Full Description
As one of the first voices of the University of Kentucky men's basketball program, Claude Sullivan (1924-1967) became a nationally known sportscasting pioneer. His career followed Kentucky's rise to prominence as he announced the first four NCAA championship titles under Coach Adolph Rupp and covered scrimmages during the canceled 1952-1953 season following the NCAA sanctions scandal. Sullivan also revolutionized the coverage of the UK football program with the introduction of a coach's show with Bear Bryant - a national first that gained significant attention and later became a staple at other institutions. Sullivan's reputation in Kentucky eventually propelled him to Cincinnati, where he became the voice of the Reds, and even to the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome.
In Voice of the Wildcats: Claude Sullivan and the Rise of Modern Sportscasting, Claude's son Alan, along with Joe Cox, offers an engaging and heartfelt look at the sportscaster's life and the context in which he built his career. The 1940s witnessed a tremendous growth in sportscasting across the country, and Sullivan, a seventeen year old from Winchester, Kentucky, entered the field when it was still a novel occupation that was paving new roads for broadcast reporting. During the height of his career, Sullivan was named Kentucky's Outstanding Broadcaster by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters for eight consecutive years. His success was tragically cut short when he passed away from throat cancer at forty-two.
Featuring dozens of interviews and correspondence with sports legends, including Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones, Babe Parilli, Cliff Hagan, Ralph Hacker, Jim Host, Billy Reed, Adolph Rupp, and Cawood Ledford, this engaging biography showcases the life and work of a beloved broadcast talent and documents the rise of sports radio during the twentieth century.
Contents
Introduction
Building A Life
The Woman's Director and Women's Friendships
The Best Of Times
Collaboration and Chastisement
Glory Days
Tone, Genre, and the Actor's Director
The Fall
Masculinity and the Man Who Drinks
A Return To Normalcy
Edelkayt
Kentucky Broadcaster/International Man of Mystery
The Theatricality of Gender and Drag Performance
Fiddlin' and Travelin'
Queer Musical Excess
When In Rome
Race, Nation, and Gendered Noir Anxiety
Cotton, Bradshaw and A Dream Revisited
Ethnic Assimilation and 1950s Hollywood
Moving On Up
Conclusion
The View From On Top
Tragedy
Aftermath of A Tragedy
