ATLANTA — In the 1940s, Larry Munson used sound effects and a telegraph to broadcast University of Wyoming’s road baseball games from a Cheyenne radio station.
Six decades later, that ancient technology may sound tempting to Georgia football fans who don’t like the notion that Munson may miss the Bulldogs’ road games this season.
When Georgia goes on its first road trip to play Alabama on Sept. 22, Munson plans to be home in Athens. The 84-year-old, in fact, doesn’t plan to work any road games this season.
‘‘Both WSB and Georgia signed off on it,’’ said Munson, confirming plans made by the flagship radio station and Georgia officials. ‘‘I’m gonna work home games.’’
After 41 years as the voice of Bulldog radio network, Munson said he no longer can endure draining road trips, which often involve 90-minute drives to Atlanta, followed by flights and more bus rides to hotels and stadiums.
Munson and Scott Howard, who has been Munson’s color analyst for 14 years, said the plan is to allow Howard to assume play-by-play duties for road games.
There has been no official announcement about plans for road games, and there may be none. All involved, including Howard, say it is important to leave the door open for Munson to change his mind.
‘‘We want Larry to do every game that Larry feels comfortable doing,’’ said Neil Williamson, the senior executive producer of the broadcasts and the co-host with Loran Smith of the pregame ‘‘Tailgate Show.’’
That plan could change, of course, in the middle of a big season.
‘‘When the time comes to come to Tuscaloosa or Knoxville, I’m not sure the old adrenaline might start to flow and who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up there,’’ said former Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley.
‘‘They might make some special arrangements if he’s up to it. I don’t know what the old adrenaline will do ... well, I do know what it will do. He might be there.’’
For now, Munson talks with certainty of plans to work only home games.
‘‘The last I heard, Scott and I both had passed on this thing,’’ Munson said this week. ‘‘The thing is set.’’
Added Munson: ‘‘I didn’t work the plan out. They just decided they’re going to try to make this work and keep me close to the program in this particular manner, so here I am.’’
Munson, who described his health as ‘‘not too good,’’ has complained of problems with blood clots in his legs and a recent fall.
‘‘I’ve got a lot of problems, stuff I never thought I’d have,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s kind of a day-to-day thing.’’
Howard, who had been the lead voice for Georgia basketball games since 1997, said he would be ready to assume the play-by-play role for road football games. But he’s careful to emphasize he’d rather have Munson in the booth.
‘‘We’re hoping he can do the whole season,’’ Howard said. ‘‘Right now, I don’t know how likely that is.’’
Even though he’s been the color analyst since 1993, Howard said some fans think of Munson as a one-man show.
‘‘When I went into this, I knew everybody wanted to hear Larry,’’ Howard said. ‘‘A lot of people don’t even know who the color guy is and that’s fine with me. I accept that. I understand that.
‘‘I want to hear Larry, too. In a critical moment, three minutes to go in a game, and he’s winding it down and Georgia is driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, I just want to sit back and listen to that myself.’’
If Munson sticks by his plan to miss road games, then someone must join Howard in the radio booth as a color analyst for those games.
Options include Jeff Dantzler, who works with Howard on basketball broadcasts, former Georgia quarterback Buck Belue, a co-host for a radio sports talk show on Atlanta’s WCNN (680 The Fan), and Williamson.
‘‘We’re just getting ready for the season like we would any other year,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘As we get closer, we’ll be ready to roll with it. Hopefully the Bulldog nation will be glad to have Larry for the games they get him for. I know I will.’’
Six decades later, that ancient technology may sound tempting to Georgia football fans who don’t like the notion that Munson may miss the Bulldogs’ road games this season.
When Georgia goes on its first road trip to play Alabama on Sept. 22, Munson plans to be home in Athens. The 84-year-old, in fact, doesn’t plan to work any road games this season.
‘‘Both WSB and Georgia signed off on it,’’ said Munson, confirming plans made by the flagship radio station and Georgia officials. ‘‘I’m gonna work home games.’’
After 41 years as the voice of Bulldog radio network, Munson said he no longer can endure draining road trips, which often involve 90-minute drives to Atlanta, followed by flights and more bus rides to hotels and stadiums.
Munson and Scott Howard, who has been Munson’s color analyst for 14 years, said the plan is to allow Howard to assume play-by-play duties for road games.
There has been no official announcement about plans for road games, and there may be none. All involved, including Howard, say it is important to leave the door open for Munson to change his mind.
‘‘We want Larry to do every game that Larry feels comfortable doing,’’ said Neil Williamson, the senior executive producer of the broadcasts and the co-host with Loran Smith of the pregame ‘‘Tailgate Show.’’
That plan could change, of course, in the middle of a big season.
‘‘When the time comes to come to Tuscaloosa or Knoxville, I’m not sure the old adrenaline might start to flow and who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up there,’’ said former Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley.
‘‘They might make some special arrangements if he’s up to it. I don’t know what the old adrenaline will do ... well, I do know what it will do. He might be there.’’
For now, Munson talks with certainty of plans to work only home games.
‘‘The last I heard, Scott and I both had passed on this thing,’’ Munson said this week. ‘‘The thing is set.’’
Added Munson: ‘‘I didn’t work the plan out. They just decided they’re going to try to make this work and keep me close to the program in this particular manner, so here I am.’’
Munson, who described his health as ‘‘not too good,’’ has complained of problems with blood clots in his legs and a recent fall.
‘‘I’ve got a lot of problems, stuff I never thought I’d have,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s kind of a day-to-day thing.’’
Howard, who had been the lead voice for Georgia basketball games since 1997, said he would be ready to assume the play-by-play role for road football games. But he’s careful to emphasize he’d rather have Munson in the booth.
‘‘We’re hoping he can do the whole season,’’ Howard said. ‘‘Right now, I don’t know how likely that is.’’
Even though he’s been the color analyst since 1993, Howard said some fans think of Munson as a one-man show.
‘‘When I went into this, I knew everybody wanted to hear Larry,’’ Howard said. ‘‘A lot of people don’t even know who the color guy is and that’s fine with me. I accept that. I understand that.
‘‘I want to hear Larry, too. In a critical moment, three minutes to go in a game, and he’s winding it down and Georgia is driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, I just want to sit back and listen to that myself.’’
If Munson sticks by his plan to miss road games, then someone must join Howard in the radio booth as a color analyst for those games.
Options include Jeff Dantzler, who works with Howard on basketball broadcasts, former Georgia quarterback Buck Belue, a co-host for a radio sports talk show on Atlanta’s WCNN (680 The Fan), and Williamson.
‘‘We’re just getting ready for the season like we would any other year,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘As we get closer, we’ll be ready to roll with it. Hopefully the Bulldog nation will be glad to have Larry for the games they get him for. I know I will.’’
