It was 1972, and Chris Wheeler was 26 years old at his first spring training as an assistant in the Phillies' public relations department. His boss, Larry Shenk, approached him on the morning of the first exhibition game at old Jack Russell Stadium.
The public address announcer was missing. Overserved the night before, Shenk figured. Could Wheeler do the PA that day?
"Don't ever tell somebody you can't do it," Wheeler said this week.
Forty four years later, Wheeler is still the man with the microphone at Phillies spring training games. The longtime broadcaster was fired by Comcast SportsNet after the 2013 season, but he remains employed by the Phillies as a team ambassador.