Cheek, Howarth up for Frick Award
11/08/2005Toronto broadcasters Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth are together again, nestled on the same list of candidates for the Ford C. Frick Award. Cheek passed away in October, but he worked with Howarth for more than two decades in an iconic partnership that brought two generations of Toronto fans their daily baseball fix.
Last year, the local populace rewarded Cheek with more than 7,000 online votes, a showing that made him a finalist for the Frick Award. The fans will get a chance to have their say again this year, with three of the award's 10 finalists coming from the popular voting process.
The Hall of Fame lists four items to consider: longevity, continuity with a club, honors and popularity with the fans. Toronto's entries stand out like few others, in that respect. Cheek worked more than 4,000 consecutive games, from the team's inception through its World Series triumphs. Howarth worked next to him for 24 years and remains as the dean of Toronto's broadcast community.
Cheek is perhaps best known for his call of Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run in 1993, and the Blue Jays placed him in their exclusive Level of Excellence shortly before the end of the 2004 season. For many years, he was synonymous with Toronto baseball.
Paul Godfrey, the team's president and CEO, noted that shortly after Cheek's passing.
"Tom Cheek has provided the soundtrack for the most important moments in this team's history, with his choice of words and intonation always perfectly suited for the occasion," he said. "He was far more than just an outstanding announcer, though. He was a great goodwill ambassador for baseball in Canada.
"His love for the game, which radiated through his words on the radio, captivated fans across this country and helped to grow the sport from one coast to the other."
Cheek and Howarth aren't the only ones on the ballot with a Blue Jays connection. Former broadcaster Tony Kubek worked for 30 years after his playing career was over, and almost half of that time was spent in Toronto. Last year's winner was Jerry Coleman, a longtime broadcaster in San Diego.
Presented annually since 1978 for excellence in baseball broadcasting, the Ford C. Frick Award is given to an active or retired broadcaster with a minimum of 10 years of continuous Major League broadcast service with a ballclub, network, or a combination of the two. Fans will have the opportunity to vote for up to three of the 182 broadcasters eligible for consideration for the 2006 Frick Award. Bios of each candidate appear on the site. Fans are allowed to vote once daily. Results will be announced when voting concludes, though updates will not be provided during the voting. The fan selections, along with the full ballot of 10 candidates, will be announced on Dec. 5.
The final ballot will be comprised of the three fan selections, along with seven other candidates, determined by a Hall of Fame staff research team. The Frick electorate includes all living Frick Award winners and six historians appointed by the Hall of Fame.
The voting electorate consists of 20 members, featuring 2005 Frick Award winner Jerry Coleman and the 13 other living Frick Award winners: Marty Brennaman, Herb Carneal, Joe Garagiola, Curt Gowdy, Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Harry Kalas, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff. Six historians and veteran media members are also part of the electorate, including Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian), Curt Smith (historian) and Larry Stewart (Los Angeles Times).
Voters are asked to base their selections on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans. Paper ballots will be cast by voting members in January, and the final results will be announced on the Hall of Fame's Web site in February.
Each voter will cast ballots for three candidates, and the broadcaster with the most support will be named the winner and be honored next summer at the annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home