Chuck Leahey

Three months ago I wrote about Al Michaels, the great sportscaster whose early professional years were in Hawaii. When he moved here in 1968, he often worked with Chuck Leahey, who founded a three-generation broadcasting legacy with son Jim and grandson Kanoa.

Re-creating baseball games was regarded as a broadcasting art form, and Hawaii served as a training ground for numerous exceptional play-by-play announcers, thanks to the presence of the Hawaii Islanders.

“Les Keiter and Harry Kalas were among the great ones,” Gene Kaneshiro said. “However, I believe our own Chuck Leahey was the most entertaining because of his very relaxed style. He used to describe the scenery, the weather and the people in the stands, along with the players and the game.

“When Al Michaels arrived in 1968, he and Chuck became broadcast partners, and they re-created games together for a couple years, with Chuck showing Al the ropes, and eventually they both excelled in bringing the games to us.”

During the broadcast, usually around the third or fourth inning, Kaneshiro, who owned the Columbia Inn, would bring a thermos of coffee and sometimes a light snack up to the studio to keep them happy. “They allowed me to stay to watch and enjoy their re-creation.

“After the broadcast, one of them or both would stop by the bar to return the thermos and have a cold one. That’s how I got to know Al Michaels and Chuck Leahey.”

[read the article for much more]