Announcers

In supercharged 20th-century sports coverage, the reporter pounding a typewriter … in front of a computer ... is not the only important man. He's given a brilliant assist by a galaxy of keen-witted sports photographers, statisticians and artists, without whose help ... sports coverage would be as thin as cafeteria farina.

By virtue of collective research and long years in dressing rooms, the ringside sports telecaster made things happen … made things appear and by comments ... made things disappear. The announcer brings to viewers material not implicit by way of the television cameras. He fills in where the mute camera fails, with incisive comments on comparative statistics and strategy. He also answers anticipated questions.

If it had not been for the announcers of the past ... there would be no Jim Ross, no Living Legend named Larry or a lot of others. When you look into the history books of professional wrestling, you find names such as Dennis James (who later went on to national fame on a weekly TV program called "Queen For A Day“) and Sam Taub, who traveled from coast to coast doing color commentary. Harry Caray is another name that was a big time announcer in the St. Louis area before giving his all to baseball. Dick Lane (Mr. Woahhhhh Nelly) was a huge success on the West Coast and had big corporate sponsors like Hub Furniture on KTLA in Los Angeles from the 50's to the 80's.

You would also have to include such wrestling greats turned announcer like Lord Athol Layton, Lord James Blears and Sam Menacher, to name a few. One would also have to include a small guy that made his presence known throughout the Midwest by coining a phrase "HELLOOOOOOO WRESTLING FANS … ARE YOU READY...” His name was William Kersten, an employee of Kansas City Power Company and a devoted wrestling fan.

Bill, as he prefers to be called, spent the large part of a decade in his early years at the matches just plain getting involved, watching the antics of men like Bobby Bruns, Orville Brown, Sonny Meyers and many more. He would often approach the promoter and ask if he could do the announcing job some evening ... just as a guest. They finally let him do a few opening match announcements.

One evening, the regular announcer did not show, and the promoter, Gust Karras of St. Joseph, looked into the crowd and sought out Bill. He was very happy to assist and did the first night of full time announcing in his 30-year career. Bill, later that night, asked if he could be a guest color man on the St. Joseph live Saturday night matches at the television studio. Gust let him sit in, and he liked what he saw. Bill often traveled to towns all around the territory and did the announcing for very little pay. He claimed that he enjoyed the experiences of just being at ringside.

When an opening arrived in the Kansas City broadcast team … Gust Karras called Bill and asked if he would come and help out. It meant going to towns like Wichita, Great Bend, Topeka, Dodge City, Salina, Emporia, Des Moines and a host of other great wrestling towns. Sometimes, Bill would get in at 2 or 3 in the morning and be back up to doing his regular job at 7 in the morning. It was a grueling effort for him to do this, but he simply enjoyed the business and the people in it.

Kansas City was a hotbed of wrestling talent in the early 70's and had such stars there as Harley Race, Bob Geigel, Pat O'Connor, Omar Atlas, Benji Ramirez, The Viking, Ronnie Etchison, Bob Orton Sr. and a host of others that came and went into the area. Bill Kersten was the announcer, the promo emcee and the reporter for a ringside weekly sold at the arenas through the entire Heart of America territory, which covered five states.

From the time I set foot into the Municipal Auditorium and first met Bill Kersten … I NEVER liked the guy. He always seemed like he was looking over my head when he did promos. He would often laugh with opponents of ours on the air about me and the way I was dressed and how I acted. He NEVER did these things to my face because, quite frankly, I would have done him in right on the spot. Omar Atlas, Rufus R. Jones and Danny Littlebear were his biggest allies and buddies. He would often make long trips with them and give them pointers that he uncovered at ringside while I was managing.

I would often try and get him to accidentally bump into me while doing a promo or accidentally while in the ring at an arena. I would sometimes jerk the microphone out of his hands and complain to the crowd about how he was so one-sided and biased towards me. They would turn a deaf ear to me, and I would finally give up trying to embarrass the life out of him.

Bill Kersten's biggest dream was his wanting to hook it up with the boys in a match. One night in Kansas City, I gave him that opportunity. I had been given a cigar by one of the guys that had a new son born to him and his wife. I was not a smoker but thought that the cigar would look great for our promos. Angus and Kirby also had cigars, and we walked out with all three lit and puffing away on them. Bill was a non-smoker and started to cough and gag on the smoke. I turned after taking a huge lung full of smoke from the hand-rolled Havana and blew it directly into Kersten's face.

He turned in front of a live camera and punched me in the arm and said, "Don't you ever do that again." Angus and Kirby both grabbed the much smaller Kersten and pulled him away from me and were going to beat the heck out of him for putting his hands on me. I called to them both to stop and they let him go. He dropped the microphone and left the announce stand. I picked up the microphone and, with cigar in mouth, began my own little program.

Gust Karras came forward with three of his stooges and asked me nicely for the microphone. I was not going to argue with the odds that were against us and left. Later that night, as the matches progressed … Bill started to stick his nose into the match, telling referee Frankie Diamond about a foreign object that I had handed to Angus. I, of course, denied the fact that Angus had anything and insisted that Diamond leave his grimy, grubby hands off Angus and pay attention to the rule breaking that Bob Geigel was doing.

Geigel had Angus in a viselike grip of a side headlock, and the referee couldn't see that Geigel had a fistful of hair. I jumped up on the ring apron to protest, and Kersten reached up and pulled me from the ring by tugging on my pant leg. I was going to punch him right then and there but had more important things going on in the ring with Angus.

Bob Geigel won the match that night by disqualification because of the prejudice of the referee and with Kersten butting in. As he made the announcement about the winner of the match … I came around the blind side of Angus and smacked him with the briefcase I carried all my important documents in. I laid him out cold on the mat with one blow and thought that my vindictive moments were over.

Far be it from me to lay a hand on anyone, but I just couldn't stand to see injustice being given to Angus. Gust Karras approached the ring and started shaking his cane at me and threatening me with his goons. By then, Kirby and Harley Race approached the ring, and the odds were a little better. After a few heated words, I left the area, surrounded by 12 policemen, and was escorted back to the dressing room.

I thought it was all over … no more loudmouthed announcer by the name of Kersten butting into our affairs … not so … in fact, it was just beginning.

To be continued...

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