enough to paraphrase and if it were up to him, he would never want to leave but it wasn’t up to him.  I seem to remember him still maintaining a house in Baltimore till his daughter(s) finished high school.

I think that's correct Miller lived in my father's neighborhood and didn't move out right away after Angelos fired him because he wasn't a complete homer.

[Frobby]

A friend of mine used to work for the long-defunct Washington Diplomats soccer team, and Miller was the play by play guy for the Dips (this is before he was the O’s announcer).  He told me some very funny, somewhat off-color stories about Miller from those days.  I won’t repeat them here in detail, but they included Miller (1) doing his wicked Vin Scully impression while describing certain, uh, private acts (to be clear, this wasn’t done on the broadcast), and (2) interviewing the commissioner of the league while wearing a sport coat and boxer shorts.  

Edited April 8, 2023 by Frobby

[slakattack]

Jon's in a tuxedo?  It must be Opening Day! I thought that him and Joe were the two best guys I ever heard at any time in any sportscasting booth.