A Columbus memory of Gov. William Winter

It was with sadness that I read in the December 20 edition of The Commercial Dispatch about the passing of former Gov. William Winter.

My purpose in writing this letter is to share the interest and support he showed to Columbus in conjunction with the Remembering “Red” Barber celebration held on February 16, 2008.

It all came about as a result of a speech I gave at the Possum Town Toastmasters Club in September of 2007 entitled “I’ll be a suck egg mule.” This speech featured the life of one of the most famous Columbians Walter Lanier “Red” Barber. Barber was a long time broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Later on he became Director of Sports for CBS where he was the first person to broadcast a Major League baseball game on TV as well as the first person to broadcast an NFL game on TV. In 1981 he was paired with Bob Edwards on the NPR Morning Edition Program for which he stayed 12 years. In 1978 Barber won the first Ford C. Frick award for Broadcasting Excellence bestowed by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York.

My speech was given on a Friday. Then-Dispatch Publisher Birney Imes was in attendance. Two days later he wrote a column about “The Ol’ Redhead.” The next day on a Monday he called me and said, “You will never guess who just called me.” It was Bob Edwards. “You know that his 100th birthday is coming up in March of 2008. He went on to tell Birney that if Columbus would do something to honor Barber on his birthday that he — Edwards — would come and speak at no charge.

A committee was established with Birney and myself as co-chairs. We also secured the services of Curt Smith from Rochester New York who is the foremost expert on broadcast journalism in America to come and speak. People came to this event from as far away as New York and Florida. National Media gave us great coverage including the New York Times and the Washington Post. Video tributes poured in from Tommy Lasorda, Jerry Coleman, Duke Snider, Ernie Harwell, Bob Ley, Chris Berman, Vin Scully, Bob Picozzi, Ralph Lowenstein and George Grande.

When Gov. Winter learned about the celebration he contacted us and said he was coming. Thanks to Dixie Butler, Temple Heights was the site for a luncheon prior to the dedication of the historical marker at the intersection of Military Road and Fourth Avenue North. Gov. Winter spoke at the dedicatory celebration. The February 18, 2008 edition of The Commercial Dispatch has a picture of Gov. winter speaking at the event.

After returning to Jackson he sent an email to Birney Imes expressing his appreciation which reads as follows:

Dear Birney

Jackson

Over the years I kept in touch with Gov. Winter. I told him about the other people we were honoring and the other events we were preparing. He wanted to know about the other celebrations but always mentioned how much the Red Barber Celebration meant to him. He was a real gentleman in every sense of the word. I count it a special privilege to have know him.

Glenn Lautzenhiser

Columbus

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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