Why Short Al Never Calls

Corey Kilgannon (thanks, Raja): Despite his nickname, Short Al stood tall in the pantheon of overnight callers to talk shows on the New York sports radio station WFAN-AM.

Such callers, sometimes called FANdroids, are known by name, neighborhood and loyalties.

Bruce from Bayside likes the Cleveland Indians, while Bruce from Flushing is a Yankees man. There is Marc in the Bronx (Denver Broncos) and Miriam from Forest Hills (Islanders and Mets). Regular listeners know that Jerry from Queens is Jerry Seinfeld, a proud FANdroid and occasional host of the show.

Short Al from Brooklyn was a Mets devotee who, having been a regular at Ebbets Field since boyhood, provided an old-timer's perspective. He called in the predawn hours nearly every day since WFAN went on the air in 1987, becoming a favorite of Steve Somers, a host known as "The Schmoozer" who shared Al's love for the Mets but prodded him to get to the point by saying, "Time is short, and so are you."

Short Al suddenly disappeared from WFAN's airwaves last year, leading some listeners to worry that he had joined the great lineup of FANdroids who have died, including John from Sandy Hook and Doris from Rego Park. "I can't tell you how many times people called in and asked, 'Why hasn't he been calling? What happened?' " said Marc Malusis, another of WFAN's overnight hosts.