PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Rod Powell, 73, and Lisa O’Malley, 36, are big Philadelphia sports fans from Chester who know their stuff — whether it’s staying current with their favorite teams or knowing their histories. Powell and O’Malley, friends for nearly two decades, do this even while they are unable to see the action they love.
Being blind does not stop them from being sports fans.
“We have to depend on the radio announcers, whether that be Scott Franzke [for Phillies games], Merrill Reese [for Eagles games] or anyone else to be able to tell us what the TV can’t,” O’Malley explained.
Powell agreed. “We are very blessed in Philadelphia for our major sports to really have, I would say, the best announcers in the country,” he said, proudly wearing a Phillies hat.
Powell said he became a fan in 1960 because of his stepfather, John Charleston, who was a professional boxer. Powell developed an interest in the Phillies first, followed by the Eagles then the Sixers.
He listened to Phillies games on the radio when By Saam called them, then Frank Sims, and then eventually Bill Campbell, Harry Kalas and Whitey Ashburn. He said remembers listening to the late, great Campbell — a former employee of KYW Newsradio — call the Eagles winning the 1960 NFL Championship.
To this day, Powell still enjoys listening to games, saying they make him feel like he’s in the stadium. He says it’s important to him that the announcers tell him the story while adding humor.
“It really makes you feel like you’re there,” Powell said. “Even though you’re just listening to the game, it really makes you feel that you’re a part of the team and a part of what they’re saying.”
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O’Malley said her favorites are the Eagles and Phillies. Her love of the Phils comes from her late grandparents, Teresa and James O’Malley, and her Birds fandom comes from her father, John O’Malley, on Sunday family drives, turning on the radio to listen to Merrill Reese.
“My interest probably goes more with the Eagles, because Merrill Reese, out of all of them, is the most … captivating, keeping my attention,” says O’Malley.
Reese told KYW, “There is nothing that gives me a greater feeling of satisfaction and a feeling of doing something that is so important than when I hear from people who are sightless, when I hear from blind people, who say that they see the game through my voice.”
He said in 2013 he was the recipient of the Louis Braille Award presented by the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
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Reese added his goal every time he calls a game is “to paint a picture. To broadcast the game so that somebody who has no view of the game, whether they are just listening on the radio in their car, or if they are visually impaired, that they can visualize the game through my voice.”
He says he never leaves anything for granted, whether it’s the game itself or a description of the excitement surrounding the game, the reaction of the crowd, the effect of the weather.
The longtime Voice of the Eagles, entering his 46th season of calling games, recorded a message for Powell and O’Malley.
“I am glad that I can bring you the games and that I add to your enjoyment of this wonderful sport, this great team that we have in Philadelphia, and that means a lot to me. And thank you — thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for being such loyal Eagles fans.”
Powell and O’Malley reacted with surprise and joy when they heard it.
“Kind of wordless,” O’Malley said. “He took the time to do that.”
Powell said he attends about 10 Phillies games a season and takes his radio with him. He said he loves the atmosphere and smells of the ballpark. O’Malley jumped in and said she loved the crab fries.
O’Malley said she and Powell will listen to Phillies games together and talk about Eagles games over the phone. She added they have a good number of friends who are blind who also follow games closely. One of them was Artiner Bonneville, who they say lived to 103 before passing away in 2019. Powell shared that Bonneville's enthusiasm for the Phils was contagious and that inspired him to watch it more closely to be prepared for questions about the game.
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It’s clear that, while Powell and O’Malley may not be able to see the games, they get as much enjoyment from them as any fan. From Powell’s memories of a championship season to O’Malley’s impressions of the Eagles Autism Challenge, they identify as Philadelphia sports fans with pride.
“I feel [Philadelphia fans are] the most knowledgeable sports fans around because we’re so compassionate and we’re so into our sports teams,” said Powell. “I feel that we’re just more knowledgeable and more excitable than the average fans from other cities.”