Known as “The Voice of the Yankees,” Mel Allen was one of the most well-known sports broadcasters in America. Born in 1913 in Birmingham, Alabama, he began announcing for the New York Yankees in 1940 and continued (on and off) until 1964. During this time he coined phrases that are still heard today, such as “It’s going, going, gone!” and “How about that?” Alongside Red Barber, Allen was the first broadcaster to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He worked for a variety of teams until 1985, including a brief television stint with the Cleveland Indians, passing away in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1996. A plaque celebrating his career can be seen in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
Tour Chasing Dreams: Baseball & Becoming American now on view at the Maltz Museum to see this Mel Allen Sports Comic #5, ca. 1950; courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Cooperstown, NY).
Chasing Dreams was organized by the National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) in Philadelphia and made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence.
—Lindsay Miller, Registrar & Exhibitions Coordinator
