As the voice of Philadelphia baseball for over 40 years, Saam broadcast for more losing teams than any other announcer and called games for 11 teams that lost 100 or more games, 19 last-place clubs, and not one pennant winner. The former Texas Christian University basketball player joined the Athletics in 1938 and broadcast both the Phillies and A’s home games from 1939 to 1949. In 1950 both clubs decided to allow live road broadcasts, rather than studio re-creations, and Saam was forced to choose. He chose the A’s, and the Phillies won the pennant. He moved back to the Phillies when the A’s left for Kansas City after 1954, and remained there until his retirement in 1975. Saam was a straightforward announcer with a knack for malaprops. He once recapped a lengthy rundown late at night for the benefit of “all you guys scoring in bed.”
