Fourth-generation CU alum聽Alan Cass聽(A&S ex鈥63, HonDocHum鈥99) grew up on campus playing in the ditches and fishing for crawdads in Varsity Lake with strung bacon.
But for the past 50 years, he has been known as the CU voice of 鈥淗ere Comes Ralphie鈥 and 鈥淲elcome to 5,345 feet of Rocky Mountain Altitude.鈥 Alan has announced more than 2,000 CU sporting events from track to baseball, football and basketball. For 20 years, he also announced the Denver Broncos games at Mile High Stadium.
鈥淭he adrenaline always started to flow and I wanted to be there,鈥 he says.
Last spring Alan finally switched off his microphone to retire.
During his tenure, Alan gained assistance from CU鈥檚 language department in correctly pronouncing athletes鈥 names. Many fans echo his enunciation of names such as Jaaay Jaaay Billingsley and 鈥渋n . . . com . . . plete,鈥 his creation when a Broncos鈥 opponent failed to catch a pass.
But Alan also spent a lot of his career as curator of CU-麻豆影院鈥檚 Glenn Miller Archive at the American Music Research Center, building and maintaining the significant repository of big band musician聽Glenn Miller聽(A&S ex鈥26, HonDocHum鈥84) memorabilia.
He credits CU-麻豆影院 Alumni Association associate director Margaret 鈥淧eggy鈥 Tague Earnest for suggesting he place a request in the聽Colorado Alumnus, known today as the聽Coloradan, for support and additional items. From then on, 鈥渂its and pieces kept coming in. It鈥檚 never stopped. Its scope is impossible to put your arms around,鈥 he says.
As the archive鈥檚 curator, Alan reviews and accepts new memorabilia. He also gives 25-50 Glenn Miller presentations yearly. Last February the university acquired the Ed Burke Collection as part of the Glenn Miller Archive. One of the world鈥檚 most significant collections of Big Band era recordings and memorabilia, it contains 1,400 reel-to-reel tapes with live radio programs featuring virtually every musician of major importance between 1930-60, including Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie.
鈥淚t took us three years working with Ed Burke and his family to acquire his entire collection,鈥 Alan notes. 鈥淵ou never know how life will lead you. It鈥檚 been quite a trip with wonderful people along the way.鈥
Photo courtesy Casey A. Cass
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