France Laux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
France Laux (birth name Francis Laux Jr.), (December 3, 1897 - November 16, 1978, was a popular radio sportscaster for the St. Louis Browns and St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball teams in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
Laux was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma on 3 December 1897. In 1928, he married Pearl Genevieve Boyer (1900-1976), a professional singer, and they settled down in St. Louis, where he was head sportscaster for station KMOX from 1929 on.
His popularity was such that he was tapped to broadcast World Series and Major League Baseball All-Star Games a number of times in the 1930s and 1940s, and he turned down offers to broadcast for the Yankees and Giants in New York, preferring to stay in St. Louis, where he had a huge following. He won the first Sporting News` Announcer of the Year Award in 1937. His last full season of play-by-play broadcasting was 1948, but he continued broadcasting weekend games until 1954.
Laux was a broadcaster for several other sports besides Major League Baseball, including boxing, basketball, hockey, and football.
Laux had two sons with Boyer, France Albert Laux (1929- ) and Roger Harry Laux (1930-1981). His remains are interred, with those of his wife Pearl, in Calvary Cemetery, Edwardsville, Illinois.
[edit] References
Patterson, Ted (2002). The Golden Voices of Baseball. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing L.L.C. ISBN 1-58261-498-9
