Guide to the Joseph G. Tucker Audio Recordings 1950s-1980s
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Joseph G. Tucker Audio Recordings
- Creator
- Tucker, Joseph G.
- Collection Number
- CSS 005
- Extent
- 2 linear feet (2 boxes)
- Date
- 1950s-1980s
- Abstract
- Joseph G. Tucker worked as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1936 through 1967. Tucker, who also called local baseball, hockey, and basketball games for over 40 years, was assigned to several initial national NBC broadcasts of the NFL in the 1950s and conducted a world news report on Sundays over station WWSW in Pittsburgh between the 1930s and 1960s. The Joseph G. Tucker Audio Recordings consist of over 70 reels and 30 cassette tapes of material recorded over the course of his broadcast career. The recordings mainly contain interviews, excerpts of football, basketball, and baseball games, as well as news broadcasts.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Joseph G. Tucker, the son of Russian Jews, grew up in the Canadian prairie province of Saskatchewan. He and his family relocated from Estevan, Canada, to Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1928. That same year he began broadcasting Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games over local station WWSW, while also attending night school at the University of Pittsburgh. Because broadcasters weren't actually in the stadium, broadcasting live baseball and football games in the 1920s and early 1930s was considerably more difficult than it is today,. They received ticker-tape updates, often over Western Union, which they then used to create the play-by-play in the studio. These radio broadcasts incorporated sound effects and the imagination of the announcer. Live broadcasts from Forbes Field, where the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates played, didn't occur until 1938.
Tucker began broadcasting professional football games in 1936; three years after Art Rooney founded the Steeler franchise. Before they were known by that name, however, the football team shared the titled of the Pittsburgh Pirates with the baseball team, which was a common practice at that time. Tucker not only became a personal friend of Art Rooney, but soon became widely recognized by fans as the voice of the Steelers. He was known locally as "Joe the Screamer," from his attempts to be heard over the radio during his often poorly powered broadcasts. Critics labeled him "Homer Joe" because of the favoritism he showed while calling Pittsburgh games, but he also received several high-profile national assignments. Tucker called the NFL's Bears-Giants Championship game in 1956 as well as the first NBC telecast of a Pro-Bowl Game two years later in Los Angeles.
Ultimately, Tucker's voice was most recognized in southwestern Pennsylvania. He was broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Hornets minor-league hockey team for 20 years, Duquesne University basketball for 22 years, and was a back-up announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates for nearly 18 years. He would eventually serve as the news director at WWSW. In 1968, after 32 years of Steelers radio play-by-play, Tucker decided to attempt to transition to television broadcasting, a switch that only lasted for two years.
Tucker not only performed game-day broadcasts, but also held weeknight reviews of the latest news from the sports world. Additionally, on Sunday mornings and evenings he broadcasted "News Behind the News", a half-hour summary of both national and world affairs. Joe Tucker interviewed a variety of athletes, celebrities, and dignitaries during his career, including boxer Joe Louis, golf legends Bryon Nelson and Sam Snead, former Pirates co-owner Bing Crosby, and Pittsburgh Mayor David Lawrence. Tucker also wrote two books: Steelers Victory After Forty, and Steelers' Super Dynasty.
Tucker's last professional broadcast was of a Stanley Cup Finals game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues in 1970. Soon after, he suffered a series of heart attacks, and retired to Florida. In 1981, Tucker made a guest appearance in the broadcast booth at a Steelers home game beside another Pittsburgh favorite, Myron Cope. Joseph Tucker died in 1986 at the age of 76. He and his wife Frances Schlesinger were married for over 40 years and had three children: Robert, Murray, and Lynne.
Scope and Content Notes
The Joseph G. Tucker Audio Recordings consist of over 70 reels and 30 cassette tapes of material recorded over the course of his broadcast career. The collection primarily consists of seven-inch and three-inch reel of ¼-inch-wide acetate recording tape that was typical of mid-20th century recordings. The recordings mainly contain interviews, excerpts of football, basketball, and baseball games, as well as news broadcasts. It appears that most of the materials were recorded directly from Tucker's broadcasts or interview sessions. Several may have been captured from secondary sources, and some of the cassette tapes contain recordings that were migrated from the audio reels.
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Robert E. Tucker in 2004.
Archives accession # 2004.0169
Preferred Citation
Joseph G. Tucker Audio Recordings, 1950s-1980s, CSS 005, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Preliminary processing by Alex J. Toner on 04/17/12. A preliminary inventory was created by a volunteer in 2005.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Related Materials
Steelers' Super Dynasty . , Joe Tucker, 1980. GV956 P57 T83. Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Steelers Victory After Forty . , Joe Tucker, 1973. GV956 P57 T82. Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Subjects
- Pittsburgh Steelers (Football Team).
- Tucker, Joseph G.
- Rooney Sr., Art.
- Pittsburgh (Pa.)
- Pittsburgh Steelers broadcaster.
- WWSW (Radio Station; Pittsburgh Pa.)
- Jews--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.