Warner Fusselle, a great, odd character of sports broadcasting — after Mel Allen’s passing he was the voice of “This Week In Baseball,” yet he was a professional communicator who never owned a telephone — died Sunday night of a heart attack at the offices of Phoenix Communications, his longtime employer. He was 68.
Most recently the Voice of the Brooklyn Cyclones, Fusselle devoted his career to smaller-stage radio sportscasting, including Seton Hall basketball and several minor league baseball teams. And he gladly mentored young sportscasters as the go-to savant at Phoenix and MLB Productions.
Fusselle was a man of few needs and a peculiar, almost spooky, lifestyle. He often slept overnight in his offices — and looked it. He had no home telephone — never — and a cell phone was out of the question. One could reach him only at work, and that often meant at ballparks. But he always was worth the effort.
Born in Georgia, a graduate of Wake Forest and an Army vet, he’s survived by his sister, two nephews and scores who fondly recall his eccentricities, his guidance and his wisdom.
“In 1977 [the year TWIB first appeared], Warner showed up and found two historical errors in a script,” said Phoenix VP Geoff Belinfante. “He said, ‘I think I can help. I think you need me.’ He never left.”