Lanny Lee Larason (January 30, 1939 – November 22, 2023), known professionally as Tom Larson, was an American sportscaster and television host who worked in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from 1969 to 2007 and was the longtime host of

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

broadcasts on

WSBK-TV WSBK-TV (channel 38) is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station WBZ-TV (channel 4). Both stations share studios on So ...

and

NESN New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports network, regional sports cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which ow ...

Early years

Lanny Lee Larason was born and raised in Webster Groves, Missouri, where one of his friends was another future sportscaster,

Skip Caray Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was the son ...

. He began his broadcasting career in 1960 as a junior at Westminster College. After college, Larason worked in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, and

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

Career in Boston

In 1969, he was hired by

general manager Bill Flynn, who was looking for someone with a background in sports who could also host a public affairs

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

. Upon moving to Boston, Larason adopted the name "Tom Larson". During his tenure at WSBK, Larson hosted a daily talk show, hosted the post-game shows for the

and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and served as the station's public affairs director. In 1985, Larson was replaced on Bruins games by Sean McDonough. From 1981 to 1988, Larson was also the sports director at WHDH radio, doing sports reports during

Jess Cain Jess Daniel Dennis Cain II (June 17, 1926 – February 14, 2008) was an American radio personality. Career For 34 years, from 1957 to 1991, Cain was the morning drivetime personality on WEEI (AM), WHDH/850 in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston. Cain ...

's morning show. In 1983, he was recognized as the best TV sportscaster in Boston, by ''

'' magazine. In 1986, Larson joined the

New England Sports Network New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of Boston Red So ...

, where he served as the studio host for Red Sox and Bruins games, wrote, produced, and reported for ''Front Row'' and a number of special presentations, and was a play-by-play announcer for college and high school sports. Larson retired from broadcasting in 2007. In 1981, Larson had promised to shave his beard if the Bruins won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

; he shaved his beard 30 years later after the Bruins defeated the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

the

2011 Stanley Cup Finals The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) , and the culmination of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins defeated the Western Conference champion Vanc ...

. A former resident of

Norwell, Massachusetts Norwell is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,351 at the 2020 United States census. The town's southeastern border runs along the North River (Massachusetts Bay), North R ...

, Larson spent his later years in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

. He died from complications of cancer on November 22, 2023, at the age of 84.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Tom 1939 births 2023 deaths Television anchors from Boston Sports in Boston Boston Bruins announcers Boston Red Sox announcers College football announcers People from Norwell, Massachusetts People from Webster Groves, Missouri Westminster College (Missouri) alumni Deaths from cancer in Virginia

Early years

Career in Boston

References

Further reading

External links