Jim Hannon, known as the voice of New England racing for most of the 40 years he spent as a track announcer and a member of the New England Turf Writers Association Hall of Fame, died on Aug. 28 from natural causes at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was 92.
With his trademark booming voice, "Big Jim's" most famous call was of the 1987 Massachusetts Handicap (G2), when he described the thrilling, nose-to-nose drive down the Suffolk Downs stretch between the locally-based Waquoit and the multiple grade 1 winner Broad Brush, exclaiming "Ding-dong battle to the wire, Waquoit and Broad Brush!"
"Jim was a local legend and a throwback, Runyonesque character with a heart as big as his voice," said Chip Tuttle, the CEO of Sterling Suffolk Racecourse. "He was multi-talented and a great storyteller. He was part of the fabric of New England horse racing for decades."
Scarborough Downs in Maine was where Hannnnon called his first race in 1954 and he moved on to be the track announcer at Delaware Park and Beulah Park in the 1960s. In 1965, he came home to New England to take over the booth at Narragansett Park in Rhode Island.
In 1969, he succeeded his mentor, the legendary Babe Rubenstein, at both Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park. He signed off after calling his last race at Suffolk Downs in 1993.
Hannon was honored by the New England Turf Writers Associated for his outstanding contributions to New England racing in 1984 and was inducted into the New England Turf Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2008. On the eve of his induction ceremony he returned to the announcer's booth at the East Boston oval to sing the national anthem and call a pair of races before being celebrated in the winner's circle.
During his decades-long career, Hannon also called races at Lincoln Downs, Berkshire Downs, Timonium, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Great Barrington Fair and Brockton Fair, among other tracks.
Funeral arrangements will be announced when complete.
