Kell, others in running for Frick Award

09/01/2008 12:00 AM ET
Kell, others in running for Frick Award
Fans can vote for former third baseman for broadcasting award
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Former Tigers third baseman George Kell is already in the Hall of Fame as a player. Starting Sept. 1, Tigers fans will have another chance to try to help him garner some recognition as a broadcaster.

Fan balloting has begun for this year's Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence, and several current and former Tigers voices are among the names on this year's ballot. One of the longest-serving among them is Kell, whose 15-year playing career -- including seven seasons in Detroit -- set up his 37 years as a Tigers broadcaster, a tenure that lasted into the mid-'90s.

Kell's broadcasting career actually began while he was still a player, as he took part in Orioles broadcasts while he was injured in 1957. A full-time career behind the microphone brought him back to Detroit in 1959, seven years after his final season in a Tigers uniform. From there, he called all but one season through 1996 as a play-by-play man, teaming up with analysts such as fellow Hall of Famer Al Kaline.

Kell's broadcast career, combined with his Hall of Fame playing career, has made him a Detroit institution. A 10-time All-Star, he was among the best third basemen of his era in the American League. He batted .300 nine times in his 14 full Major League seasons, seven of them in a Tigers uniform, on his way to a .306 career average. He won the AL batting title with a .343 average in 1949.

Kaline, otherwise known as Mr. Tiger, is again on the ballot. He's been involved in the organization for more than 50 years in several different roles, from Hall of Fame outfielder to front-office presence. His longest-running role, however, was in the broadcast booth, where he spent 26 years as a color commentator on Tigers telecasts. Twenty-one of those seasons were alongside Kell, and two more were spent with past Frick Award winner Ernie Harwell.

Another Hall of Famer Tigers player, Harry Heilmann, was part of the Tigers' first television broadcast in 1947. He also served as the radio voice of the Tigers on WXYZ-AM from 1934-50 before he passed away in 1951.

While Ernie Harwell was known as the voice of the Tigers for more than 40 years, Paul Carey was his broadcast partner for 19 of them. He was the voice of the NBA's Detroit Pistons before calling the Tigers from 1973 through 1991.

Former Detroit broadcasters Jim Northrup, Larry Osterman and Rick Rizzs are also on the list of candidates. Northrup was the Tigers' cable voice for 10 years before his retirement in 1994. Eight of those years included working alongside Osterman, who spent 20 of his 25 seasons of broadcasting in Detroit.

In addition to legendary past broadcasters, active Tigers voice Rod Allen, Mario Impemba and Jim Price are on the ballot. Impemba and Allen have formed the Tigers' television broadcasting tandem on FSN Detroit for the last six years. Impemba returned to his native Michigan to become a play-by-play man on television in 2002, one year before Allen followed from Arizona.

Price, a catcher with the Tigers from 1967-71, began his broadcasting career in 1993. He's now moving up the seniority list, finishing out his 16th season behind the microphone in Detroit.

Balloting for the 2009 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence begins Sept. 1 with the top three vote-getters in the fans' balloting automatically qualifying for the 10-member ballot that will be formulated by a 20-member committee and announced Oct. 6. The winner will be announced Dec. 9 at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas and will receive the award during the induction ceremony July 26, 2009, at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Fans may vote for up to three of their favorites among 210 broadcasters eligible in balloting conducted exclusively on the Hall's Web site, www.baseballhalloffame.org , which will carry biographical sketches for each candidate. Fans can vote once a day throughout September. Results will be announced when voting concludes Sept. 30. There will be no updates provided during the voting period.

Dave Niehaus, the long-time voice of the Seattle Mariners, was the recipient at the 2008 induction in July, which marked the 30th anniversary of the award that was first presented to legendary figures Mel Allen and Red Barber. The award was named for the late broadcaster, National League president, Commissioner and Hall of Famer. Frick was a driving force behind the creation of the Hall of Fame and helped foster the relationship between radio and the game of baseball.

The three broadcasters named to the ballot last year through on-line voting were the Cincinnati Reds' Joe Nuxhall, the Oakland Athletics' Bill King and Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan of ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball." The other nominees selected by the 20-member committee were former "Game of the Week" broadcasters Dizzy Dean and Tony Kubek; play-by-play voices Tom Cheek (Toronto Blue Jays), Ken Coleman (Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox), Dave Van Horne (Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins) and broadcasting legend Graham McNamee (NBC), who called 12 World Series beginning in 1923.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

CLICK HERE for direct link to ballot.

Once again this year, fans have the opportunity to be a part of the process for selecting the 2009 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a baseball broadcaster for major contributions to the game.

Three of the 10 names on the final Frick Award ballot will be chosen by fans throughout the month of September. Select up to three (3) candidates from the ballot below. You may vote once each day during the month of September. The final 10-name ballot, featuring the three fan selections, will be announced on Dec. 9, 2008. Click a name to see a brief biography of that broadcaster.

Candidate bios contain information current through the 2008 season.
Juan Alicea
Rod Allen
Larry Andersen
Joe Angel
Richie Ashburn
Juan Angel Avila
Billy Berroa
Steve Blass
Buddy Blattner
Bert Blyleven
Lou Boudreau
Dick Bremer
Thom Brennaman
Ken Brett
Jim Britt
Bill Brown
Greg Brown
Lorn Brown
Rodger Brulotte
Joe Buck
Steve Busby
Dave Campbell
Chip Caray
Skip Caray
Rene Cardenas
Paul Carey
Bob Carpenter
Joe Castiglione
Bob Chandler
Alain Chantelois
Tom Cheek
Don Chevrier
Gary Cohen
Ken Coleman
Jack Corrigan
Ulpiano Cos Villa
Vince Cotroneo
Bob Davis
Dizzy Dean
Jim Deshaies
Connie Desmond
Orlando Diago
Larry Dierker
Jerry Doggett
Jacques Doucet
Al Downing
Don Drysdale
Dick Enberg
Ron Fairly
Ed Farmer
Pat Flanagan
Ray Fosse
Lanny Frattare
George Frazier
Tito Fuentes
Jose Garcia
Earl Gillespie
John Gordon
George Grande
Jack Graney
Mark Grant
Hank Greenwald
Tom Grieve
Wayne Hagin
Tom Hamilton
Merle Harmon
Ken Harrelson
Fran Healy
Mike Hegan
Harry Heilmann
Al Helfer
Erwin Higueros
Norm Hitzges
Fred Hoey
Mark Holtz
Jerry Howarth
Waite Hoyt
Al Hrabosky
Rex Hudler
Pat Hughes
Jim Hunter
Tom Hussey
Tommy Hutton
Mario Impemba
Ernie Johnson
Jim Kaat
Todd Kalas
Al Kaline
Michael Kay
George Kell
Harmon Killebrew
Ralph Kiner
Bill King
Jeff Kingery
Ken Korach
Mike Krukow
Tony Kubek
Duane Kuiper
Bob Kurtz
France Laux
Ryan Lefebvre
Ted Leitner
Josh Lewin
Vince Lloyd
John Lowenstein
Steve Lyons
Joe Magrane
Fred Manfra
Rick Manning
Ned Martin
Buck Martinez
Andy Masur
Tim McCarver
Sean McDonough
Dan McLaughlin
Graham McNamee
Frank Messer
Al Michaels
Jon Miller
Hector Molina
Rick Monday
Bob Montgomery
Monte Moore
Gustavo Lopez Moreno
Joe Morgan
Jose Mota
Bobby Murcer
Andy Musser
Eric Nadel
Bob Neal
Jim Northrup
Joe Nuxhall
Dave O'Brien
Bill O'Donnell
Paul Olden
Fergie Oliver
Eduardo Ortega
Larry Osterman
Tom Paciorek
Jim Palmer
Greg Papa
Gary Park
Steve Physioc
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez
Ross Porter
Jim Powell
Jim Price
Jack Quinlan
Jay Randolph
Bob Rathbun
Claude Raymond
Pee Wee Reese
Jerry Remy
Rick Rizzs
Phil Rizzuto
Brooks Robinson
Ted Robinson
Jim Rooker
John Rooney
Rosey Rowswell
Jean-Pierre Roy
Francisco Ruiz
John Sanders
Ron Santo
Bill Schroeder
Greg Schulte
Herb Score
Tom Seaver
Mike Shannon
Dan Shulman
Joe Simpson
Ken Singleton
Charlie Slowes
Duke Snider
Paul Splittorff
Dewayne Staats
Bob Starr
Rusty Staub
Charley Steiner
John Sterling
Steve Stone
Don Sutton
Joe Tait
Mario Thomas
Gary Thorne
Hal Totten
Denny Trease
Alex Trevino
Jerry Trupiano
Ty Tyson
Dave Van Horne
Pete Van Wieren
Matt Vasgersian
Beto Villa
Bob Walk
Rich Waltz
Chris Welsh
Chris Wheeler
Bill White
Fred White
Dave Wills
Bert Wilson
Ken Wilson
Jim Woods
Bill Worrell
Pepe Yniguez

THE TICKER
Kell, Kaline not on Hall of call list

October 7, 2008

Former Tiger George Kell will have to settle for his Baseball Hall of Fame playing credentials as a third baseman.

Kell, one of 11 Tigers broadcasters up for the 2009 Ford C. Frick Award -- presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting -- did not make the list of 10 finalists.

Kell, who spent 37 years as a Tigers broadcaster, was up for the award with fellow broadcast partner and Hall of Fame rightfielder Al Kaline, who spent 26 years as a Tigers broadcaster. None of the Detroit broadcasters on the ballot, which included Harry Heilmann, Paul Carey, Jim Northrup, Larry Osterman, Bob Rathbun, Rick Rizzs, Rod Allen, Mario Impemba and Jim Price, made the final cut.

Fans chose three of the 10 finalists. The three fan choices were former Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, former Montreal Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet, and former Expos and Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek.

The other seven, selected by a Hall of Fame research committee, were Billy Berroa, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Lanny Frattare, Tony Kubek, Graham McNamee and Dave Van Horne.

The winner will be announced Dec. 9.

Free Press news services

Paul Carey....the voice of God!!

tigersaint wrote:

Paul Carey....the voice of God!!

I miss Carey

And Ernie Harwell on WJR


And George Kell and Al Kaline on WDIV


Those were the days