“How About That!” is the first biography of Allen, who was one of the most famous sports broadcasters in American history. CNN’s Larry King praised the volume as “a wonderful book about a wonderful life; I knew and loved Mel Allen, and Borelli captures him in full measure.”
From the 1930s until his death in 1996, the unmistakable voice and phrases of Allen attracted an enormous following of sports fans on radio and then television. Allen’s signature phrases, “How about that?” (after a spectacular play) and “Going … going … gone!” (during a home run) made him an American icon. After more than three decades as the announcer for the New York Yankees, the team dismissed him in 1964. Allen’s second broadcasting life, during the late 1970s through the mid-1990s, centered on the groundbreaking television show “This Week in Baseball,” which he hosted.
If you’d like to hear what Borelli had to say about Allen, you can do so by accessing the Webcast of this event. More information on the history of baseball is available in three presentations in the American Memory Web site: “Baseball and Jackie Robinson,” “Baseball Cards: 1887-1914” and “Spalding Base Ball Guides, 1889-1939.”