James McCarthy Woods (October 22, 1916 – February 20, 1988)[1] was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work on Major League Baseball broadcasts.
When only four years old, he became the mascot for the Triple-A baseball Kansas City Blues; and when only eight, the team's batboy and reader of scores on local radio.
He was fired after the 1956 season when sponsor Ballantine Beer wanted to make room for former Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto.
Yankee general manager George Weiss was opposed to this, and told Woods apologetically it was the only time he had to fire someone for no reason at all.
[3] In 1958, Woods moved to Pittsburgh as Bob Prince's sidekick on Pirates games, where he achieved his greatest fame.
Woods loved his time in Pittsburgh, and especially liked working with Prince; but rightsholder KDKA was notorious for low pay and unwilling to give him a raise, and he eventually accepted a better offer in St. Louis, where Harry Caray had been abruptly fired after the 1969 season.
By his own admission, Woods toned down his style considerably from his days in Pittsburgh, believing that Red Sox fans preferred their announcers to be more restrained.