Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by Fireheart Pictures and viewers like you.

Thank you.

According to Forbes magazine, a sense of community is critical to our overall well-being.

Strong communities have a purpose, and people learn and grow because of it.

Tonight we talk to a changemaker who makes our community a better place.

I'm so happy you're joining us.

From Los Angeles.

This is KLCS PBS.

Welcome to Everybody with Angela Williamson, an innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

And now your host, doctor Angela Williamson.

It is our honor to interview Hymie Herring.

Hymie, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you very much indeed.

I am very, very pleased to be here.

Thank you for the invitation.

I appreciate that very much.

It is indeed our honor.

I mean, you are institution here and now that you're retired, we definitely had to get you on the show.

So thank you so much.

That's fine.

Thank you for the invitation.

Oh, absolutely.

You know, what was really interesting to me was that before you started announcing for the Dodgers, you did not know anything about baseball.

Nothing about baseball, nothing about sports.

Because I was a newsman.

Radio newsman at first.

My first job in radio was when I was 16 years old, in 1951.

Back home in Quito, Ecuador.

And, since that day, I have been on radio for almost 71 years.

And the role without stopping.

So but first, I was a newsman.

I was very fortunate to be working with a cultural radio station like.

Like this channel in Ecuador.

No commercials, no nothing.

Just the news and the special events.

So I started when I was 15 years old, and little by little, I went up, up, up, up.

Then I was for three years as the official announcer for the Senate of the National Congress of Ecuador.

I was only 17 years old in.

And, then I decided to come here in 1955 because I was the announcer of the number one program on h h Cjb The voice of the Andes.

And, it was, a program on Saturday nights.

No Sunday.

I'm sorry, Sunday nights with with live audience.

And the American Council used to come to watch the program almost every week.

So we became friends on one day, having suffered have serious health healing.

I told him I would like to go to the United States, and he thought that he was trying to organize a tourist and he said, oh, no problem.

You go on the visa for 30 days, six months, a year.

What?

What do you want?

I said, no, no, no, no, I want to go there.

I said, immigrant answer residents of the United States.

And he told me, come and see me.

Monday or Tuesday.

So I went to the American Embassy in Quito on Tuesday and he said, are you sure that you want to do so?

This is and that he knew three visas because my wife, I was already married and my son was just a few few weeks old.

So I said, I need three visas.

I said, no problem.

In 24 hours I have those three visas.

And I was ready to come to the United States 1955.

So.

So you're coming to the United States in 1955 with your wife and young son not there.

You stay there because it was because I came with without any, any job promises, nothing like that.

So it was very difficult to come, all of us, at the same time.

They said, let me go first and they will bring you about.

So I came in June and my family, Georgia and my wife Blanca, join me in December of Year 55.

How did you decide to come to California?

Because I was going to go to New York.

Also.

I was interested in getting my my commercial pilot's license.

So I when I was going to go to the Teterboro School, over an hour decrease in new Jersey.

But then I start thinking, well, was should I go to the aviation or should I go to radio?

So I said, no, I should continue on radio.

Then I was reading, I was thinking of going to Chicago also by the air.

Then there I was reading that the Southern California has a great growing number of Spanish speaking people.

So I said, that's the place where I should go.

And I came to Los Angeles.

And I'm so glad you did, because we would not want you in Chicago doing broadcast for them for over 60 years.

And so you but you came out here, so you left your son, your young son and your wife back home.

And you came out here, you say to California, did you just walk into a radio station and say, I'm here, hire me?

How did you do that?

Yes, there was only one Spanish speaking radio station in those days.

Only, so I came and right away, they were in Pasadena, so I had to ask my friends to take me there because I didn't have a car.

Yes.

So they took me there and I applied for a job.

There was no openings there.

So, but they said, no, I have to work on radio.

They have to work on radio.

So I started going back there to going back there, going back there until finally in December 1955, they can me my first job a few hours on a weekend on K w k w. And that's just how you start out.

You start out on the weekends now.

Did you have a good time or did you have to do overnights?

it was very tough at the beginning.

Yes, because they told me that I was too young to be a newscaster.

They said, no, we need somebody, you know, older than you.

And that was really just excuses, I think of the beginning.

Then they said, no, you you have to learn more English.

Because even though this station, this station is a Spanish speaking radio station, but you have to talk English to, to deal with it, with the sales salespeople and with the management.

So I went to, to to school to learn English, Cumbria Street School here in downtown Los Angeles.

So I went there in the morning and they were working in the factory in the afternoon.

So that's when finally they gave me the chance.

And the December of 55.

Wow.

And I mean, it was you weren't there very long before you went to the Dodgers, right?

No, no, no, I you stay there.

Yeah.

I was able to combine that because in my years, by 1958 when the Dodgers came to the West Coast, yes, he was already the news on the sports director of KW.

You know, then I got the actual job.

Without applying for the job, I never look for the of the things that the station got the rights to do the games and the Spanish.

And Mr. William Beeton, who was the general manager and owner of the blue one, they called all the announcers to his office to give us a great news about signing the Dodgers.

And I said, I need two announcers and looking at them, he said, hey, they want you to be one of the two announcers.

And they all said, ready?

And I told Mr. Whitten, thank you.

Thank you very much.

August unboxing from the Olympic Auditorium then.

But, I said, I'm sorry, I don't I know something about baseball now because I was going for three years on weekends to watch the game spiked by the two Triple-A teams that we have here.

Yes, the Hollywood stars on the Los Angeles Angels.

They used to play in the Gilmer field.

I know they really field in South Central Los Angeles, so I was going there on weekends just because I wanted to learn about this new, new sport to me, because I grew up with soccer in South America.

So I so grasping about baseball.

So three years later, did I just come to the West and this station allows me to be one of the two.

And I said, thank you, but I am not ready to be in front of a microphone relaying what's going on on the baseball field.

So Mr. Beecham, like me very much, I was 22, 23 years old.

You're behind me.

You have a great future do in baseball.

I'm going to give you one year.

Prepare yourself.

And I want you there.

So that first year of 58, I was listening to every broadcast.

Television really helped me because, in those days, they televise only one game a week, Saturday night.

That's it.

And so I had to read a lot.

newspapers for many series, the series that the Dodgers used to travel and, magazines and everything.

We didn't have the, the what do we have now?

All the the technology.

Well, you.

Just go to school and put.

It in your, team, the internet, you know?

So it was difficult and about, by the following year, 1959, means to me that I was ready and said, okay, I am ready.

So that's how you study.

Mr. Collins was the number one I was going to.

So I was with him there until he left in 1962.

He moved to Houston, and they stayed there as a second in the booth because he recommended, no, they were play by play announcer from Nicaragua, Jose Garcia.

So I was with him, but he suddenly passed away.

And in the winter of 1972, and then I became the number one in the booth.

And we had another person to to work with me.

Well, you know, it's so interesting that you tell me this story because we talk about there's no technology.

And in the second segment, you are actually going to answer some questions for some journalism students at our local community college.

But what I love is that it's almost as if you had to do like your own high highway self-education of baseball.

If you only had 12 months now, they weren't playing 12 months.

No 1A6 months.

So you really had to do this in six months?

Yes, yes.

Did you lose any confidence or you just said, I just have to do it?

So.

I have been very positive all my life.

And I said, no, this is what I wanted to do.

but I thought at the beginning that, I will stay with the Dodgers probably five, six years of nothing more than a move to something else.

You.

Spanish television was just coming up on channel 52.

I mean, channel 34 came on in 19, 1962.

So I thought that television will be my next step.

Yes, eventually.

I worked on television for Telemundo for eight years.

I was the sports director general for 52.

That a mundo.

But to be honest with you, I didn't like television.

I have always been radio man because in television you have so many, so many problems inside because of the time.

And I used to be on the big news at 6 p.m. doing this in the sports segment, and they will give me 2.5 minutes for, for sports.

Something will happen to me.

You have only one minute and a half time.

You have only one minute.

I said, what are you doing?

One minute.

Giving this course will take me more than one minute.

So that's why you didn't like.

I didn't enjoy television much.

But I stay with it.

Dodgers and on radio.

I have always been a radio person.

Well, and also too.

With radio, you can let your audience know they fill your personality and it's almost as if you're talking to a mass audience, but it's almost as if you're talking one.

Yes, yes, that's the that's the beauty of of radio and radio.

You project your personality in radio, you are there and you have the chance to to to describe everything that is going around you, the division, you have to follow the director and these and without them, no radio is fabulous, right?

Radio is magnificent.

I have always thought that I was like I was dealing with only you, with only one person.

So I try to communicate like I am doing now to you.

But at the same time, I had in my mind the fact that millions of people were listening to me, probably.

So I had to be very careful because the microphone is a very, very special, thing.

It is, it is.

It almost becomes almost like your whatever hand you write with, but it becomes that hand.

I mean, it's that hand that allows you to broadcast yourself and give yourself to people and so.

Well, can you believe it?

We're almost done with this segment.

When we come back, I would love for you to answer some questions for some aspiring broadcast journalist that immediately when they heard I was interviewing you, I had attention in the classroom immediately.

So I know they're going to love to hear.

It would be my pleasure.

Thank you so much.

Oh, hang right there.

Okay.

And come back as we continue our conversation with Hymie Herring.

Welcome back.

We have questions from Rio Hondo Community College.

Journalism students for Hymie.

I know you're in retirement, but we want you to be a little bit of an educator for a few minutes.

Do you mind?

No, no, no, please go ahead.

So this comes from a journalism student and, journalism class, 2020. he is Noah Segovia.

And he says, because it's interesting, because in the beginning he said, oh, I thought I worked for the Dodgers for five years and be done.

But he says in his question, and your 60 plus seasons with the legendary Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, who was the most influential person in broadcasting at that time for you?

Very easy to answer that question.

It was Mr. Vin Scully.

He was my mentor.

He was my teacher.

He was my friend.

He was everything to me.

I think he was the architect of my of my profession.

I owe him so much.

He was the number one person that that, was behind me all the way.

we just have to take a moment there, because that says a lot.

This is a lot about who he was as a man.

This is a lot about the relationship the two of you had.

I think I was the person that spent more time with him than anybody else.

Because although I.

You Stadium, we always had dinner together.

on the road, always together.

He will call me to my room in the city and they said, hi, may, please be ready.

Meet you in the lobby of the hotel at 7:00.

We are going out for dinner.

That was.

He was unbelievable.

Yeah, well, Noah has another question, but actually, Lorenzo has one that's similar and it's more in depth.

So let's go with Lorenzo Gaytan.

he says, what advice would you give to someone who wants to broadcast not only in English but in Spanish as well?

Well, first of all, I think a person has to be really, really believing in what he wants to be.

You have to really choose exactly what you want to be.

Because I have seen so many, so many people that hate what they do.

And that must be miserable.

In my case, probably my longevity is because I love what I do.

So first of all, you have to choose really what you want to be.

You want to be a doctor.

Do you want to be a lawyer?

You want to be a carpenter.

You want to be, whatever.

What is a writer that we should be sure that you want to be?

That?

Then you have to sacrifice yourself and put 110% of your efforts into that.

Well, you gave that example of how you had to do that in learning.

You know, the baseball.

I mean, now, you probably can talk about it backwards in four years, but for that six months, you had to immerse yourself in learning something new.

Regarding the second part of the question.

Yes.

I am a champion of the bilingualism.

Yes.

I think everybody should be bilingual.

When I used to go to Montreal, I was in Haven because in Montreal, to me look like everybody spoke French and English.

Unbelievable, unbelievable.

So I think it is an asset to speak to if you going to speak three languages, much, much better.

Yes.

The State Department will have you a job for.

Right?

Yes.

And so and also this this country needs bilingual people because if you are bilingual, you, you have, a second personality inside you, and you can really help and you can really do well, I talk about the experience because my English, should be perfect because I have been in this country so many years.

But you have to isolate from your language if you want to learn another language.

But in my case, I will speak in Spanish all day long at work.

When I got home, I spoke with my wife, also in Spanish, because I wanted my children to be bilingual and thank God they are Being bilingual has been really very good to them.

They have got good jobs, better pay and everything.

So if you can become bilingual, also in in baseball, yes.

nowadays more and more organizations are realizing how important the Latino community is, how important the Latino is for baseball.

The Dodgers has been number one in many, many, many regards in regard to baseball.

And they have opened the doors to some organizations.

We have been very successful in creating new baseball fans, because I remember when I you studied with the Dodgers, the Latinos coming to LA Coliseum, like in the 50s and early 60s was eight, 10%.

Now Dodger Stadium was 46%.

Latinos coming.

So the Latino fan base for the Dodgers is tremendous.

those are gone.

These Asians, finally, they open their eyes.

Yeah, yeah.

They, in Missouri, for instance, the Cardinals started to try and broadcasting in Spanish with a good friend of mine, Paulo Asensio, and they have been very successful on some of the organizations are realizing that if they want to increase the, the, the attendance to the ballparks, they have to appeal to Latinos, because Latinos are very, very sports minded people.

Well, you're saying something that's really interesting to me because you've had this career for over 60 plus years, and there are still some organizations that haven't learned the value of expanding community by broadcasting games in different languages, and that that's just now happening.

Is it across the board or it do we have broadcast bilingual broadcasts?

all over in baseball, right?

Oh, no, no, no.

We still don't.

Live stream stations, don't have, the Spanish coverage of the games.

I can tell you some Francisco, Oakland, the Dodgers, the Rangers, the Padres, Diamondbacks, Houston Marlins, and now San Luis.

They have dual coverage.

The others don't.

Don't have it.

Into what you have just done right now by telling us this, is that you have told these journalism students that, want to go into sports broadcasting, definitely strengthen your bilingual communication also because there's openings there.

Yes.

Also, if you're bilingual, you can really do a better job because times will come and you will have to to interview somebody in Spanish or somebody in English.

If you can do that, it's fantastic.

It's fantastic.

You're your radius of action will expand it a lot.

Fantastic answer.

I'm a little bit disheartened to hear that we don't have a bilingual broadcast for the angels, but you think you're right down the street.

They do not.

Yeah, good.

But, they they do a very poor job.

Of course, because the Dodgers had the best.

And you're retired now, so don't just have to figure it out.

last question.

This is from Robert humanness.

He says what type of obstacles did you face when coming up as an announcer?

We talked about the obstacle of learning baseball.

But you really you took that and you honed in on that.

Any other obstacles?

The obstacles.

are there unfortunately, many organizations probably that they don't believe in, in, in, in our, in our culture and, and, it is it is difficult to, to get them know that we are equals to the, to the, to the Anglos.

So with the Dodgers having great in that regard, they have treated me with respect, everyone and everything.

Scully was here.

I had to be next to him.

There was no division.

There was no second class.

First class, nothing like that.

In some organizations, it's difficult.

one case.

Yes.

one time I went to do the the games from Minnesota, and one time I got there for the first time Minnesota.

And they my engineer said, hey, you, you wouldn't like the place where we are going to be.

I said, well, I went to we can't complete oh no, no, no.

So they're willing to be in right field behind the fence about 20ft in.

I couldn't see the right fielder, I couldn't see the center fielder.

And and they said, oh, it's only Spanish.

That hit me.

They said, it's only Spanish.

So I went through the proper channels, so I didn't complain directly to them.

I complained to the Dodgers.

I complained with them.

who was the president of the Dodgers?

Well, he was the president that I just so I called him.

Yes.

And said they are treating us very lovely hit him sir, do something because I can't accept this.

So he called him immediately the GM came to me, said Mr. Harrison, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I will give you my box.

But I have some guests tonight, so no, probably then the owner came and said, Mr. Carino, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened here, but now you can use my box.

I said, thank you very much, but we are already over there.

I will difficult to to move it.

But tomorrow I will be in your box.

So the next day it was not so I called.

I called Jose Mota from the insurance on of all of the hotel from the borders.

And what are you when you were to there I said, oh, they put us in right field.

It's often I said, you haven't complained.

They said, there's nothing we can do because, you know, don't do it.

They said, no, no, no, they don't pay attention to us because we are not Hall of Famers like you.

What they say so that's, that's, reflects the feeling among many organizations that they think, oh, it's only Spanish.

It's only Spanish.

That's I will never accept that.

And I have been trying to fight that and helping organizations.

I have, have meetings with some of the organizations said how to because they asked me, how do you do with the Dodgers?

I explained to them, it's very simple.

You choose one, do it this, do it.

no, I, a couple of cities want to sell the Spanish radio, then choose the dancers and everything and go from there.

So let's talk about your foundation.

Tell me about that and how our community can help it.

Because you send you help.

Students who want to go to the CSU, you see in private schools here.

Well, I was married for 65 years to my wife, Blanca, and she passed away almost four years ago now.

She passed away February 28th, 1990.

Introduction.

19.

So I was Mario 65.

Suddenly she passed away because of a heart attack while we were in Arizona.

Spring training and she was the the most generous person that I can remember.

So my two sons and Mauricio got together and they said, we have to perpetuate the memory of our mother.

Blanca said, yes, please, please do whatever you you want to do, I will behind you.

So they decided to to to form a foundation.

They with the name of Blanca and Haymaker Rain Foundation because we wanted to have many, many, many young kids that would like to pursue their education to reach universities.

And it's so expensive nowadays.

So we, we are trying to help them.

So we formed a foundation and and lot of and so this organization that we, we represent as a spokesperson for myself, they were behind us immediately.

They weren't they gave you the first money, $30,000 to to form the foundation.

Well, and you have a wonderful legacy.

It's actually very generational because young people look up to you, older people look up to you and it crosses it crosses color barriers, too.

We we love you.

So thank you.

To you, the audience there of my son.

You probably will.

You will be in touch with you in some help.

Will be he.

That's okay.

He will be 100% working for the for the foundation and really on the key.

He has a great personality.

He he likes people.

And I know that the foundation is in good hands with him I am I will be just helping him and my younger son Modi also will be behind all the roads.

So that the we will take care.

Well.

So you really not retired?

No no no no no I will be retiring from the microphone.

I told the Dodgers when they offered me, they they offered me a lifetime contract.

So I told them, fine, I will do anything you want me to do except microphone.

I said, no more microphone when I do my, my last game, that would be my last game.

I don't want it to be like the boxers who retired and come back, retire and come back.

No, no, no, I want to do anything with the community.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be in charge, in touch with the community.

But, that's it.

No more microphone.

That's a perfect way to end our conversation.

You are definitely our change maker, along with your sons and what you're doing with the foundation and you have our support 100%.

Thank you.

Angela.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I have enjoyed very much this conversation with you.

So have I.

So I and thank you for joining us on everybody with Angela Williamson.

Viewers like you make this show possible.

Join us on social media to continue this conversation.

Good night and stay well.