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Matt700wlw
12-09-2008, 02:02 PM
http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081209&content_id=10465&vkey=hof_pr


Kubek named 2009 Ford C. Frick winner
NBC, Blue Jays, Yankees analyst called 11 World Series, 10 All-Star Games
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced Tuesday that Tony Kubek, an analyst for the NBC Game of the Week, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees for 30 years, has been selected as the 2009 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. Kubek will be honored with the award during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Kubek is the first exclusively television analyst to win the Frick Award, which has been presented annually since 1978. Kubek also becomes the first primarily television broadcaster to be honored since Bob Wolff in 1995 and the first Frick Award winner to have called games for a Canadian team.

"For an entire generation of baseball fans, Tony Kubek was the face and the voice of the game," said Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson. "In the days before all-sports TV networks, Tony brought baseball into your living room every Saturday afternoon for almost three decades. His straightforward style, quick and detailed analysis and no-nonsense commentary on the game's nuances gave viewers an insider's look at what the players were experiencing on the field."

Kubek joined the NBC broadcast booth in 1965 after retiring as a player that year. He served as an analyst on backup games from 1966-68, then was elevated to the primary broadcast in 1969. He worked with play-by-play partners Jim Simpson, 1984 Frick winner Curt Gowdy, 1991 Frick winner Joe Garagiola and Bob Costas through 1989, then concluded his career with the Yankees and the MSG Network from 1990-94. He also worked on local television broadcasts for The Sports Network and CTV for the Blue Jays from 1977-89, introducing one of North America's largest cities to the game of baseball.

Kubek broadcast 11 World Series and 14 American League Championship Series for NBC as well as 10 All-Star Games. Kubek also called the final NBC Game of the Week on Sept. 30, 1989, and that fall's ALCS, which ended a 43-relationship between the network and Major League Baseball.

Kubek was a four-time All-Star shortstop during a nine-year big league career with the Yankees from 1957-65. He earned the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 1957 and appeared in six World Series, helping the Yankees win three championships. Kubek generously donated his Rookie of the Year Award to the Hall of Fame several years ago.

Kubek will be honored as an award recipient during Hall of Fame Weekend 2009, July 24-27, in Cooperstown, along with the 2009 J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner. The Spink Award, which honors excellence in baseball writing, will be announced Wednesday, Dec. 10. Veterans Committee electee Joe Gordon will be inducted during the July 26 ceremony along with any electees to emerge from 2009 Baseball Writers' Association of America election, the results of which will be announced Jan. 12.

The Ford C. Frick Award is voted upon annually and is named in memory of the sportswriter, radio broadcaster, National League president and baseball Commissioner. The complete list of recipients includes:


Ford C. Frick Award Recipients
1978 Mel Allen 1988 Lindsey Nelson 1999 Arch McDonald
Red Barber 1989 Harry Caray 2000 Marty Brennaman
1979 Bob Elson 1990 By Saam 2001 Felo Ramirez
1980 Russ Hodges 1991 Joe Garagiola 2002 Harry Kalas
1981 Ernie Harwell 1992 Milo Hamilton 2003 Bob Uecker
1982 Vin Scully 1993 Chuck Thompson 2004 Lon Simmons
1983 Jack Brickhouse 1994 Bob Murphy 2005 Jerry Coleman
1984 Curt Gowdy 1995 Bob Wolff 2006 Gene Elston
1985 Buck Canel 1996 Herb Carneal 2007 Denny Matthews
1986 Bob Prince 1997 Jimmy Dudley 2008 Dave Niehaus
1987 Jack Buck 1998 Jaime Jarrin 2009 Tony Kubek

Ten finalists for the 2009 Ford C. Frick Award were selected in October, featuring three fan selections from an online vote conducted at baseballhall.org and seven broadcasters chosen by a research committee from the Cooperstown-based museum. The final ballot contained a mix of pioneers and current-day broadcasters and was voted upon by a 20-member electorate. The 10 finalists: Billy Berroa, Tom Cheek, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Jacques Doucet, Lanny Frattare, Kubek, Graham McNamee, Joe Nuxhall and Dave Van Horne. Doucet, Frattare, Kubek and Van Horne were the living candidates.

In September, Nuxhall (19,547 fan votes), Doucet (10,282) and Cheek (8,992) finished as the top three vote-getters in the Museum's online fan poll for inclusion on the final 10-name ballot. Kubek has been on the ballot in each of the last five years.

The 20-member electorate, comprised of the 15 living Frick Award recipients and five broadcast historians/columnists, includes Frick honorees Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Garagiola, Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Harry Kalas, Denny Matthews, Dave Niehaus, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Wolff, and historians/columnists: Costas (NBC), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of NY Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian)).

Voters were 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. This year's balloting process marked the sixth time fans had the opportunity to be a part of selecting the final ballot for the award, after changes to the voting process were implemented by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors in 2003.

To be considered, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous Major League broadcast service with a ballclub, network, or a combination of the two. More than 200 broadcasters were eligible for consideration for this year's award, with bios of each candidate appearing at the Web site.

HeatherC1212
12-09-2008, 02:03 PM
Bummed for Joe again. :(

Sea Ray
12-09-2008, 02:27 PM
I wonder if Joe was even close?

Vada Pinson Fan
12-09-2008, 02:55 PM
Well it appears the committee is not considering the mandate of the voting fans the last couple of years and perhaps even longer. I feel sorry for the Nuxhall family once again but they have such warm, wonderful memories of Joe, a future vote giving the ole lefthander the Frick Award would be icing on the cake for them because we all know Joe Nuxhall is nothing less than an ICON in Reds Country and well deserving of being a Hall of Famer along side Marty one day.....soon.

Tony Kubek was a good choice nonetheless and also a deserving winner. I have wonderful memories of Tony and Curt Gowdy doing the TV coverage of NBC's "Game of the Week". Congratulations Mr. Kubek.

Mario-Rijo
12-09-2008, 03:01 PM
I wonder if Joe was even close?

He certainly got a lot of fan votes. Perhaps we need to speak louder next year and really go around the net (and at home) & campaign for more to vote for Joe.

cumberlandreds
12-09-2008, 03:05 PM
Well it appears the committee is not considering the mandate of the voting fans the last couple of years and perhaps even longer. I feel sorry for the Nuxhall family once again but they have such warm, wonderful memories of Joe, a future vote giving the ole lefthander the Frick Award would be icing on the cake for them because we all know Joe Nuxhall is nothing less than an ICON in Reds Country and well deserving of being a Hall of Famer along side Marty one day.....soon.

Tony Kubek was a good choice nonetheless and also a deserving winner. I have wonderful memories of Tony and Curt Gowdy doing the TV coverage of NBC's "Game of the Week". Congratulations Mr. Kubek.

Very well said,Vada. I wonder if the committee even considers the fan vote when they get together? It doesn't seem like it.
Kubek is very deserving. I will always associate him,Garagiola and Gowdy with saturday afternoons of watching baseball.

M2
12-09-2008, 03:06 PM
Kubek and "Game of the Week" is how I became a baseball fan when I was a kid. The last "Game" broadcast he did with Costas was a classic. Great selection. I'm surprised he wasn't already in Cooperstown.

Vada Pinson Fan
12-09-2008, 03:26 PM
Very well said,Vada. I wonder if the committee even considers the fan vote when they get together? It doesn't seem like it.
Kubek is very deserving. I will always associate him,Garagiola and Gowdy with saturday afternoons of watching baseball.

Thanks Kevin. I was remiss in not mentioning Joe Garagiola. Garagiola always brought laughter to the booth especially when Joe talked about growing up in St.Louis with Yogi. Good times!!!

Some of my friends went to the Saturday matinee but my baseball pals and I were gathered around the tv watching those great players described by Curt, Tony and Joe on The Game of The Week!!! Really cool when the Reds were on or getting a chance to watch Mickey Mantle play when NBC aired a Yankee game!!! Mmm. It was just like yesterday.... :)

westofyou
12-09-2008, 03:33 PM
Voters were 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.

The bolded part is what hurts Joe, it is the national Hall of Fame and chances are good his lack of exposure west of the Rockies and east of the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia is what holds him back... that and Marty being voted in in 2000.

Ltlabner
12-09-2008, 03:34 PM
Kubek had some kickass sportcoats during the 1975 TV broadcasts.

cumberlandreds
12-09-2008, 03:38 PM
The bolded part is what hurts Joe, it is the national Hall of Fame and chances are good his lack of exposure west of the Rockies and east of the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia is what holds him back... that and Marty being voted in in 2000.

That's a very good point WOY. Back in the 70's when a hometown broadcaster would help do World Series games for NBC,Marty was the Reds announcer that was chosen. Joe was never a part of that and that is probably is what is hurting him now. That lack of national exposure.

princeton
12-09-2008, 03:55 PM
I would have retired this award after Scully received it.

everyone since has been little.

Sea Ray
12-09-2008, 04:04 PM
He certainly got a lot of fan votes. Perhaps we need to speak louder next year and really go around the net (and at home) & campaign for more to vote for Joe.

Yeah, he did but fans don't matter when it comes down to a final vote as I understand it. So if a campaign is to be constructed for Joe, the only ones who should be lobbied would be the guys on the committee like Marty, Vin, Milo, Garagiola and Co.

chicoruiz
12-09-2008, 04:09 PM
It would be a nice thing, but Joe doesn't need the Hall to elevate his stature; rather the Hall would elevate itself by association with Joe.

MrCinatit
12-09-2008, 04:09 PM
In all honest, Kubek is a great choice. When seeing the list of candidates, his named jumped out as the "why is he not in there?" name. Like others, growing up listening to Tony, Vin and Joe G. helped my love of the game grow.
Of course, there were two others who were even more responsible - at least Marty is in. I have hopes that, some year, some time, Joe will get the nod.

Unassisted
12-09-2008, 04:25 PM
He certainly got a lot of fan votes. Perhaps we need to speak louder next year and really go around the net (and at home) & campaign for more to vote for Joe.
It seems fairly clear now that no amount of log-rolling is going to sway that selection committee. It would be smart to find out whether it's actually working against Joe in the minds of some committee members before doing it again.

Chip R
12-09-2008, 04:35 PM
It would be a nice thing, but Joe doesn't need the Hall to elevate his stature; rather the Hall would elevate itself by association with Joe.


Well said. I don't think any of us who were fans of Joe could hold him in higher esteem if he were selecte for this honor.

Roy Tucker
12-09-2008, 04:39 PM
Too bad Joe didn't make it. I don't mean to be a heretic, but I'm still not convinced Joe belongs in national HoF.

Tony Kubek is a great choice.

Like many, my formative baseball years were spent watching "Game of the Week" when that was the only exposure that national games got. Garagiola/Kubek and Costas/Kubek were great pairings (Curt Gowdy, ehhhh). I still remember that Ryne Sandberg 11-10 game that Costas and Kubek did at Wrigley. A classic wind-blowing-out game and Costas and Kubek were in their prime.

Strikes Out Looking
12-09-2008, 05:31 PM
Wasn't it Kubek's hair spray that attracted the bees at Riverfront one Saturday?

RedsBaron
12-09-2008, 07:42 PM
Kubek and "Game of the Week" is how I became a baseball fan when I was a kid. The last "Game" broadcast he did with Costas was a classic. Great selection. I'm surprised he wasn't already in Cooperstown.

I agree. I'm surprised that it tok Kubek this long to be selected. I loved Nux, but it is hard to argue that he was more deserving of this honor than Kubek.

Mario-Rijo
12-09-2008, 07:49 PM
It seems fairly clear now that no amount of log-rolling is going to sway that selection committee. It would be smart to find out whether it's actually working against Joe in the minds of some committee members before doing it again.

Interesting point, but if that's the case maybe that selection committee ought to be drug tested.

mbgrayson
12-09-2008, 10:45 PM
I still think that we need to vote early and often next year, and make sure Joe gets the most votes for the thrid time in a row.

However, that just gets him to the finals. Then we need to get a subtle but powerful lobbying campaign going. We need to get a couple or three influential ballplayers or broadcasters to write Op-Ed columns advocating Joe. We need a website with some biographical facts and community outreach accomplishments prominently posted. We need to distribute copies of the Enquirer book 'Joe Nuxhall' to all of the selection committee. (That book includes a nice DVD showing interviews with Joe).

Then we need RedsZone members to write letters to the committee members and tell them what Joe meant to us, or maybe print excerpts from several of the memorial threads done about Joe.

We need to keep the pressure on the committee. I'm not ready to give up yet....

As to Kubek, I like him too, although I prefer Joe. Here is a bit about Tony:

After retiring following a nine-year playing career, Kubek worked for NBC, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees for 30 years. He was at the microphone for 11 World Series, 14 AL Championship Series and 10 All-Star Games, and was the color commentator for the final NBC Game of the Week telecast on Sept. 30, 1989.

Kubek is the first exclusive television analyst to win the Frick Award, which has been presented since 1978. He also is the first primarily TV broadcaster to be honored since Bob Wolff in 1995, and the first Frick Award winner to have called games for a Canadian team.