Ford C. Frick Award

Ford C. Frick, the award's namesake

The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford C. Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Before his career as an executive, Frick was a baseball writer; he gained fame as the ghostwriter for Babe Ruth in the 1920s. The award was created in 1978, and named in tribute to Frick following his death that year.

Though they are sometimes erroneously referred to as "Hall of Famers", honorees are not inducted into the Hall of Fame.^[1] Honorees (if living) give a speech at the Hall of Fame during induction weekend, and their names are added to a plaque in the Hall's library. For several years in the early 2000s, Frick Award honorees also became life members of the Veterans Committee, which considers candidates for Hall of Fame induction who are not eligible for the regular voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America – specifically, players no longer on the BBWAA ballot and all non-players. However, starting with the 2008 elections, voting for players on the main Veterans Committee ballot was restricted to Hall of Fame members. After further changes announced for the 2011 elections, Frick Award winners are eligible to serve on all three of the Veterans Committee voting bodies that consider candidates from different eras of baseball.

Since 2004, fans have been allowed to vote for three of the award's ten annual nominees; this voting is currently conducted on the Hall's Facebook page. Through 2013, seven candidates were selected by a committee consisting of previous Frick Award winners and broadcast historians and columnists, which also determined the final recipient. Beginning with the 2014 award, the final election committee no longer selects any of the finalists; that role is now handled by a Hall of Fame research committee.^[2]

Other changes in the selection process were also announced for the 2014 award; these changes are similar to those instituted in 2010 for Veterans Committee balloting. Candidates are now considered every third year, based on the era in which they made their most significant contributions:^[2]

• "High Tide Era" — Mid-1980s to present, including the rise of regional cable networks. Individuals from this era were first considered for the 2014 award and will next be considered for the 2017 award.
• "Living Room Era" — Mid-1950s to early 1980s, reflecting the rise of television. Individuals from this era were first considered for the 2015 award and will next be considered for the 2018 award.
• "Broadcasting Dawn Era" — Origin of broadcasting to early 1950s. Individuals from this era were first considered for the 2016 award and will next be considered for the 2019 award.

Recipients

Year	Honoree	Primary Affiliation(s)
1978	Allen, MelMel Allen	New York Yankees
1978	Barber, RedRed Barber	Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees
1979	Elson, BobBob Elson	Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Mutual
1980	Hodges, RussRuss Hodges	New York/San Francisco Giants
1981	Harwell, ErnieErnie Harwell	Detroit Tigers
1982	Scully, VinVin Scully	Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, NBC
1983	Brickhouse, JackJack Brickhouse	Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox
1984	Gowdy, CurtCurt Gowdy	Boston Red Sox, NBC
1985	Canel, BuckBuck Canel	New York Yankees, New York Mets
1986	Prince, BobBob Prince	Pittsburgh Pirates
1987	Buck, JackJack Buck	St. Louis Cardinals, CBS
1988	Nelson, LindseyLindsey Nelson	New York Mets
1989	Caray, HarryHarry Caray	St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs
1990	Saam, ByBy Saam	Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics
1991	Garagiola, JoeJoe Garagiola	NBC
1992	Hamilton, MiloMilo Hamilton	Houston Astros
1993	Thompson, ChuckChuck Thompson	Baltimore Orioles
1994	Murphy, BobBob Murphy	New York Mets
1995	Wolff, BobBob Wolff	Washington Senators, NBC
1996	Carneal, HerbHerb Carneal	Minnesota Twins
1997	Dudley, JimmyJimmy Dudley	Cleveland Indians
1998	Jarrín, JaimeJaime Jarrín	Los Angeles Dodgers
1999	McDonald, ArchArch McDonald	Washington Senators
2000	Brennaman, MartyMarty Brennaman	Cincinnati Reds
2001	Ramírez, FeloFelo Ramírez	Florida Marlins
2002	Kalas, HarryHarry Kalas	Philadelphia Phillies
2003	Uecker, BobBob Uecker	Milwaukee Brewers
2004	Simmons, LonLon Simmons	San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics
2005	Coleman, JerryJerry Coleman	San Diego Padres
2006	Elston, GeneGene Elston	Houston Astros, CBS Radio
2007	Matthews, DennyDenny Matthews	Kansas City Royals
2008	Niehaus, DaveDave Niehaus	Seattle Mariners
2009	Kubek, TonyTony Kubek	NBC, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees
2010	Miller, JonJon Miller	Baltimore Orioles, ESPN, San Francisco Giants
2011	Van Horne, DaveDave Van Horne	Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins
2012	McCarver, TimTim McCarver	New York Mets, ABC, CBS, Fox
2013	Cheek, TomTom Cheek	Toronto Blue Jays
2014	Nadel, EricEric Nadel	Texas Rangers
2015	Enberg, DickDick Enberg	California Angels, NBC, San Diego Padres
2016	McNamee, GrahamGraham McNamee	NBC Radio

See also

• List of current Major League Baseball announcers
• Curt Gowdy Media Award – the NBA's comparable award
• Foster Hewitt Memorial Award – the NHL's comparable award
• Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award – the NFL's comparable award

References

General

• "Ford C. Frick Award at the Baseball Hall of Fame". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
• "Ford Frick Award". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 5, 2012.

Specific

1. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Hall of Famers FAQ
2. "Baseball Hall of Fame Restructures Frick Award Selection Process" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. September 4, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013.