Carl Beane obit

Carl Beane, ‘Voice of Fenway Park,’ dies after car crash

 

He was not on the list.

Carl Beane, known to baseball fans as “the voice of Fenway Park,” died Wednesday in a single-vehicle crash after suffering a heart attack in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, according to a statement from the Boston Red Sox.

Beane, 59 and a Massachusetts native, began his sports broadcasting career in 1972 at WMAS radio station in Springfield. He became the famed Fenway public address announcer in 2003 after winning a competition, the statement said.

On his website, Beane touted the fact that he announced the first two games of the 2004 World Series and witnessed the Red Sox claim the championship of Major League Baseball for the first time in 86 years.

Baseball fans also hear his voice as the lead-in of “The Baseball Experience,” a multimedia presentation at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, according to Beane’s website.

“(Carl) adored the opportunity … to contribute to the culture of Fenway Park, a place he loved passionately,” Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino said in the statement.

Beane was driving his 2004 Suzuki when he suffered a heart attack, causing him to lose control of the car, according to the Red Sox statement. His vehicle then collided with a tree and a wall, authorities said.

No one else was in the car and no other cars were involved in the accident.

Beane was transported from the scene and pronounced dead at Harrington Hospital in Southbridge shortly after the crash, according to authorities.

“No one loved his role with the Red Sox more than Carl did his,” Lucchino said.

The Red Sox will hold a tribute to Beane at Fenway Park on Thursday before a game against the Cleveland Indians.

“All of Red Sox nation will remember his presence, his warmth, and his voice,” Lucchino said.

A native of Agawam, Massachusetts, Beane graduated from Agawam High School in 1971 and the Career Academy School of Broadcasting in 1972. He was a national spokesman for the American Diabetes Association, and a narrator for Talking Books at the Perkins School for the Blind.

As the Red Sox' PA announcer, Beane's voice was featured in the 2005 film Fever Pitch. and in an exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

During his career, Beane was a broadcaster for many outlets, including ESPN Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, Westwood One, and the Associated Press. He also taught sports broadcasting at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting's campus in Needham, Massachusetts, until it was closed in 2009.