John Kiesewetter

jkiesewetter@enquirer.com

Yes, there really was a yellow plastic banana-shaped telephone used during Reds rain delays.

That's why Marty Brennaman "goes to the Banana Phone" during rain delays. He's been doing it for 25 years!

Their old boss, former Reds Vice President Don Breen, gave it to Marty and Joe Nuxhall in 1989 – as a joke – after Breen left the Reds to work for Chiquita Brands. (He's now president of Duro Bag.)

Marty & Joe mentioned it on the air, and it became legendary. Before Chiquita moved to North Carolina, the company sponsored the "Chiquita Banana Phone."

Now the rain-delay call-in has its own theme song: "Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring Banana Phone!"

Not many people know that it's the speeded-up version of an actual song, "Bananaphone," by Raffi, the singer-songwriter is best known for "Baby Beluga," "Down by the Bay" and other children's songs.

The Banana Phone was retired before Great American Ball Park opened in 2003. It's now in the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which let me borrow the Banana Phone to shoot this video with Marty Brennaman explaining more about it's history.

Enjoy!