As Ted Leitner takes his place tonight in the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame, two days before his 75th birthday, there are some things you should know about Ted.
Having been very fortunate for many years to work with Ted Leitner, when he was at Channel 8 when I was news director at Channel 8’s radio station, KFMB, and filling in for Ted, or trying to, for some of his morning sports reports, it was easy to see and hear why Ted is the best.
Ted Leitner has always been a sports media personality and talk show host. He is known for his stories, telling stories on TV on the radio and to probably hundreds of thousands of people over the years when he spoke at banquets and other events.
But Ted has never been just a speaker. He has not been just a sports anchor on radio and TV who would read a teleprompter. He is a talker. And he knows how to talk. And it has always been all ad-libbed. No scripts really, just Ted.
Certainly, the best talker on radio and TV I’ve ever worked with. And a lot of people in the business I’m sure would say the same thing.
And while he has been the most popular radio and TV sports guy in San Diego history, his work for 41 years, as Padres broadcaster is what has made him especially special.
He didn’t just do play-by-play; a lot of people can do that. Ted is a storyteller when he is on the air, telling stories as you would drinking with your buddies in a bar. Always interesting. Always entertaining.
Ted is a fan’s fan, critical of the Padres when they’re bad, but always loving the Padres. Ted always called them ‘My Padres.”
So now he becomes a rightful and deserving member of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame. Congratulations Teddy!
(Photo courtesy San Diego Padres)