Sports radio pioneer Eddie Andelman has died at 89. I grew up listening to Andelman, and in 1997 I had a chance to write a profile of him for Northeastern Magazine, which was Northeastern University’s alumni publication at the time; Andelman earned his MBA in 1962.
An anecdote that didn’t make it into the story: In the summer of 1975, Andelman, who was then a contributor to one of the local TV stations, was standing outside Park Station, offering $5 to anyone who could spell “Yastrzemski.” I nailed it, and appeared on the news that evening.
Like all of us, Andelman had his good and bad sides. I was glad that the magazine didn’t insist on hagiography, although in retrospect I wish we had described a racist joke Andelman told on the air as, you know, racist. As you’ll see, we settled on “outrageous.” It was worse than that, and that’s not just on him but on me and my editor, too.
Getting a handle on Eddie Andelman
Northeastern Magazine | May 1997
It’s a few minutes before airtime, and Eddie Andelman, MBA’62, is going over some final instructions with one of his producers.
“You got any of that holy music?” Andelman asks. The producer replies in the affirmative. Andelman runs down the list. A burst of “The Hallelujah Chorus”? Check. Hank Williams singing “Jambalaya”? Check.