The Integrity of Those Times

Two giants of San Francisco history:
Lon Simmons and Herb Caen (SF Chronicle 1962 photo)

In the front of his house, before his parents tore it down to construct a small apartment building, I played basketball with cousin Leonard. We turned the "transistor" radio to its maximum volume so that we could hear Lon Simmons do the play-by-play for San Francisco Giants games while we practiced.

In early '60's Hawaii all network television was tape-delayed one week, but we could get Giants games live on the radio. (Transmitting sound to and from the Mainland was made possible by undersea cables. Long-distance telephone calls were very expensive; one could only imagine how much it cost to do a three-hour broadcast.)

Lon Simmons had a deep, even baritone. Unlike the announcers of today, he didn't talk quickly or loudly. While he did probably root for the Giants and 49ers, one could not be absolutely sure. Like the news anchors and broadcasters of the black-and-white era, he kept overt bias out of his voice.

Lon Simmons, 91, died on Easter Sunday in Daly City. I miss him, and the integrity of those times.