50,000,000 Ears

In U.S. drugstores, barbershops, lunch wagons, parlors and pool halls, over 25,000,000 radio listeners will cock their ears next week to listen to three men--the sportscasting trio that broadcasts the World Series. Their play-by-play highlight of baseball's Big Hour will be short-waved to U.S. fighting men overseas and will be revamped into Spanish for Latin Americans.

Again, as for three years past, the Mutual Network has sewed up exclusive broadcast rights to the Series. But to fans who had counted on WGN's thrill-voiced, excitable Robert Adolph ("Bob") Elson, the Series would not sound quite like its old self. After 13 years at the Series mike, Elson had quit to join the Navy. The substitute sportscasting setup was still potent. Its personnel:

"The Verce of Brooklyn." Walter Lanier ("Red") Barber, 34, had been Elson's teammate in broadcasting the Series ever since 1936. A wavy-haired, wise and wide-awake guy from Mississippi, he is the "Verce of Brooklyn" by virtue of having been official announcer at the Dodgers' baseball games since 1939. Fond of statistics, he made an excellent foil for Elson, since his chatty, easygoing Southern voice was practically impervious to excitement. Acutely aware of his personality, he refers to himself at regular intervals in a fatherly way as "the old redhead." His reported yearly earnings: above $30,000.

"The Skyrocket." Melvin ("Mel") Allen, 29, a tall, thin, dark-and-curly-haired, good-looking young man from Alabama, wears clothes like a fashion plate from Esquire. Mel likes to wisecrack, does it often in a pleasant, comfortable voice. Like Red Barber, Allen seldom gets ruffled. Before he turned broadcaster he was an all-round athlete at Alabama U. (nickname: "The Skyrocket") and a semi-pro ballplayer. He is one of the most versatile and accurate U.S. sportscasters. When he reads from a script, his voice has no particular accent, but when he ad libs it comes straight from Dixie. Probable yearly earnings: above $30,000.

Un-monickered Hearst Sports Columnist Martene Windsor ("Bill") Corum, 47, will handle pre-game color and post-game roundups. Bill, who talks in a deep Missouri drawl, sticks strictly to sport lingo. A discovery of famed Hearst Columnist Arthur Brisbane, he is well versed in dishing up color, and his syndicated daily sport column is a stand-by to U.S. fans.

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