Gene Elston’s career in broadcasting is intimately intertwined with baseball history in Houston. Later, he would go on to announce games nationally, becoming a broadcasting legend throughout the 20th century, along with names such as Harry Caray, Vin Scully, and Jack Buck. For 25 seasons, Elston would call some of the biggest baseball highlights with or against the Houston Astros and their predecessors.
Astros Hall of Fame Profile: Gene Elston
Early Career
Born in the Midwest in 1922, Elston was a native of Fort Dodge, Iowa. At just 18 years old, he started his broadcasting career with Fort Dodge’s radio station KVFD, calling baseball and high school basketball before leaving to serve in World War 2. Following the war, he returned briefly to Fort Dodge and KVFD before leaving for Waterloo, Iowa, to cover the minor league Waterloo White Hawks in 1946.
Breaking into The Majors
Eight years later, Elston picked up his cup of coffee and didn’t put it down for a while. His first major league baseball job came in 1954, when he became the number two radio announcer for the Chicago Cubs, alongside Bert Wilson. Then, in 1958, Elston moved to the national radio audience when he began announcing the Game of the Day with Hall of Famer pitcher Bob Feller on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Houston
In 1961, Houston would see the final season of their minor league team, the Houston Buffs. Elston was hired to join veteran radio broadcaster Loel Passe, who had broadcast for the team since 1950. The following season saw Major League Baseball expand, including into Houston. The new Houston Colt .45s were inaugurated in 1962, and Elston was chosen to lead the radio broadcast. Passe joined his 1961 partner as the color commentator and stayed in that role until he retired in 1976. Before Passe’s retirement, and following it, Elston would work with the likes of Harry Kalas from 1965 to 1970 (and whose son Todd now is a broadcaster for the Astros), Bob Prince in 1976, Dewayne Staats from 1977 to 1984, and Larry Dierker from 1980 to 1986, when Elston left the team.
During his 25-season career with Houston, Elston would see numerous records broken and made. Throughout his time, he called two National League division clinchers for the Astros. Additionally, he called eleven no-hitters, Eddie Matthews hitting his 500th home run, and Nolan Ryan passing Walter Johnson for most career strikeouts. However, the team eventually tired of Elston’s broadcasting style. He was viewed as too restrained in his approach to the game. In 1986, Astros general manager Dick Wagner let Elston go from the team following the season.
Final Years & Legacy
In 1987, Elston began calling national radio broadcasts after his departure from the Astros. Instead of calling games for one specific team, he called selected games for the entire league. Until 1995, he would call CBS Radio’s Game of the Week, also called the postseason National League Division Series on CBS Radio, and he retired from broadcasting 1995 until 1997.
His accomplishments are noteworthy, having been enshrined in halls of fame and earning numerous awards. In 1993, a few years before retiring, Elston was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. His election to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2002 followed this. Then, in 2006, Elston got one of the highest awards a sports broadcaster can receive. The Baseball Hall of Fame awarded him the Fort C. Frick Award, given annually to a baseball announcer who has made significant contributions to the game. Elston passed away in 2015 at the age of 93. He has been laid to rest in the Houston National Cemetery.
Main Photo Credits: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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