The following is some of the sportscasting news that has been making headlines recently, most notably the selection of Lifetime ASA Member Ken "Hawk" Harrelson as the recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame's 2020 Ford C. Frick Award.
We welcome your news, comments, updates and/or corrections. Please email us at LSchwa8918@aol.com
~ Lou Schwartz, President
Ken Harrelson, longtime voice of the Chicago White Sox, was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The announcement came on December 11 at Baseball's Winter Meetings in San Diego, Calif.
After a seven-year playing career, Harrelson broke into broadcasting with the Red Sox in 1975, teaming with veteran announcer Dick Stockton. He joined the White Sox in 1982 and later moved into the front office. In 1987, he returned to the broadcast booth with the Yankees and then on NBC's "Game of the Week" before rejoining Chicago as the TV play-by-play announcer in 1990, where he remained until his retirement in 2018.
Harrelson was extremely popular with White Sox fans, as he wore his allegiance for the team on his sleeve with catch phrases like "grab some bench" when an opposing player struck out, or exclaiming "Dadgummit" when a ball that looked to be a home run was caught short of the wall.
Known as "The Hawk" for his unique profile, Harrelson was also responsible for creating nicknames for many White Sox players including Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas, Paul "The Professor" Konerko and Carlos "El Caballo" Lee.
A Lifetime ASA member, Harrelson was selected from a group of finalists in this year's "Major League Markets" category that included fellow ASA members Joe Castiglione and Dewayne Staats, as well as Pat Hughes, Ned Martin, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton and Mike Shannon. He will receive his award during the annual Baseball Hall of Fame Induction weekend, July 24-27, 2020, in Cooperstown, NY.
News & Notes ...
Dick Vitale , longtime ASA member and ESPN college basketball analyst, celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first college basketball broadcast with the network on December 5, DePaul's 90-77 win over Wisconsin. Vitale, who was unemployed at the time and looking for another coaching position, was urged by his wife Lorraine to give TV a try. The rest is history.
This year's Cure Bowl between the Liberty University Flames and Georgia Southern Eagles will make history as the first NCAA football bowl game to feature an all-female broadcast team. The bowl game, which raises money for breast cancer awareness and research, will feature News 6 Orlando Jamie Seh doing play-by-play, KCTV Sports Director Dani Welniak as the color analyst and Liberty Flames broadcaster Melanie Newman as the sideline reporter. The game will be played at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla, on December 21.
The Kansas City Chiefs will have a new flagship radio station in 2020. The team signed a multi-year agreement with WDAF-FM "The Wolf" after 30 years on KCFX -FM "The Fox." Mitch Holthus will also return for his 27th year as the Chiefs' play-by-play voice.
Don Chiodo, longtime voice Central Michigan University football and basketball, died in a car accident on December 4.
John Leahy,
longtime ASA Member, celebrated his 500th career broadcast at Merrimack
College as the voice of men's hockey in a 5-1 win over Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute on Nov 30.
Nicole Briscoe, ESPN SportsCenter anchor, signed a multi-year contract extension with the network.
* * *