We are celebrating 30 years of the iconic Victory Field. I feel like I'm in the presence of a a legend here. I did have a heart attack and I had a complete blockage. If I had waited another 15 or 20 minutes, I would have been in the past tense. That is the epitome of persistence. He hit it off the third deck.
It won the game. Gave the Yankees a two games to one lead in the World Series. What a memory, Mickey Man. Oh, man. That's that's just awesome. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are, however you may be listening.
Thanks for tuning in to the Get Indiana podcast network. My name is Dominic Miranda and I've been covering sports for nearly a decade. Most of which right here in Indianapolis. This is the Get in Sports Podcast. We're going to be covering everything in the Hooser State, high school, college, pro, in the sports capital of the universe in the greatest state on planet Earth. Thanks so much for coming on this journey with us.
Let's get into it. On today's episode of Get In Sports, a very special episode indeed. We are celebrating 30 years of the iconic Victory Field downtown Indianapolis. And today we're on site at Victory Field inside because it's excessive heat outside. All right, we don't want anyone having trouble with the heat. All right, safety first.
We're inside talking ball, talking Indians, talking Victory Field, celebrating 30 years. And I am joined by Howard Kellman. Howard's debut season with the Indians came in 1974 when they played at Bush Stadium on West 16th Street. And since then, he's been behind the mic calling play-by-play for the team for all but two seasons. That would be in 1975 when the team had no radio broadcast and again in 1980. In a career that has stretched across six decades, Howard Kellman is undoubtedly one of the most beloved figures in Indiana sports broadcasting and the perfect person to talk about 30 years celebrating Victory Field.
Today we're going to talk about Howard's journey from Brooklyn to becoming the iconic voice of the Indians baseball team, the best Indianapolis Indians teams and moments of the victory field era that stretches back to the ballpark's opening on July 11th, 1996, and the three major league baseball teams the Indians have been the AAA affiliate of since 1996. And the star players who've passed through Victory Field on their way to the big leagues, telling the story of this iconic venue in our great city. Well, Howard Kellman, everybody, thank you so much for joining the Get In Sports podcast. I feel like I'm in the presence of a a legend here. Thank you so much. Well, I'm honored to be with you, Dominic.
Thank you so much for asking me. Yeah, of course. What do you What do you think about all this 30 years celebrating Victory Field? It's a staple of downtown Indie. Absolutely. And I remember that first night 30 years ago, July 11th, 1996, the Indianapolis Indians were playing Oklahoma City.
We were in the American Association and Oklahoma City won the game. Uh Rick Heling, a young man from North Dakota, was the winning pitcher for Oklahoma City and he went on to pitch in the big leagues for a long time and Marcus Moore was the Indian starter and loser. We played the final game at the old ballpark just uh Bush Stadium July 3rd and the Indians lost that one too. So I said to our manager Dave Miley, you just can't win the big one. And I can't repeat what he said to me. That's incredible.
You've you've had quite the career. I can think of no one better to go through three decades of Indians baseball here at Victory Field than with you, Howard Kellman. And you you grew up in Sheep's Head Bay, Brooklyn. Is that right? Yes. You decided at age 14 you wanted to be a baseball radio announcer.
I mean, every that's everybody's dream job, right? And as a college senior, persistence, kids, remember this. You sent 110 letters to every minor league baseball team looking for a job. That is the epitome of persistence. So tell us, how did you end up in Indianapolis and what was it like to land here as a kid from the east coast? Well, as you said, I wrote 110 letters.
Any minor league baseball team I was willing to go anywhere in the country. Of the 110 letters I wrote, I got about 25 responses. Now, I was somewhat naive. I figured the reason I wasn't hearing back from the other people is the letters were being lost in the mail. I just assumed if you wrote to somebody, they'd respond. Of the 25 responses, there were three openings, one of which was in Indianapolis.
Also Spokane and Albuquerque, and Spokane was interested in me, too. But, uh, fortunately, it worked out in Indianapolis. I sent the Indians I sent Max Schumacher and the Indians an inning of playbyplay from a Yankee Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium. Thurman Mson knocked in a run after a sacrifice bunt. This was in uh mid September that I recorded that game up in the Yankees vacant TV booth. And four months later, I got the job.
Wow. because I wrote to Max and then he responded saying, "Send me a tape. It'll be a few months." And then he called me in the middle of February. And uh it's all worked out beautifully. It's been a dream come true.
What was that decision-making process like for you? And why was Indianapolis right for you? And and how did you feel when I mean, I got to say that's a pretty good response rate. 25 out of 110. We hear no a lot more than we hear yes in this industry. So Well, walk me through what that was like for you.
You get your first big break in this industry. It was culture shock coming from New York here. I remember walking down the street and people saying hello to each other and that doesn't exactly happen in New York and I'm saying, "Boy, these people like me. They don't even know me. It's saying hello." Uh, and so it was culture shock, but I loved it and uh love the Midwest and the pace of life here.
I filled in with the Mets, Yankees, White Socks, Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm really fortunate in that I'm the only person ever to do radio playbyplay for both the Yankees and Mets on a fill-in basis. Well, there you go. You're you're bridging gaps there. You see Howard Kelvin, everybody. That's awesome.
Okay, you kind of mentioned there you you were reportedly very close to big league jobs in the 80s. Is that correct? But at some point, you made the decision to stay in Indianapolis. Walk us through that. Why'd you fall in love with the city? you get the big job and now you stay here.
So, I started applying in 1982 and I was up for the Brewers job that year. Didn't get it. Uh 1983, I thought I had the Twins job, but WCCCO in Minneapolis at the last minute. Decided to hire the football announcer they used for the Vikings to save expenses. 1984 thought I had the Cardinals job. Bob Costas recommended me.
Camelowex. They hired Red Rush at the last minute. Uh 1985 thought I had the Cleveland Indians job. It looked really good. Something happened in the last minute. And Steve Lamar got the job instead.
Nothing really in 1986. 1987. Thought I had the Orioles. It's good that didn't work out. It was down to me and another person because the station had issues. And then 1988, I thought I had the Cleveland Indians job again at the last minute.
I didn't get it. I never was brought in for interviews for these jobs. They just brought in like with in Indianapolis when I got the job, Max brought me in, flew me in that day and he hired me. Uh so he had his mind made up and that's what happened in these jobs. Never got an interview but was among the finalists then. And of course I enjoyed Indianapolis right from the get-go and loved my time here.
Even though I was applying for big league jobs in the 80s, I still was thrilled doing the Indianapolis Indians games and always enjoying the moment. 1990, hired by Channel 40 to announce the high school football and basketball game of the week. And then I said, "Wait a minute. I'm announcing baseball, basketball, and football, hosting a TV show called Inside the Indians. Why do I need to leave?" So I didn't apply or put my name out there for almost 20 years after that.
Yeah. and and would safe to say the right choice for you? Well, I think so. It's been great. I've worked for great people starting with Max Schumacher, then Cal Burlson, Bruce Schumacher, Randy Luwendowski, Joel Zawaki, Matt Gay. They've all been absolutely terrific.
And when people say, "How do you stay on a job 50 years?" You have to have good employers. Okay. 50 seasons, over 7,000 games. When you hear those numbers, what what what comes to mind? What what what keeps you coming back?
Well, every day at the ballpark is different. One day you have a 2 to one game, the next day you have a 9 to8 game. So, that's partially the beauty of baseball in these situations because you never know what you're going to get. And to me, the greatest challenge in the business is broadcasting baseball on radio on a daily basis. It's still a wonderful challenge. You have to paint the word pictures and it's still so much fun.
It's as much fun as it ever was for me having called over 7,000 games. So, I still love it as much as I ever have. So, do and and 50 years in the same place. I think I think everyone I mean everyone's journey is different. Some people want might want to climb up the ladder, you know, but I think a large amount of people would love to have that stability, that consistency of one place, one job, loving doing it. Do you consider yourself pretty lucky in that regard?
Yes, very fortunate. You know, you mentioned the 50 years. We had a pitcher in 2015 named Clayton Richard who was from Lafayette, a hooer, a Mr. Baseball. I think he was both a Mr. Baseball and Mr.
Football. He played for the Cubs for a bit. I I remember him. was originally with the White Socks. Anyhow, he said to me one day, we were talking and he said he was explaining to me he had an upward mobility clause in his contract that he could get out of it if some big league team wanted him. And I said, Clayton, don't tell me about an upward mobility clause.
I've been in the same job for 40 years at that time. So, it's about having fun, too. Every day at the ballpark's wonderful and every everyday is different. Yes. Right. I mean and and just and you said painting the word pictures, you know, you hear stories about Vince Scully or XYZ, some of the greats in this industry who are a walking thesaurus and just find new ways to paint that picture.
Does that keep it fun and interesting? Sure. And and here's a thing I added about 10 years ago. You'll say on a line drive to left field, it is lined and it's in there for a base hit. What I added was it is lined. It is sinking and it's in there for a base hit.
So, a little more extra description and that's a lot of fun. I I I myself I love listening to Pat Hughes on the radio and he just does such a he does that and it makes you feel like you're there and it's almost a dying breed almost. So, it's wonderful to talk to someone who appreciates it, been doing it at a high level for such a long time. Okay, we are celebrating 30 years of Victory Field. July 11th, 1996. the Indians leaving their former home of Bush Stadium, a place they had called home since 1931.
What do you remember about July 11th, 1996, and what the ballpark meant for Indianapolis baseball? As we said at the beginning, uh I do remember the game and Oklahoma City defeated the Indians. You know, it's a very interesting thing back then because most of our attendance at Bush Stadium was based on free tickets except for July 4th and the Red's exhibition game. And so that was the the difference now is we're asking people to pay. They weren't paying. They were getting tickets.
We'd have Kroger night or merchants bank night. We had all these nights. Uh AFL CIO, UAW. We had all these nights. The sponsor would pay us 5500 6,000 went up as the years went on. And we'd give them 45,000 tickets.
And they'd say, "What? you only hold 12 13,000. We said, "Don't worry about it. Not everybody's going to show up." And those were our crowds. So, not only are we opening a new ballpark, but we're asking people to pay, which they haven't been doing.
And it turned into a huge success. And it's worked out really well. And we set all kinds of attendance records in the late 90s, the attendance records the Indians had set in the late 1940s, right after World War II. So, you couldn't ask for a better situation than playing at Victory Field. Yeah, there's no question. How have you seen both Victory Field and the city of Indianapolis evolve since 1996?
Well, downtown, and I got here in the mid70s, as you mentioned, Dominic, and downtown back then was really quiet at night, but right around the time of Victory Field opening, I think the year before the Circle Center Mall opened. And so you have all these restaurants opening and that was not the case in the mid70s. I used to come back after a game. My first year I lived downtown at the old Indian hotel and I'd check out during road trips and I'd go to get something to eat after a game and St. Elmo was around but I believe it closed at 9 or 10:00 and the only place was a St. Merid Steakhouse, which was on North Penn and Market Street, and I used to eat there night after night, which was fine, but we've seen it downtown evolve, and it's incredible what it's become.
And so many people love going to Victory Field, too. The opposing teams really enjoy it. They enjoy downtown Indianapolis. We're seeing our players live downtown now. That was not the case years ago when Victory Field first opened. So, all in all, it's been wonderful.
It's one of the nicest, if not the nicest AAA minor league ballpark. The way they upkeep this. And you just said opposing players love coming here. Players in the Pirate system love playing here. What how much pride do you take in that? Oh, a lot of pride.
You hit upon a key word there, Dominic, upkeep. Because when the Indianapolis Indians moved into Victory Field, Max Schumacher was president and GM negotiating the lease with the city and the CIB. And Max said to them, "We will pay for everything. We'll pay for all the maintenance, all the upkeep." And the city said, "Great." And we got some sweet revenue, I think, additionally for that.
At Bush Stadium, the city was responsible for all the upkeep and maintenance. So, okay, do you really need this? When we get a chance, we'll get out there. So, that was a terrific decision that Max made. And that's one of the reasons here we're celebrating the 30th anniversary of Victory Field and people still say that new Indians ballpark and they do that because of how great it still looks. Yeah, no question about it.
We talked about 30 years of Victory Field, 50 years of Howard Kelvin with the Indianapolis Indians and all the things you've dedicated your life to this franchise. So, I actually was an intern for the Indianapolis Indians in 2016. I worked with Scott Templan and B-Mac and Piggy up in the box here doing sponsorships on the video board. Got to watch Tyler Glass now and Jameson Tyion and Josh Bell, Adam Frasier, Jacob Stallings, that kind of team. Okay. So, I came to the ballpark one night and we talk about you dedicating your your life to this and you had quite quite the health scare during one of the games Sunday afternoon, June 12th, 2016.
Yes. Please talk to us about that. And uh I felt fine, was getting ready for the game and all of a sudden I got some tightness in my chest and some pain in my left arm. And I study health and took care of myself. So, I knew right away that could be a heart attack, but it wasn't a lot of pain or a lot. So, I thought, you know, this is tolerable.
Maybe it's not. And I went about my business in the next 20 minutes. And then I said to my broadcast partner, Andrew Capus, maybe we better do something just in case. Well, so the medics came up and they took me to the hospital to Methodist Hospital and I did have a heart attack and I had a complete blockage which meant if I had waited another 15 or 20 minutes I would have been in the past tense. Uh but uh the great thing was there was no damage done to my heart despite having the heart attack when my dad and the it's the family history that did it because I was in pretty good shape although I work even harder now than I still worked hard then and watched my diet. What I learned from the doctors is when there's that genetic component, cuz I I knew I had some high cholesterol numbers, but I never thought the plaque would rupture because I took care of myself.
But there's a genetic component the doctors explained to me that causes the plaque to rupture that people have heart attacks when it runs in the family. And my dad and my uncle and uh I probably delayed it a number of years by taking care of myself. That's what the doctor said. So I missed a week, was ready to go. And I The crazy thing is, Dominic, when something happens to you in terms of your health, you usually feel pretty bad. You're knocked out.
I was in the hospital. I felt like nothing happened really because there was no damage done to my heart. That was the big key. So I got out of there two days later and they said, "No, just take it easy. You still had an event." You know, and I was texting people in the hospital that night and calling people.
Uh but came back to work a week later and just had the 10-year anniversary of it on June 12th a few weeks ago. So I feel great, feel as good as I ever have. So thank you for asking about that. And sometimes when people bring it up, I say it just goes to show you what bases on balls can do to a person. I don't like walks, but but anyway, uh so I feel great. Good.
That is that is remarkable to hear and I I imagine getting that sense of normaly just a week later I think a lot of people would say oh my goodness a heart attack and a week later he's back in the booth but I imagine that felt really good business as usual and and you've taken care great care of yourself ever since. Thank you. It did feel really good and uh you know just uh really unfortunate but I said to the doctor I said is there should I be saying when I exercise should I be saying to myself well you know you had stances put in yeah he said not at all you're free to so I run I lift weights do stretching exercises and uh a whole lot of fun that's awesome well you look great you haven't lost a step in the booth that that feels really good I did want to get that in because you know it's part of your story as the Indians, you know, broadcaster for five decades and it's part of your life, right?
And once you have a heart attack, you're more susceptible to a second one. But in my situation, I'm taking some medicine now that I wasn't taking before, which could have prevented it probably. So that's why I've gone 10 years without another one. Well, happy 10 year anniversary to great health and Howard Kellman in the booth. We love to hear about about that. Victory Field, the different eras of Victory Field, right?
The 2000 season stands as a crown jewel of the Victory Field era. Would you agree with that? Yes. Cuz that's a championship season and that is our last one. We haven't won one in 26 years now. While in the 1980s, we won six of them.
I say Larry Bird and the Celtics won three. Magic Johnson and the Lakers won five. All in the 1980s, we won six. We won another one in 1994, but uh since 2000, we haven't won one. We came really close in 2015. Came to the deciding game against Columbus, but they beat us.
Mike Clevenger was the winning pitcher. He's now pitching for the Indianapolis Indians. Irony there. But uh yeah, that 2000 season is a big one. Absolutely. And just four years after moving to Victory Field.
How about that? The Indians went 81 and 63. They won the International League, won the Governor's Cup three games to two over uh Scrin, and then captured the AAA World Series in Las Vegas, three games to one over the Memphis Redbirds team that had a youngster by the name of Albert Pools. That is correct. What Okay, so what what else made that 2000 Indianapolis team special? What what do you remember about that that year in 2000?
Bob Scandlin was the team's MVP and he was the closer. It was not a team that had a a lot of prospects. It was not a team that had a lot of charisma, but it was a team that was very fundamentally sound, played good baseball. I think our manager, Steve Smith, did a wonderful job with them, and we just played well enough to win. And you mentioned beating Scranton. That deciding game for the championship was on a Friday night, two games a piece, and the Indians won that game, and it was off to Las Vegas the next day, beating Memphis.
Oh, we arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and this is probably around September 10th or 12th or so. I couldn't believe how hot it was in September. I'm not used to having heat in September, but oh, was it hot when we got there, but we had those games and the Indians, as you said, won it three games to one. So, a championship season, a great season, and it was the first of five years, Dominic, working with the Milwaukee Brewers as our parent team. Oh, I see. Okay.
And and tell me, what was uh what was Albert Pooh like as a baseball player? Well, we saw a few games. Oh, yeah. You you could see the the talent and uh one of the all-time greats and you just see somebody for a few games. That's the thing about baseball is that you can see a guy who can hit or can pitch where a quarterback making decisions quickly is the most important thing for a quarterback. And some guys don't get the chance.
And when they do get a chance, like Joe Montana, who was a third string quarterback at Notre Dame at the beginning of his junior year, all of a sudden he excelled. Who is this guy? Where is he? Because he got a chance, right? Where in baseball, basketball, the skills will show how good you are immediately. No question about it.
and Albert Puho of of course went on to have an unbelievable major league career. It's always fun seeing those guys before they become household names which I imagine there's a number of for Oh, you're so right. And we go with Randy Johnson and Larry Walker from the 1980s. Teammates here in ' 89. Randy was here all of 882. They're both in the Hall of Fame.
That's one of the biggest selling points about coming out to Victory Field is you're seeing not only the stars of tomorrow in the big leagues, but sometimes Hall of Famers. 1986, both Barry Larkin and Greg Maddox played against the Indianapolis Indians. Wow. Larkin with the Denver Zephris, Cincinnati's AAA team, and Maddox with the Iowa Cubs, the Chicago Cubs AAA team. He pitched against us. So, that's the beauty of it.
The first game I ever called in Indianapolis, April 20th, 1974, the Omaha Royals had a third baseman named George Brett, who's one of the all-time great. So that that's one of the big things that it's just so cool. I think it's something so unique about AAA baseball, uh, more so than single A or double A because they're they're very closely refined to what they will be as major league players. Is that fair to say? And then they make that ultimate leap and you see him, you know, as as as their best as a minor league prospect and a minor league player. I mean, that's how I felt about seeing Aaron Judge here.
He hit one that, my goodness, almost put a hole in the JW there and and seeing Tyler Glass now mow down opponents was unbelievable. I swear he averaged 10 plus strikeouts a game. So, so very very neat. We'll come back to that to some of the the the most successful players that you've seen in your tenure. You mentioned that 2015 season, Howard, under manager Dean Trainer. It's the most recent campaign that nearly ended with the organization's third Governor's Cup title.
The Indians forced the fifth game in dramatic fashion, but ultimately came up short in the best of five series against the Columbus Clippers. As you said, what about that season in championship series stands out most? A little more recent, right? We were in the midst of a really nice run then cuz the Indians finished first in the international league west division in 2012 2013 that year 2015 and 2017. So it was a great period for the Indians in terms of winning and Dean Trainer did a wonderful job managed here for six years and it was just a great season. We tied with Columbus actually for first place.
went to begin the playoffs in Scranton and the Indians swept the Scranton Wilsbury Rail Riders three straight and then it was to Columbus. Columbus won the first two games in Columbus. The Indians won the next two dramatically coming from behind. Then it boiled down to the fifth and deciding game on a Saturday evening and for the championship. Mike Clevenger pitching for Columbus. Columbus got an early lead one- nothing.
The Indians got back-to-back hits in the bottom of the third. Sacrificed the runners along. Men at second and third. Then the most important at bat of the game in the season, Allan Hansen, switch hitter batting left and Mike Clevenger threw him some change ups and Hansen struck out and that was the big moment and uh Columbus went on to win the game. Wow. It's it's uh it's fascinating.
Would you uh put your baseball memory of certain moments up against anybody's? I think I would. I I thank you. That's very nice of you to say that. And and that goes back to my childhood with the Yankees, too. I can start telling you about Roger Maris and Mickey Man and and and players like that.
Yeah, there are certain moments and I remember certain dates too about things as from my childhood following the Yankees and rooting for the Yankees. But, uh I'm lucky I have that kind of memory. It certainly serves me well in this job. On the other hand, I have a really bad sense of direction. Really bad. I think that was somewhat inherited from my dad.
But, uh, his is better than mine even. You know, you know what? Uh, I I took away from my time interning and listening to you on the radio was every time, excuse me, every time something is down the middle, I say write down meridian. Every time now. Yeah. And you know the funny thing was we had a pitcher one one year 2006 and he was really struggling with his control and he said to me when I'm pitching you probably say right down West Street because it's way inside or way outside going around 46 Bobby Bradley I was trying to think of his name Bobby Bradley right-handed pitcher big bonus kid.
Yeah right down West Street. So he had a sense of humor and uh I do say that and that just came one day certain things. So and it's so unique to Indianapolis. Everybody knows it goes right down the heart of the city. So it's perfect, right? It's perfect.
All right, let's talk about the parent clubs here. You kind of mentioned it. Uh that you said that 2000 season was underneath the Milwaukee Brewers. Is that correct? Okay. So the Indians have had three major league affiliates during the victory field era.
Cincinnati Reds for the last three and a half seasons of their seven-year run in Indie from 1993 through 1999, the Milwaukee Brewers through uh from 2000 through 2004, and the Pittsburgh Pirates for the last 21 seasons since 2005. How does the relationship between aa club and its MLB parents shape the product on the field? And how have those three different major league affiliates uh differed? Well, things changed in 2021 when the major leagues took over control of the minor leagues. We would have prior to that either two or fouryear working agreements with the parent club. And if at the end of that period either the AAA team or the parent club wanted a change, you'd file with the commissioner's office.
That no longer is the case. We now have a professional development license and the major leagues determine everything. We have no say in our parent team and we have a 10-year deal with Pittsburgh that started in 2021. So, we'll just have to wait and see what happens after the 2030 season when everybody else all the other deals expire too. I see. So, uh, Cincinnati gave us the geographic proximity that we had, which was really neat.
And, uh, we also were with the Reds, not only, as you said, 1993 to9, but from 1968 to 1983. Oh, a long time. Yeah. And also 1961. So, from in the 70s when we weren't drawing, now we're we've drawn over 600,000 people a number of years. Back when I first started, we drew 130,000 for the whole season.
And the Red's exhibition game meant everything. Yeah. Meant absolutely everything to our fiscal health as well as the fans. Yeah. No question about it. Keeping that MLB team ever present is important, I would say.
Right. You kind of remind yourself where you're trying to elevate to. Is that Oh, yeah. So, I follow the Pirates real closely, not only because of the moves they make that affect us, but because we have so many former Indianapolis Indians with the Pirates now. That's always been something that's a lot of fun to watch these guys go to the big leagues and see how they do and pull for them. Yeah.
What what what's made that Pittsburgh Pirates Indianapolis Indians relationship work? Well, I think it's a good relationship on goods on both sides. They're good people and uh Ben Sherington now the GM. It's the second regime we Well, it's actually the third regime we've worked with there. The first one was Dave Littlefield when we signed the agreement prior to the 2005 season and then we had Neil Huntington as GM Frank Coonley president and that went on through from about 2008 to 2019 and then this regime Ben Sherington took over as GM in 2020. We had no season in 2020 because of the pandemic but uh it's worked out well.
There's mutual respect. Uh I think that winning is a huge part of player development. You know, you just don't want players working on their skills only and that's what's happened in a lot of cases. You know, the you have these young kids go taking hitting lessons, pitching lessons. While there's much nothing wrong with that, this game also is about good base running, bunting, things that help you win games, fielding. So, I think that's so important because you want players with a winning mindset and how you do things here will be the same way you do things up there.
So, if someone makes a reckless base running mistake here, there's a good chance he'll make it up there. Unless he's corrected and you get through them. When you get to the big leagues, we'd like to say you know how to play the game. It used to be you couldn't get to the big leagues unless you knew how to play. Now talent alone can get you there, but uh it used to always be you had to dominate in AAA for a period of time to get there. Now guys get there quickly.
One of the reasons is there's so many injuries in Major League Baseball now, right? There's something to be said about knowing how to win. that's still important rather than hitting 400 and maybe having this great individual success, but maybe lacking some team first mindset, right? Knowing how to win is so important. And we had that, as I mentioned earlier, in the 1980s, you had guys that weren't taught. Everybody wants to get to the big leagues here.
We understand that. But Wally Johnson, who later became a CPA, said to me, "Our attitude was, we're going to play hard. We're going to play winning baseball and the big leagues will take care of itself. And it did. Those guys went to the big leagues. The one year that is really funny, 1986 was the only year we had a great second half, won the championship, and Montreal was the parent team then.
And the word that year Joe Sparks, our manager, would call a player into his office and saying, "Sorry, but you're going down to Montreal. We hope you can come up to Indianapolis again." It's the only time that's ever been said. And everybody had a lot of fun with that. I see the direction the direction in the uh the minor league affiliates there. That's a that's a nice pun.
And remember July 11th, 2026, 30-year celebration of Victory Field. Going to be a huge fireworks display and the Indians have a lot of fun stuff planned. So, make sure you get your tickets. Now, as we mentioned earlier, Howard, you've had the chance to see some some really successful Major League players before they get there. All right. You've had a front row seat.
They've passed through Victory Field. some of which have played for the Indianapolis Indians. I think everybody on this list I'm about to read off to you has done that. We're talking allstars, Sai Youngs, Gold Gloves, Silver Slugger winners, and World Series champs. I'm going to give you 10 names one by one, and I'd like you to share a couple thoughts about each of them. You want to do that?
Sure. All right. Let's start with Aaron Boon. Played here in 1997 and 98. Great baseball sense. Uh I thought he might become a manager and he was a broadcaster.
I thought that too. You know, he comes from a trio, the Boone family. First, his grandfather Ray Boon, then his dad, Bob Boon, and his brother Brett. And they're all in the big leagues. And Aaron was very dedicated. Now, he fought himself too hard.
He tried too hard. He pressed at times, but uh really good guy. Enjoyed being around him and uh very happy for his success with the Yankees. Yeah. Fiery manager, too, a little bit. Yeah, he gets kicked out a lot.
No, he's pretty eventempered. you know, he was not extremely emotional, but I remember sitting behind him on a plane when we were flying from Buffalo back home to Indianapolis and he he had his hands up in the air and he he's working on his swing while we're on the plane and I'm thinking, you know, he's trying a little too hard and putting undue pressure on himself, but a good player and uh done a nice job. He's been the Yankees manager since 2018. Yeah, lengthy time. You don't see Yankees managers last that long sometimes. So, so it's good to see him having some success.
What about Andrew McCutchen? He's the last Indianapolis Indian to win the MVP 2013. Had a lot of talent. You could see it here. But he really improved his second year here because I think he was trying to pull everything and pulling off the ball instead of keeping his front shoulder in and just driving the ball. So he while he did fine the first year he became a really good player he dominated for two months his second year here in 2009 got to the big leagues and excelled immediately a good example of somebody who wasn't rushed they took their time and he developed as a player and became a terrific player really nice fellow too from Florida and we're real happy about his success we take a lot of pride in the former Indianapolis Indians who become MVPs in the Piglets.
I I I bet so. There's no question about that. And you make a great point about it didn't seem to be a rush through the minors like it is now. And and maybe that's because guys are more talented certainly, but seemed it it took a little bit more in a good way to develop. Make sure you're ready and then they hit the ground running and in the in the Major League Baseball. How about Neil Walker?
Neil Walker is another example. And these days, by the way, he's broadcasting for the Pirates, the Pittsburgh kid. Pirates number one pick in 2004. And his brother-in-law, Don Kelly, is the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's his brother-in-law. Yes.
No way. Yep. How about that? And so, and Neil's sister, Don's wife, Carrie, was a terrific basketball player at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. Neil Walker is another guy who stayed here a long time and maybe longer than he had to, but he learned how to play the game properly all his time here and he dominated finally in 2010 for about a month or two and they called him the big leagues. Then he got a 10-year career in Major League Baseball.
Really nice kid. I developed a friendship with his father Tom who pitched in the major leagues for five years. And what was really interesting there, Tom loved to talk about his 15 inning no hitter, which he threw in double A ball, more so than his time in the major leagues, but he spent five years there. So Neil, switch hitter, natural right-hand hitter, and played second base in the big leagues, which I thought was not his best position. He was a third baseman, originally a catcher, but really proud of what Neil accomplished. 15 inning no hitter.
If you're out on the mound for 15 innings, that's impressive. It was 1971 and it was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the light air and the ball really carries, too. There you go. That's impressive. All right. How about a trio of pitchers here, Garrett Cole, Jameson Tyone, and Tyler Glass.
Now, Garrett Cole won the Scion Award in 2023. Really proud of him and all he's accomplished. He's the best of those three. M uh and he was the number one pick by the Pirates in the country in the amateur draft in 2011. Jameson Tyion was the Pirates number one pick in 2010, the second pick in the draft behind Bryce Harper. And they took Tyion ahead of Manny Machado, which I'm sure they regretted.
They were wondering what who should we take between the two? And they went with Tyion. And Jameson's been a serviceable big league pitcher for a long time. A lot of injuries, but uh Garrett Cole's a terrific pitcher. Just absolutely terrific. He had Tommy John's surgery, so he missed all of last year, but uh he's been an allstar and uh we'll see.
He's healthy now again, although he struggled his last few times out there. Tyler Glass now had a lot of talent. He's been very injuryprone. and Evers had a full season where he wasn't injuryprone. Really nice fellow too. Big guy at 6'8 and he has a lot of talent and has done well when he's been healthy, but that isn't too often unfortunately.
Right. Very big guy. And uh he he can he can throw some heat. There's no question about that. How about Josh Bell? He was one of the guys I got I got a chance to see when I was here.
Wonderful person. Knew his parents real well. They used to come here and say hello. and they're both educators. And uh Josh told the Pirates, "Don't draft me because I'm going to college." And they drafted him anyway.
And they stuck $5 million in front of him and he changed his mind and he signed a contract and he's still playing in the major leagues. He's had a nice career. One year he was doing really well with the Pirates and I think he may have made the All-Star team, but uh he's had a serviceable career and switch hitter. Yeah, I believe he was part of that uh initial Juan Sodto trade. Is that correct? Because on the Nationals there was part of the deal that sent sent him over.
He might have been by that time he was gone from the Pirates, but I remember him playing with the Nationals. Yes, I do. Maybe you are correct there. Yeah, maybe. Well, not often, but perhaps. How about we got the thumbs up.
We got the thumbs up that you are correct. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Uh final two. These are more recent ones, and these are two guys who had a cup of coffee here.
Paul Skins and Connor Griffin. Well, Paul Skins we saw much more much longer than we did Connor Griffin. And Paul Skins, terrific control, great competitor, great makeup, and uh he's not having the year he had last year. He's still doing well, but he was simply unhitterable last year and the year before, too. And he's lost a little off his fast ball, a mile, mile and a half an hour. And so, we'll we'll see.
But opposing players have said he's not the same guy. He's still really good, but he's not phenomenal. So, we'll see what happens. It shows you how things can change. But I love being around him. Love his competitiveness and his makeup.
Conor Griffin. I was only around a few days. A wonderful young man. And I thought, you know, I think they're rushing him when they took him to the big leagues after only five games here. And he struggled. But I was told by Gary Green, who was his coach in DoubleA Altuna, this young man can make adjustments because baseball is all about making adjustments.
Hitters and pitchers both. You know, they see you swinging a slider down and away, they're going to keep doing it until you can either lay off or hit a pitch. So, Connor did make some adjustments, got comfortable, and has done very, very well since then. Now, he was out for almost four weeks with a strained elbow, but uh picked up where he left off, homerred in his first plate appearance, back off the injured list. Uh and they're both, you picked out the cream of the pro crop in those two and backto-back number one draft picks, and they both are doing great. Well, I'd like to see the Pirates uh benefit from these top draft picks that they've had come through.
They already have. And we'll uh we'll see if that leads to some team success here. We certainly hope so. Now, those are the those are the cream of the crop. Like I just mentioned, those 10. Of all the players you have called games for at the Victory Field era, who are the few that flew under the radar?
Maybe didn't have a lot of big league success, but were loved here in Indianapolis. Well, Razer Shines comes to mind immediately. He's the most popular player in the history of the franchise. We retired his number a couple of years ago. Only twice in the history of our franchise has a player had a day in his honor. Frank Sigus in 1933 and Razer Shines in 1993.
We gave him a Chevy Luminina from Payton Wells Chevrolet. And so Razer was uh always fun to be around and he was about winning. We won five championships during his nine years here. Wow. And that's the difference. It's like you said, you got to learn how to win.
And sounds like he certainly knew how to win. All right, we're going to go rapid fire questions here to end it. Howard, this has been great, by the way. We appreciate your time so much and your wealth of knowledge. Again, 30-year anniversary, Victory Field, July 11th. It's going to be all sorts of fun.
You got to get out here to downtown Indianapolis. It's a Saturday, too. So, what else you got going on? It's a weekend. It's going to be a lot of fun. Okay.
What's the most memorable game you've ever called at Victory Field? the uh championship game game five against which we referred to earlier against Scranton for all the marbles and the Indians won that game 2000. That's September of 2000. Elation. What about uh Ian Snell's no hitter? It was a lot of fun.
May of 2005. I forget the exact date. Maybe May 16th, May 12th, somewhere around there. I've called two no hitters, nine inning no hitters by Indians pitchers. that one. And then in May of 1974, my first season, Tommy Carroll, Ian Snell, Ian Snell walked one batter on a 3-2 pitch.
He threw a breaking ball. He came within a strike of throwing a perfect game. And I saw Daryl Nolles, the Indians pitching coach in the clubhouse after the game. He said, "I didn't call for that pitch. I didn't call for that pitch." So, but that was a great sun.
That was a Sunday afternoon at Victory Field in May of 2005 when Ian Snell threw that no hitter. That's good stuff right there. What sports memory stands out most to you that didn't happen at Victory Field? Well, it's game three of the 1964 World Series. I'm a young kid and I go to the game. Bleacher seats went on sale at Yankee Stadium that morning.
They were $2. Can you believe that? Yeah. So, the game is tied. It's the Cardinals and the Yankees. The game is tied 1-1 going to the bottom of the ninth and Mickey Matt is leading off for the Yankees and we're saying, wouldn't it be something if he hit one first pitch from Barney Schulz who had just entered the game.
Manel swung. We knew it was gone. I was in the bleachers in right center field. I can still see the swing, although I've watched it on YouTube too many times, but uh it was gone. He hit it off the third deck. It won the game.
gave the Yankees a two games to one lead in the World Series. And also of significance, it broke Babe Ruth's World Series record for home runs. That was Manel's 16th. He would hit two more. The footnote to the story is, so that's my greatest thrill as a kid going to a game. My greatest thrill.
13 years later, I'm in Witchah. I'm broadcasting for the Indianapolis Indians. My third season. We're in Witchah playing the Cubs AAA team. having lunch with our manager Roy Matika. And who walks into the restaurant but Barney Schultz, the man who'd given up the home run to Manel and Barney and Roy knew each other from the Cardinal days.
And Barney had had a terrific, he was the Cardinals closer. He had saved six of their final seven wins. They were six and a half games behind the Phillies with 12 to play and they won the pennants. So Barney comes over to our table and Roy said, "Howard, this is Barney Schultz. He used to pitch for the Cardinals." I said, 'I'm well aware of that.'
And I said, ' Barney, I want you to know something. In all the years I've watched baseball, you gave me the single greatest thrill I ever had. And he got so excited. He said, "Really? When was it?" I said, "Your first pitch, game three, 64 World Series.
Your first pitch to Mantle. He hit it all." He said, "You no good. Blankety blank." And we But then we got a big laugh and because he had saved six of the Cardinal seven victories. Mickey Manel came to town here in 1987.
We had a press conference. We had him at the ballpark. And I I mentioned that I was sitting behind him at the press conference. I mentioned that story to him. I didn't know if he'd He laughed like anything. I didn't know if he'd react at all, but that was my biggest thrill as a kid going to games.
What a memory. Mickey Manel, man. That's that's just awesome. And the fact that you didn't run into the pitcher years later, what a what a small world. Then it that's just one of the things I think I chalk up to that's just baseball, right? And that's working in baseball, I imagine.
Uh, what which player did you idolize most as a kid and why? Well, I don't know if I'd use the word idolized, but my hero was Mickey Matt. Okay. And he was the greatest combination of power and speed. And he was simply a great great ball player. Could do everything.
Hit the when they first signed him, they said, "Look at this kid. He's hits the ball 500 ft from both sides of the plate. And the one thing about him that isn't talked about that much is that he played through injuries. He played a lot of games. People think, "Oh, he's always hurt." No, he played a lot of games and he played through injuries.
And I saw a quote from the Yankees team doctor, Dr. Sydney Gainor, who said, "Mickey Mantle's tolerance for pain was a hundred times greater than that of Joe Deaggio." Wow. So, it's an interesting thing when you deal with injuries, but he Matteline inspired his teammates. They saw how he had to get ready and tape his legs before games. And he was a great teammate in addition to being a great ball player.
Yeah, no question about it. One of the one of the very greats in Major League Baseball history of that kind of same ilk as far as growing up and listening and watching. Broadcasting wise, which broadcaster kind of inspired you or did you kind of try to learn from? In baseball, it was Mel Allen. He was my hero, the voice of the Yankees. Basketball was Marv Albert and football was Marty Glickman.
You know, I they were just phenomenal. And people know Marv Albert for his national work, but he was the radio voice of the Knicks when he first started. And I got to be friends with both Marty Glickman and Marv Albert. They were very nice to me and very supportive and they're really good guys. And uh so those were my heroes. Mel Allen, Marty Glickman, and uh and Marv Albert, and uh Ernie Harwell became a mentor to me when I started.
He was the voice of the Tigers when I started broadcasting in Indianapolis. I met him during the major league strike. In fact, when he came here to broadcast a game, how about that? Okay, so those three are to credit for 50 years of Howard Kelvin here at Victory Field or for the Indianapolis Indians. 30 years at Victory Field. Again, July 11th, come out 30-year celebration.
Howard, this has been awesome. I have one final question for you and we're of course at Get Indiana and Get in Sports. We're all about sports in the Hooser State. Every all things in Indiana. So to you, what makes sports special in the state of Indiana? The passion that the people have for it.
I think the greatest sporting event, and I'm so glad I was there, the greatest sporting event in our city's history is when the Colts defeated the Patriots in the AFC Championship game 2006. And uh and not only I was in the end zone and they were coming at when Pton Manning engineered that final drive. So I think the passion that fans have, you know, that line about, well, in 49 states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana. What I've seen change is and the Colts were responsible is the attitude toward football and uh when the Pton Manning era and and all the young people named Payton now and so it's not only a Pacers town and IU town, IU basketball was the biggest thing when I first got here, but it's a Colts town, too. And uh I'm a big fan of those teams. We talked about the evolution of Victory Field and the city.
I imagine the Payton years you saw serious evolution of Indianapolis. Oh, without a doubt. And uh putting Indianapolis on the map nationally, too. All those great teams year after year was really something. I was very friendly with Bill Poland who was the architect of those teams and rightly so is in the Hall of Fame. And uh just just terrific all those great teams and what they accomplished over the years.
How much do you love Indianapolis? Oh, I love it a great deal as you can tell by everything I've said in the last 45 minutes or so. But I'm passionate about the city and I'm delighted it's been my home for 50 years. That's awesome. And I'm sure everyone has enjoyed having you as the Indians broadcaster for 50 years. Howard Kellman, thank you so much for your time.
Don't worry about it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Dominic. We appreciate you making some time for us and coming on the Get In Sports podcast. I think baseball lovers, sports lovers in our city will really, really enjoy this and kind of a walk down memory lane when it comes to Indianapolis Indians baseball and Victory Field. Again, 30 years celebration July 11th, Saturday here at Victory Field.
Come on out, enjoy it. Fireworks are going to be spectacular is what I've heard. So, come on out, enjoy it. That's Howard Kellman. I'm Dominic Miranda. Thanks for listening to get in sports.
