Rafael "Felo" Ramírez (22 June 1923 – 21 August 2017) was a Cuban-American
Spanish language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
sports announcer, most notably for the
Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
.
Born in
Bayamo, Cuba, Ramirez was also a
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
expert, having broadcast fights for Latin American radio and television audiences since 1949 along with other Spanish-language broadcasters such as
Buck Canel and,
Pancho Pepe Cróquer when the ''
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports'', aired through
NBC Red Network
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...
, extended their Spanish programming activities to Latin American countries, where it was known as the ''Cabalgata Deportiva Gillette''.
Career
Ramirez called 40 Caribbean World Series. He served as a broadcaster for nine years in his native Cuba, before leaving for Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. From 1993 until April 2017, he was the Spanish radio announcer for the Miami Marlins. He called many baseball moments in his career, including
Don Larsen's perfect game,
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...
's 3,000th Major League hit, and
Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...
's 715th home run.
As a Marlins broadcaster, Ramirez called both the 1997 and 2003 World Series. He also called numerous boxing matches, including many involving
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
.
During the mid-1980s, Ramirez and Puerto Rican sportscaster and boxing promoter
Ivonne Class co-hosted a weekly, Saturday nights boxing television show on
Tele-Once, the returning television channel that had once been one of Puerto Rico's most seen TV stations, featuring live telecasts of Class-promoted bouts and also recorded fights of the past, like Muhammad Ali-
Bob Foster.
Personal life
Ramírez was born in
Bayamo,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, and was commonly known as ''"El Orgullo de Bayamo"'' ("The Pride of Bayamo") by many fans and colleagues.
A longtime resident of
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, he was inducted in the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame and has been honored by the local legislature.
Death
Ramirez was hospitalized after a fall in April 2017. He died on August 21, 2017, at the age of 94.
Awards and honors
In 2001, Ramirez received the
Ford C. Frick Award from the
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...
. His speech, delivered entirely in his native Spanish, was translated by
Jaime Jarrin.
In 2003, he was inducted into the
Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 2012, Ramirez received a recognition in Valencia, Venezuela. The
Navegantes del Magallanes
Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...
organization honored his career of more than 60 years as a sports play by play announcer by inducting him into their team Hall of Fame.
References
External links
Felo RamírezFord C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
m(Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Felo
1923 births
2017 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Miami Marlins announcers
Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Cuban emigrants to the United States
People from Bayamo