NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
1 April 2003

GOVERNOR, PHILLIES ANNOUNCER ANDY MUSSER TO WELCOME SENATORS AT THURSDAY NIGHT’S HOME OPENER

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that Governor Ed Rendell and former Philadelphia Phillies announcer Andy Musser will join fans in welcoming the Harrisburg Senators back to town at Thursday night’s 2003 Eastern League Season Opener at RiverSide Stadium. The game begins at 6:35 p.m., with pre-game festivities expected to start around 5:45 p.m.

Mayor Reed said the city is delighted to note the attendance of our good Governor, and the ‘return’ home of Musser. Musser, a midstate native and the voice of the Phillies’ radio broadcasts for many years, got his start in professional sports as a 14-year old batboy for the original Harrisburg Senators, and in broadcasting with WHP radio and television.

“Governor Rendell is well known for his love of sports, and we are honored to welcome him to RiverSide Stadium and City Island for what we hope will become a favored pastime for Pennsylvania’s new Chief Executive,” said Mayor Reed. The Governor will throw out the first pitch of the 2003 Eastern League Season, the Mayor noted.

“We are likewise thrilled to welcome Andy Musser back ‘home’”, said Reed. “Andy truly ‘cut his teeth’ here in the midstate, first with the original Senators as a teenage batboy, and in his young adulthood with the local WHP Stations. He has gone on to an illustrious career in sports broadcasting and we are honored to welcome him back to the place where it really all began.”

Thursday’s home opener marks the 17th season for the modern era Harrisburg Senators, which Mayor Reed brought to the city as part of the city’s overall economic development plan. The team has won the Eastern League Championship six times, and has been nationally recognized as the top minor league team in the nation during the 1990’s. The prestigious Baseball Weekly publication also designated City Island and RiverSide Stadium as the most unique setting in the nation for minor league baseball.

XXX