Merle Harmon

[9][10][11] He was fired after the 1961 season by Charlie Finley, who had purchased the ballclub the previous year, for refusing to participate in a campaign intended to spite the sports editor of the Kansas City Star.

After two years working alongside Tom Collins (1964) and Blaine Walsh (1964–65) on WEMP-AM,[13][14] Harmon was not retained by the Braves, which moved to Atlanta and selected Milo Hamilton, a voice more recognized in the new market, instead.

Harmon also lent his talents to professional football, reteaming with Grigsby to call Kansas City Chiefs games in 1963, its first season after moving from Dallas.

Also, Harmon was the play-by-play voice for the World Football League's Thursday night Game of the Week telecasts on TVS in 1974, the circuit's only complete season.

He was joined in the broadcast booth by regular game analyst Alex Hawkins and various guest commentators, who included George Plimpton, Burt Reynolds and McLean Stevenson.

[citation needed] From 1980 to 1982, Harmon worked for NBC Sports, calling regional NFL, MLB, and college basketball action and contributing to the weekly Sportsworld anthology series.

[16] Harmon called Southwest Conference college-football telecasts for the regional broadcaster Raycom Sports in the early 1980s, frequently paired with former Oklahoma head football coach Bud Wilkinson.

[18] Prior to his death, he was an active member of the National Speakers Association, and self-published his book, Stories, a collection of humorous adventures from his broadcasting career.