On February 10, 1971, the New York Yankees announced that Bill White would join Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messer on the WPIX broadcast team, becoming the first black to do play-by-play regularly for a major-league baseball team. White called Yankee games from 1971 to 1988 on both radio and television during that time.
Dang, I never thought about the first ever black play-by-play announcer and of course his last name is White. Bravo to the Yankees!
Bill White was a great announcer. I will never forget his call of Bucky Dent’s earthshattering playoff home run against the Red Sox in Fenway Park in 1978.