Late St. Thomas, Ont. baseball commentator Graney wins Frick Award
Cleveland Indians outfielder and commentator Jack Graney has won the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting.
Graney, who died in 1978, will be honored during the Hall's induction weekend from July 22-25.
Graney first played for Cleveland, then known as the Naps, as a pitcher for two games in 1908. He returned as an outfielder in 1910 and played through 1922, a time when the team became known as the Indians. The team's nickname changed to the Guardians this offseason.
He was the first big league batter to hit against Babe Ruth in 1914 and two years later became the first 20th century batter with a uniform number. He earned a World Series title with Cleveland in 1920.
The St. Thomas, Ont.-native started as a broadcaster in 1932 with WHK-AM and commented on Indians games for 22 years for WHK, WGAR, WJW and WERE, missing 1945 when local programming was preempted by network broadcasts. He called the 1935 All-Star Game in Cleveland and the 1935 World Series.
"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," Hall President Josh Rawitch said in a statement Wednesday.
Others on this year's ballot, which included the commentators from baseball's broadcast beginnings, included Pat Flanagan, Waite Hoyt, France Laux, Rosey Rowswell, Hal Totten, Ty Tyson and Bert Wilson.
Voters included 13 living Frick winners -- Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas, Ken Harrelson, Jaime Jarrin, Tony Kubek, Tim McCarver, Denny Matthews, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Eric Nadel, Vin Scully, Bob Uecker and Dave Van Horne -- and historians/columnists David J. Halberstam, Barry Horn and Curt Smith.
Next year's ballot includes major league markets and the fall of 2023 ballot includes national voices.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.