60 Seconds with Howard Baum

By Rachel Young

Howard Baum has been the statistician for multiple NC State sports for over half a century. You won’t hear his voice on the radio, but he’s a fixture on the sidelines for Wolfpack football and basketball games, providing in-game stats for broadcasters. When Baum, 89, is not traveling, he’s helping out at family-owned B&B Bowling Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C

How did you get involved with tracking game stats for NC State athletics?  Through bowling. In the 1960s, the Bowling Proprietors Association wanted to see if we could get more publicity. The general manager of Western Lanes in Raleigh brought NC State play-by-play announcer Bill Jackson to the association’s summer convention, and we got to know each other. In 1967, Bill told me, “Howard, I need a spotter in football. I’ll pay you 10 bucks, give you a free parking pass, and a free meal in the press box if you do it.” That sounded like a good deal, so I thought about it for 10 seconds and that was that. . . . I started working a few games with TV when they needed a local guy to do stats in basketball. After the 1982 basketball season, I just did radio. I take one game off every year for our anniversary cruise with my wife, but otherwise, I’ve been at every game.

You’ve had a front-row seat at so many athletics championships. What’s that been like to witness? It’s fun. I’ve seen some great, great basketball, especially, and a lot of good football. You get to know the players, and they’re all good kids. I’ve outlasted all the coaches. They were all good. They’ve been good to me. It’s just been a good ride.

This year’s ACC and NCAA tournaments generated so much excitement and media attention. Why do you think that is? It was a once-in-a-lifetime season, because never before in the history of the ACC Basketball Tournament did you have to win five games to even qualify for the NCAA. We got back to Pittsburgh and said, “Why not us? Why not? Why can’t we do it?” It was the thrill of a lifetime.