Carl Beane, the voice of Fenway Park, dead at 59
Boston Red Sox public address announcer Carl Beane, the voice of Fenway Park whose booming baritone
called ballplayers to the plate for two World Series champions, died on Wednesday after suffering a heart
attack while driving. He was 59.
"We are filled with sadness at this tragic news," Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said in a statement issued
by the team that attributed the death to a heart attack. "His legion of friends with the Red Sox and the media
will miss him enormously, and all of Red Sox Nation will remember his presence, his warmth, and his voice."
The Worcester district attorney said that Beane died in an accident after his car, an SUV with a spare tire
cover stitched to look like a baseball, crossed the double yellow lines and left the road before hitting a tree
and a wall. He was pronounced dead at Harrington Hospital in Southbridge a short time later, according to a
release from D.A. Joseph D. Early Jr.
A longtime fixture in the Red Sox media who provided radio reports and gathered sound for broadcasters,
including The Associated Press, Beane landed what he called his dream job when he won a competition for
the job announcing the lineups at Fenway Park after the 2002 season. In his second season, he announced
the home games of the World Series when the Red Sox won the championship to end an 86-year title drought.
"His voice was pretty unique," Sox DH David Ortiz said Wednesday before Boston's game in Kansas City. "I'm
pretty sure everybody is going to remember that forever."
Added Ortiz: "It's something that's unexpected. It doesn't matter if you get to know the person or not; it
always hits you. It's a tough situation where there's no tomorrow. One way or another, all of us get to be a
family. You guys as a reporter, us as a player, him as an announcer -- everybody gets to be a family member
here. And once things like that goes down, you hurt. You hurt. My prayers going out to his family."
With his voice familiar throughout New England to the millions of fans who filled Fenway each year, Beane
also was hired to work as a master of ceremonies, narrate commercials and announce wedding parties.
According to a 2008 interview with Boston Magazine, grooms would tell Beane they were more nervous to
meet him and try on his World Series ring than they were when reciting their vows.
"When I get that instant response, a feeling washes over me like, 'This is where I should be,'" Beane told the
magazine. "This is what I know I was put on Earth to do."
