Canadian Jack Graney has won the 2022 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to a broadcaster for major contributions to the sport.
Graney, born in 1886 in St. Thomas, Ont., called games on radio from 1932 to 1953, for the Cleveland franchise after a 14-year playing career with the same team.
“Jack Graney was a pioneer in the broadcast industry, not only establishing a model for game descriptions in the earliest days of radio but also for blazing a trail for former players to transition to the broadcast booth,” said Josh Rawitch, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
“In calling Cleveland’s games for parts of three decades after a successful playing career of his own, Graney brought the exploits of future Hall of Famers like Earl Averill, Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Bob Feller and Satchel Paige into homes throughout Ohio’s north coast, becoming as much a part of the fabric of the team as the players themselves.”
Congratulations to the 2022 Ford C. Frick Award winner, Jack Graney!https://t.co/mfJLcKTXMB pic.twitter.com/kHZhhlRAsO
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (@baseballhall) December 8, 2021
Graney, who died in 1978, will be recognized posthumously during Hall of Fame Weekend, July 22-25, 2022 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame gives the Jack Graney Award to a member of the media for their contributions to baseball each year.
Previous Ford Frick winners include Toronto Blue Jays broadcasters Tom Cheek (2013) and Tony Kubek (2009) and Montreal Expos broadcaster Dave Van Horne (2011).
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