Conversations with Red Barber

For 12 years starting in 1981, Bob Edwards held a series of Friday morning talks on Morning Edition with sportscasting legend Red Barber. They discussed sports, of course, but also the weather, Barber's garden, history, war and social issues.

Red Barber and Bob Edwards in 1990

"Each conversation revealed a new dimension to the man. There was the baseball Red, the broadcasting Red, the gardening Red and the spiritual Red," Edwards said upon Barber's death in 1992.

Edwards says he and Morning Edition listeners looked forward to his conversations with Barber. Edwards attributes much of the show's success to his chats with Barber, who would speak from his home in Tallahassee, Fla.

It was Barber who regularly referred to Edwards as Colonel Bob, after the Louisville native became an honorary Kentucky Colonel. Upon Barber's death in 1992, Edwards reflected on their friendship: "I don't know why Red took a liking to me, but it was clear that he did. Returning that affection was the easiest thing in the world. He was more than a mentor — he was a surrogate father. I loved him dearly and Fridays will never be the same."

Edwards chronicled the Barber series in his 1993 book, Fridays with Red. Below are some of Edwards' most memorable conversations with Barber, including segments reprised during Morning Edition's 20th anniversary year in 1999.