REMEMBERING "WIN" ELLIOT

REMEMBERING "WIN" ELLIOT (May 7, 1915 – September 17, 1998)

Win Elliot, Who Broadcast Sports With Flair, Dies at 83
By Richard Sandomir September 1998

Win Elliot, whose affable broadcasting style colored his calls of Rangers hockey games and whose sports reports were marked by sophisticated writing, died on Thursday at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. He was 83. The cause of death was not available.
Mr. Elliot's diverse career was typical of broadcasters in the 1940's and 1950's who hustled for jobs in radio and in the fledgling medium of television. Besides calling Rangers games on radio and television between 1946 and 1969, he anchored World Series pre- and post-game shows, reported on boxing and horse racing, and was host of radio call-in shows as well as the ''Schaefer Circle of Sports'' on Channel 9.
From the late 1960's to the early 80's, Mr. Elliot anchored the Sports Central USA reports on the CBS Radio Network, which culled sound bites from sports events on Saturdays and Sundays from around the country.
''He'd leave home at 3 in the morning Saturday and come back at 1 in the morning Monday,'' said Michael Elliot, one of Mr. Elliot's sons. ''In between, he'd do 10 five-minute shows a day, always at six minutes after the hour.''
As a student at the University of Houston, Jim Nantz of CBS Sports transmitted taped interviews to Mr. Elliot's program in the early 1980's.
''He was a master at taking tape and writing cleverly around it,'' Mr. Nantz said. ''I'd feed him interviews and couldn't wait to hear what he'd say.''
Mr. Nantz added that Mr. Elliot had a dramatic flair and occasionally dropped his voice to a whisper during his sports reports. ''He said, 'Don't be afraid to bring your voice down, it'll make people pay attention.' ''
Mr. Elliot was also host of television quiz shows like ''Tic Tac Dough'' and ''On Your Account'' and the radio variety show ''Borden's County Fair.''
He was born Irwin Elliot Shalek in Chelsea, Mass., but changed his name early in his career. A zoology major and a hockey goaltender at the University of Michigan, Mr. Elliot took a communications class to get the credits he needed to graduate, and an impressed professor suggested sportscasting as a career.
Besides Michael, he is survived by his wife, Rita, of Weston, Conn.; four daughters, Sue Elliot-Bearce, Marilyn McDonough, Patti Elliot and Kathy Cobb; four other sons, Richard, Peter, Robert and Douglas, and 17 grandchildren.
A sixth son, Chuck, is deceased.
The MSG Network sportscaster Marv Albert said Mr. Elliot would be recalled by older New York fans primarily for his Rangers announcing.
''He had a very charming style,'' Mr. Albert said. ''He was very glib. He was folksy and very nice.''
Mr. Elliot's hockey play-by-play style was more conversational than that of today's announcers, but it still conveyed excitement during fallow Rangers seasons.
''I remember watching a rare Rangers playoff game,'' Michael Elliot said. ''My family gathered in the living room. In the third period, the Rangers tied the Chicago Blackhawks. We were going nuts. He was dramatizing the game, but always in control. We were throwing pillows. And he said, 'Stop beating on the furniture!' The world stopped because it was like he was in the room with us.''