2024 marks Charlie Slowes¡¯ 20th season behind a Nationals¡¯ play-by-play microphone. Having called the first pitch in club history through Daniel Hudson¡¯s historic strikeout to secure the club¡¯s 2019 World Championship, Slowes has called some of the biggest moments in Nationals history. Slowes became the original voice of the Nationals on February 24, 2005, in time for the team¡¯s inaugural Spring Training. His trademark taglines¡ª ¡°BANG, ZOOM go the fireworks!¡± and ¡°A Curly W is in the books!¡±¡ªafter Nationals victories soon became part of the Beltway baseball lexicon. Joined by long-time partner Jageler in 2006, Slowes is calling his 27th consecutive year of Major League Baseball, and 32nd overall.
When baseball returned to Washington, DC in 2005, so did Slowes, after seven seasons as an original voice of the Tampa Bay Rays. Slowes¡¯ first came to the Nation¡¯s Capital in 1986, beginning an 11-year stint as the radio voice of the NBA¡¯s Washington Bullets. Slowes had previously called baseball for the New York Mets (1988 & 1991) on WFAN-AM, the Baltimore Orioles (1989-90) on WBAL-AM, and nationally for NBC-TV and CBS Radio. Slowes also called Triple-A baseball for the Tidewater Tides on radio and TV in 1986, 1988, 1991 and 1992. Slowes is among the many (starting with legendary Ford Frick Award-winner Vin Scully) to enter sports broadcasting after graduating from Fordham University in his native New York City and honed his skills on the airwaves of Fordham¡¯s 50,000-watt blowtorch, WFUV 90.7 FM. Not long after graduation, Slowes moved to St. Louis and KMOX Radio, where for three years he was exposed to Hall of Fame broadcasters, the late Jack Buck and Bob Costas. Slowes was involved in broadcasts of Cardinals baseball, Cardinals football, Blues hockey and play-by-play for St. Louis University basketball. He has also called boxing for ESPN, MISL soccer for the New York Arrows (1983), college basketball for the University of South Florida and has been a correspondent for MLB Network. Slowes called play-by-play for his third Washington pro sports team when he filled in for John Walton on Washington Capitals radio during the Caps run to their first Stanley Cup Championship in February of 2018. Charlie and his wife, Tina, have two adult sons, Jim and Alex, with homes in Alexandria, Va. and Palm Harbor, FL.