Hey, everybody. Welcome to my favorite cub, a brand new podcast as part of the House of L podcast network. Very excited for today's episode yet another great guest for you, Cubs fans, a voice that we all know very, very well.

Well, this man has saying the seventh, that's sorry. Well, he's done the 17th stretch, too. But Star Spangled Banner, the national anthem for the Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago Wolves, and of course our beloved Chicago Cubs. Without further ado, let's bring on the one the only Wayne Mesmer. How are you, Wayne?

I'm doing all right. You know, it's good to be here, good to talk sports and good to chat with you.

Thank you very much. Again, welcome to the podcast, everybody. I'm your host, Joe Killgallon. Wayne is also a member of SAG after all. We're both on strike right now. I'm also a member too. And with that, I'm going to do a little segue here because you were the voice of the Yankees in the movie, the babe, which I was talking with some friends the other day because we were trying to figure out the first baseball movie we saw on theaters.

And mine was the babe. I remember seeing it at the Portage Theater back when I was like, I don't know, eight or something like that. But do you mind telling us about that experience?

Yeah, it was, it was pretty cool. I figured when they were going to be filming in Chicago, I said, there's got to be something I can weasel my way into.

So I got a that audition and went down to a hotel in Chicago and there was the director and the one of the writers and and associate assistant director as well.

And they had been to a couple of ball games and they knew my stick. And so I said, well, you know, is there a part there's got to be an announcer voice over something. And as I'm just interested in being a part of this.

He said, well, we really don't have a part written, but we're thinking, you know, along those lines that somewhere there's going to have to be someone who moves the story along and, you know, maybe a broadcaster or something.

He says, well, just just give us something and, you know, make it up. So I did an extemporaneous, I thought, you know, to move you about Babe Ruth. So I described in great detail, the called shot from, you know, the 1932 series.

And I, you know, the weather, the clouds, the crowd, you know, throwing lemons and all sorts of crazy stuff. And finally, I get I get babe to swing and hit a shot to right center field.

And I stopped before it went out. And you know, all three of them are going, keep going, keep going. You know, so I finished that and kind of did a, you know, an improv thing. And they said, that's great. We're going to write a part to get you in there.

And it was neat because everything that I did in the movie, I, because I was so swell, but it did move the story along. So I didn't none of it hit the cutting floor. So that was kind of, that was a nice experience.

Oh, that's amazing. I love that you essentially created your own role in a way.

Yeah, you know, it was the New York Yankees radio announcer. And it was funny because I didn't want to shave for the thing. And I thought, oh, brother.

So the first day, and it was Arthur Hiller for the Director Academy Award, where he says, well, I don't know.

I said, okay, let's think about this. 20s, 30s, the guys over the broadcasters were coming from theater backgrounds. They were these artsy guys.

And it's very conceivable that on the radio, they really didn't matter whether they had a beard or not. And I said, let's, can we try it and see a screen, screen test if you like it and leave it.

Okay, so he said, fine, which was good, because then at least I was recognized. Otherwise, you know, if I had been up there without the, without the whiskers, they said, oh, it may not look like you. I know it sounds like you.

Yeah, it was me.

We always want to be recognized. I know that much. I had a role, not really a role. I had one line. I got cut of a TV show, though, but I'm playing pool.

This was a TV show, a TBS TV show called Sullivan and Son. And in the role, I play pool left-handed. And I thought nobody's going to notice this, but my father at the time back when he was alive.

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