Fred Manfra on wrapping up 25 years in O's radio booth

He is a kid from Baltimore that did good. Real good. But after today, life will be very different for longtime Orioles broadcaster Fred Manfra as he heads into retirement.

It is possible he could be asked to call an occasional game or two later at some point, but a 25-year Orioles broadcasting career comes to a close with this afternoon's game at Camden Yards.

Manfra and his wife Marlene are moving to Tampa, Fla., to be near his daughter Stephanie, her husband Beck, and Manfra's 3-year-old granddaugher Marlow and 9-month-old grandson Tomson.

But for Manfra, this is not just goodbye to broadcasting Orioles games, but so long to his hometown, as well.

"I've had so many emotions going on," he said when we talked about his career in a Camden Yards radio booth Saturday afternoon. "As I come down (Interstate) 95 and look off to the right at the Eastern Avenue exit there is my high school (Patterson, class of 1964) and the house I grew up in. Many memories. The important thing is our grandkids are in Florida and we'll be 10 doors away from the grandkids.

"I really wanted to do it at the end of last year. It is getting too difficult with some physical problems (he had two hip surgeries) and my age. Not that I feel 70, but it takes a toll on the body. I wanted to do it at the end of last year and the Orioles asked me to come back and do selected games."

Manfra's first year calling Orioles games on radio was in 1993 and he worked with Jon Miller. But when Miller was away for national TV games, Fred worked with a then-future broadcasting Hall of Famer in Chuck Thompson.

"That is still something I will cherish," he said. "Working with my childhood idol. Listening to him as a friend on the radio and then finding out what I heard on the radio was exactly what I found out when meeting him. Chuck and Betty were very nice to me and special people.

"It's been a special life. I never would have thought when I was a kid playing curb-ball in east Baltimore and trying to emulate Chuck Thompson that one day I would sit beside him in the booth and broadcast my hometown team. The only thing better would have been to play for the Orioles."

Manfra also spent a lot of time over the years sharing a booth with Jim Hunter. Since 2002, Manfra has worked with Joe Angel. The pairing put together two excellent broadcasters with big voices, but who knew their chemistry would become so great? Orioles fans love to hear Joe and Fred. Their friendship, on-air fun and love of the game comes pouring through our radios.

"It's two guys that enjoy and love the game, sitting and talking about the game," Manfra said. "Joe is a great guy to work with. A funny guy. I get my little digs in every now and again. That makes it entertaining for people. When you respect a professional, I think that chemistry is there. Joe is a hard worker, outstanding broadcaster and a great person."

Angel and Manfra don't seem to be interested in much fanfare this weekend. Fred doesn't seem to want any special sendoffs or goodbyes. Angel said they would probably handle Sunday's broadcast the same as they always do.

"I'm going to miss Fred Manfra quite a bit," Angel said. "Even maybe moreso than the fans are going to miss him. It's like going to the ballpark every day with a good friend for years and all the sudden he's not going to be there. You are going to miss your best friend. And that is what Fred has been to me. My best friend in the booth and I know that Fred will always be there for me. I'm going to miss him quite a bit."

The great chemistry the two developed in the booth has been special and enhanced the enjoyment their broadcasts brought to an appreciative fanbase. It wasn't something the two men could plan out or make come about because they wanted it to, but it sure did.

"I've worked with a lot of good people in the booth," Angel said "People have different styles. It just so happens that Fred's style and mine have jelled beautifully for a lot of years.

"It is nothing you can plan. We got lucky. Sometimes you work with people you may not always get along with. We got lucky. It is easy and comfortable. The one thing you want to do when you broadcast is have it be a comfortable listen. For me and Fred, it was very comfortable in the booth. It comes through on the air."

It sure does. And while the Orioles have a large group of talented broadcasters and life in the radio booth will go on just fine with Angel and Hunter and others, today is the end of an era of sorts.

I asked Manfra what he expects today to be like as he wraps up not only an outstanding Orioles career but a 47-year career in broadcasting.

"Difficult," he said. "I will look out here at this ballpark that has been my office for 24 years and think about memories, think about players, think about fans that have treated me so nicely.

"Chuck told me one time that when you call a game you are a friend to thousands of people that you will never meet. But then a time may come when you do meet them and they will treat you like a friend. He said, 'Remember, reciprocate. Treat them like you've known them your whole life.' That is what I've tried to do."