Mark Holtz (October 1, 1945 – September 7, 1997) was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcasts of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's Texas Rangers.

Career

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, he served as broadcaster on Rangers' cable games, then from 1982-

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

as play-by-play announcer on Rangers' radio broadcasts. Holtz and color commentator

Eric Nadel Eric Nadel (born May 16, 1951) is a sports announcer on radio broadcasts for the Texas Rangers baseball organization. In 2014, he was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Muse ...

, who joined him in 1982, became one of the most recognized broadcast teams in the DFW area. Before joining the Rangers, Holtz was the voice of the

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

in 1971 and the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

from 1976 to 1980. Holtz was also the first radio broadcaster for the Dallas Mavericks NBA team in their inaugural season, 1980–81, and during his career called college football for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

and

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, as well as

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

and

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...

and

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

for the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, Holtz would return to TV broadcasting, where he remained until May 22,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, when he had to give up his duties to battle

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, which would claim his life on September 7 of that year. Holtz was well known for being able to keep people's interest in a game even when things were not going well, which was a frequent occurrence for the generally poor-performing team. He was the voice of the Texas Rangers for their first ever

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

series, in 1996, against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Holtz was also behind the microphone for

Kenny Rogers' perfect game On Thursday, July 28, 1994, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched the 14th perfect game in Major League Baseball history, blanking the California Angels 4–0 at The Ballpark at Arlington. Needing 98 pitches to complete his masterpiece, Roge ...

against the California Angels on July 28, 1994.

Death and remembrance

Holtz began every home Rangers broadcast by jubilantly stating that "It's baseball time in Texas!" This phrase is still often used throughout the Rangers Ballpark by everybody from scoreboard operators to public address announcer Chuck Morgan. Holtz' signature closing phrase was ''"Hello Win Column"'', which he would exclaim after every Rangers win. He was able to use this phrase on May 22, 1997, his last game as broadcaster, as the Rangers won that evening. In his memory, Mark Holtz Lake (a wide spot in Johnson Creek north of

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Te ...

) is named for him. And after every Rangers home win, the center-field scoreboard still flashes his signature phrase ''"Hello Win Column."'' Thousands of Texas Rangers fans camped around Mark Holtz Lake for playoff tickets in 1996, 1998, and 1999. When the Rangers beat the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

in Game 5 of the ALDS on October 12, 2010, to capture their first postseason series victory, Eric Nadel exclaimed, "Hello Win Column!" on the Rangers radio broadcast. It has been the only time to date Nadel used the phrase since Holtz's passing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Mark 1945 births 1997 deaths American radio sports announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers College hockey announcers in the United States Dallas Mavericks announcers Deaths from leukemia Major League Baseball broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters National Basketball Association broadcasters Texas Rangers (baseball) announcers