Felo Ramírez
{{short description|American baseball announcer}}
{{Infobox person
| image=File:FeloRamirez.webp
| image_size =
| name = Felo Ramírez
| caption =
| birth_name= Rafael Ramírez Arias
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|6|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Bayamo, Cuba
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|8|21|1923|6|22|df=yes}}
| death_place= Miami, Florida, US
| education =
| employer = Miami Marlins
| occupation = Baseball play-by-play announcer, boxing analyst
| years_active= 1945–2017
| module={{Infobox baseball biography|embed=yes
|hofcolor = blue
|hoflink = Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame
|hoftype = Caribbean
|hofdate = 2003
}}}}
Rafael "Felo" Ramírez (22 June 1923 – 21 August 2017){{cite news|title=El legendario narrador de béisbol Rafael 'Felo' Ramírez cumplió 90 años|url=http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/06/23/1507127/el-legendario-narrador-de-beisbol.html|access-date=28 October 2013|newspaper=El Huevo Herald|date=23 June 2013|language=es|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202454/http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/06/23/1507127/el-legendario-narrador-de-beisbol.html|archive-date=29 October 2013}} was a Cuban-American Spanish language sports announcer, most notably for the Miami Marlins.
Born in Bayamo, Cuba, Ramirez was also a boxing expert, having broadcast fights for Latin American radio and television audiences since 1949 along with other Spanish-language broadcasters such as Buck Canel and, Pancho Pepe Cróquer when the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, aired through NBC Red Network, extended their Spanish programming activities to Latin American countries, where it was known as the Cabalgata Deportiva Gillette.{{Cite news | url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/sports/baseball/felo-ramirez-dead-voice-of-baseball-in-latin-america.html?referer=https://www.google.com/ | title=Felo Ramirez, Enduring Voice of Baseball in Latin America, Dies at 94| newspaper=The New York Times| date=2017-08-24| last1=Sandomir| first1=Richard}}
Career
Ramirez called 40 Caribbean World Series.{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame broadcaster Rafael 'Felo' Ramirez dies at 94 |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20417119/hall-fame-broadcaster-rafael-felo-ramirez-dies-94 |website=espn.com |date=22 August 2017 |publisher=ESPN, Inc. |access-date=16 August 2024}} He served as a broadcaster for nine years in his native Cuba, before leaving for Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. From 1993 until April 2017, he was the Spanish radio announcer for the Miami Marlins.{{cite web | url=http://baseballhall.org/discover/felo-ramirez-passes-away-at-94 | title=His calling: Broadcast legend and Frick Award winner Felo Ramirez saw it all}} He called many baseball moments in his career, including Don Larsen's perfect game, Roberto Clemente's 3,000th Major League hit, and Hank Aaron's 715th home run.{{cite web|url=http://baseballhall.org/discover/felo-ramirez-passes-away-at-94|title=His calling: Broadcast legend and Frick Award winner Felo Ramirez saw it all|access-date=22 August 2017}}
As a Marlins broadcaster, Ramirez called both the 1997{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-10-24/sports/9710230564_1_tv-marti-radio-marti-cuban-rookie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112141828/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-10-24/sports/9710230564_1_tv-marti-radio-marti-cuban-rookie|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 12, 2016|title=Spanish Broadcast Is Heard In Cuba|website=Articles.sun-sentinel.com|access-date=22 August 2017}} and 2003 World Series.{{cite web | url=http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article121231678.html | title=93-year-old 'Voice of the Marlins' gets a field he can finally call his own| website=Miami Herald}} He also called numerous boxing matches, including many involving Muhammad Ali.{{cite web |url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/community/2012/09/19/hispanic-heritage-month-at-1-baseball-broadcaster-felix-continues |title=Hispanic Heritage Month: At 91, Latino Broadcaster Lives for Baseball | Fox News Latino |website=Fox News |access-date=2016-11-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110173248/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/community/2012/09/19/hispanic-heritage-month-at-1-baseball-broadcaster-felix-continues/ |archive-date=2016-11-10 }}
During the mid-1980s, Ramirez and Puerto Rican sportscaster and boxing promoter Ivonne Class co-hosted a weekly, Saturday nights boxing television show on Tele-Once,{{cite web| url = https://www.sun-sentinel.com/elsentinel/fl-es-felo-ramirez-marlins-20160706-story.html| title = Felo Ramírez, la voz celestial de los Marlins - South Florida Sun Sentinel - South Florida Sun-Sentinel| date = 7 July 2016}} the returning television channel that had once been one of Puerto Rico's most seen TV stations, featuring live telecasts of Class-promoted bouts and also recorded fights of the past, like Muhammad Ali-Bob Foster.
Personal life
Ramírez was born in Bayamo, Cuba, and was commonly known as "El Orgullo de Bayamo" ("The Pride of Bayamo") by many fans and colleagues.{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/164592-a-tribute-to-felo-ramirez|title=A Tribute To Felo Ramirez|first=Roberto|last=Alvarez-Galloso|website=Bleacher Report|access-date=22 August 2017}} A longtime resident of Puerto Rico, he was inducted in the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame and has been honored by the local legislature.
Death
Ramirez was hospitalized after a fall in April 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/fish-bytes/article147087999.html|title=Marlins baseball broadcaster Felo Ramirez hospitalized after fall|website=Miami Herald|access-date=22 August 2017}} He died on August 21, 2017, at the age of 94.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20417119/hall-fame-broadcaster-rafael-felo-ramirez-dies-94|title=Legendary broadcaster 'Felo' Ramirez, 94, dies|access-date=22 August 2017|date=2017-08-22}}
Awards and honors
In 2001, Ramirez received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His speech, delivered entirely in his native Spanish, was translated by Jaime Jarrin. In 2003, he was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 2012, Ramirez received a recognition in Valencia, Venezuela. The Navegantes del Magallanes organization honored his career of more than 60 years as a sports play by play announcer by inducting him into their team Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Rafael «Felo» Ramirez |url=https://hhbmhof.com/rafaelfeloramirez/ |website=hhbmhof.com |publisher=The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall Of Fame |access-date=15 August 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Navarro |first1=Manny |title='Felo' Ramirez, legendary Spanish-radio voice of Marlins, dies at 94 |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article168581707.html |website=miamiherald.com |publisher=McClatchy Media Network |access-date=15 August 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/frick/felo-ramirez Felo Ramírez] Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
- [http://www.terra.com/deportes/especiales/caribe/articulo10.html Felo Ramírez y Oscar Prieto al Salón de la Fama del béisbol latinoamericano] m(Spanish)
{{2001 Baseball HOF}}
{{Ford C. Frick Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Felo}}
Category:Accidental deaths from falls
Category:Major League Baseball broadcasters
Category:Miami Marlins announcers
Category:Ford C. Frick Award recipients