Tom Cheek deserves to win the Ford C. Frick Award. The Ford C. Frick Award is the highest honour for baseball broadcasters and they're now accepting votes as they select the final ballot for the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award. Go to http://www.facebook.com/baseballhall now and vote for Tom Cheek.
This is the eighth year I've encouraged you to vote for Tom Cheek as a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, and I take it personally that he's not yet in Cooperstown. Removing my extremely biased perspective for a moment, Tom Cheek called Blue Jays games since day one, calling 4,306 of them in a row. During that time Toronto won two World Series championships and a few additional division pennants. He was the voice of my summers.
Here are previous entries I've written about Cheek's eligibility for the Ford C. Frick Award.
And yes, I shall use this opportunity to remind you that I've archived all of Tom Cheek's Greatest Hits. Click over and remember the glory days of Blue Jays baseball. And don't forget to vote for Tom.
Tom Cheek deserves to win the Ford C. Frick Award. The Ford C. Frick Award is the highest honour for baseball broadcasters and they're now accepting votes as they select the final ballot for the 2011 Ford C. Frick Award. Go to http://www.facebook.com/baseballhall?v=app_20678178440 now and vote for Tom Cheek.
This is the sixth year I've encouraged you to vote for Tom Cheek as a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, and I take it personally that he's not yet in Cooperstown. Removing my extremely biased perspective for a moment, Tom Cheek called Blue Jays games since day one, calling 4,306 of them in a row. During that time Toronto won two World Series championships and a few additional division pennants. He was the voice of my summers.
Here are previous entries I've written about Cheek's eligibility for the Ford C. Frick Award.
And yes, I shall use this opportunity to remind you that I've archived all of Tom Cheek's Greatest Hits. Click over and remember the glory days of Blue Jays baseball. And don't forget to vote for Tom.
Tom Cheek deserves to win the Ford C. Frick Award. The Ford C. Frick Award is the highest honour for baseball broadcasters and they're now accepting votes as they widdle the list of 200 down to three. Go to http://www.facebook.com/baseballhall?v=app_20678178440 now and vote for Tom Cheek.
This is the fifth year I've encouraged you to vote for Tom Cheek as a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, and I take it personally that he's not yet in Cooperstown. Removing my extremely biased perspective for a moment, Tom Cheek called Blue Jays games since day one, calling 4,306 of them in a row. During that time Toronto won two World Series championships and a few additional division pennants. He was the voice of my summers.
Here are previous entries I've written about Cheek's eligibility for the Ford C. Frick Award.
And yes, I shall use this opportunity to remind you that I've archived all of Tom Cheek's Greatest Hits. Click over and remember the glory days of Blue Jays baseball. And don't forget to vote for Tom.
You can smell spring in the air. Today, Canada takes on the USA in WBC baseball action at the ballpark formerly known as SkyDome. The Blue Jays are playing spring training games in Florida and I'm getting excited about another season of slo-pitch.
In this spirit on this fine Saturday in March, here's a great Blue Jays song featuring the voices of Blue Jays baseball, Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth. Hearing Tom on this track talking about Devo leading off and Robbie and Joe following him in the line-up makes me miss those glory days of Blue Jays baseball. Yes, I'm old enough to remember playoff baseball in this city.
When I threw my support behind the Phillies, I referred to something that happened in this city fifteen years ago. It was fifteen years ago Saturday, to be precise.
Joe Carter came to the plate in the ninth inning of game six of the World Series. My Toronto Blue Jays led the series 3 games to 2, but trailed in the game 6-5. With Mitch Williams on the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies and Ricky Henderson and Paul Molitor on base, Joe hit a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall at SkyDome to give the Blue Jays their second World Series in a row.
I can't accurately describe how my brothers and I reacted to this moment. When that ball cleared the fence, the feeling was ecstatic. The joy was overwhelming and we all shed tears. Heck, just thinking about that moment is causing my eyes to swell.
Dammit, there's some strange salty substance seeping from my eyes as I type. That moment was sort of a double-edged sword. It was a tremendous moment of collective elation, but it raised the bar to a point we may never see again. How the hell do we top that? An overtime goal by a Maple Leaf to win the Stanley Cup perhaps? Not much else comes to mind.
Listen to this call again. It was broadcast 15-years ago and few people heard it live as we were all watching the game on television. If you want more Tom Cheek Blue Jays memories, go here.
Let's try this again. This will the fourth year in a row I've encouraged you to vote for Tom Cheek as a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award. You can vote here at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Here are previous entries I've written about Cheek's eligibility for the Ford C. Frick Award.
In that 2nd last entry, I went off after Denny Matthews won the award.
Removing my extremely biased perspective for a moment, Tom Cheek called Blue Jays games since day one, calling 4,306 of them in a row. During that time Toronto won two World Series championships and a few additional division pennants. Tom Cheek's no longer with us.
Dave Perkins wrote about this in today's Star, but I was thinking the exact same thing, I swear. If Tom Cheek had called games in the United States of America, he'd have won the Ford C. Frick award long ago. Of this I am certain. There's a definite bias against recognizing baseball achievements in this country and Tom Cheek is a victim.
And yes, I shall use this opportunity to remind you that I've archived all of Tom Cheek's Greatest Hits. Click over and remember the glory days of Blue Jays baseball. And don't forget to vote for Tom.
Former Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek is back on the ballot for the 2008 Ford C. Frick Award, given annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Cheek, who died at 66 from brain cancer in 2005, is among the 10 finalists for the honour. He called 4,306 consecutive games from 1977 to 2004.
I first lobbied for Tom to win this award in 2005 and then again in 2006. When he was beat out once more, I suggested it was an anti-Canadian bias at work. If Tom Cheek had called games in the United States of America, he'd have won the Ford C. Frick award long ago.
The winner of the Ford C. Frick award will be announced on February 19, 2008. If the weather outside has you feeling cold, warm up with Tom Cheek's greatest hits.
At this time of year I always get nostalgic for the days when Blue Jays baseball in late August actually meant something. There's an entire generation of ball fans growing up in this city who barely recall playoff baseball in Toronto. That's so sad.
When I get nostalgic about pennant races from yesteryear, I start thinking about Tom Cheek. I've written so much about Tom Cheek I've got an entire category in his honour. Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth were the voices of Blue Jays baseball when I would listen to every game possible on the radio. In honour of Tom Cheek, I'd like to share his greatest hits with you all.
The First Home Run in Blue Jays History I was two years old when Doug Ault hit the first home run in franchise history on April 7, 1977, so I don't have a memory of the moment. You can relive the Jays debut in the CBC archives and hear Tom Cheek's call of Ault's first dinger below. "A tremendous shot."
Our First AL East Pennant I've got great memories of this fantastic day and I shared those memories in this entry. You never forget your first, whether it be home run, no-hitter, cycle, World Series or pennant. Here's Tom Cheek's call of that final out on October 5, 1985. "Bell is there... he's got it!"
Dave Stieb's No-Hitter I was working at the CNE on this day, but that didn't stop me from sharing my memories of Sir David's no-hitter. You don't want to miss Tom Cheek's call of the first no-hitter in Blue Jays history from September 3, 1990. "He's done it! He's done it!"
The First World Series Championship I don't believe I've ever written about that fantastic night the Blue Jays clinched their first World Series title. It was quite the surreal night that was capped by Dave Winfield's clutch RBI and the sudden disappearance of my Canadian flag. Listen to Tom Cheek's historic call of Otis Nixon's bunt to Mike Timlin. "The Blue Jays win it!"
Joe Carter's 1993 World Series Ending Blast I've saved the best for last. This is, without a doubt, the best call of Tom Cheek's career. Here's an extensive write up about Joe's three run homer off Mitch Williams. You'll want to play this one over and over and over again. "Touch 'em all, Joe!"
If you want more Blue Jays memories, thoughts, observations and rants, check out my Toronto Blue Jays category page. Enjoy these audio gems I consider to be Tom Cheek's greatest hits.
Denny Matthews is the Ford C. Frick Award winner. Matthews is probably a fine broadcaster, covering the Kansas City Royals, but he's no Tom Cheek.
Removing my extremely biased perspective for a moment, Tom Cheek called Blue Jays games since day one, calling 4,306 of them in a row. During that time Toronto won two World Series championships and a few additional division pennants. Tom Cheek's no longer with us.
Dave Perkins wrote about this in today's Star, but I was thinking the exact same thing, I swear. If Tom Cheek had called games in the United States of America, he'd have won the Ford C. Frick award long ago. Of this I am certain. There's a definite bias against recognizing baseball achievements in this country and Tom Cheek is a victim.
Next fall I'll urge you all to vote for Tom once more, but I'm losing hope that he'll ever make it to Cooperstown. It's a Frick'n shame.
In my lifetime I've probably received hundreds of Christmas gifts, but there are a few I remember best. I never lobbied for an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle so what I got on Christmas morning was always a surprise. On one particular Christmas in the early to mid-eighties I received a little blue transistor radio.
It was freedom. The radio would go everywhere I went. I used to sleep with it. In the summers, I listened to 1430 CJCL which was carrying Blue Jays games called by Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth. Other nights I would crawl the dial just to see what I would pick up. I'd start at one end and slowly make my way to the other side, stopping for a bit whenever I pulled in a station. I guess it was sort of a low tech scan. I'd do this for FM and then switch to AM. I loved that damn radio.
It's a love affair that has continued to this day. The primary reason I have an iRiver instead of an iPod is because the iRiver has a radio built in. I want my MP3, but I'm not ready to give up my radio entirely. In this day of MP3 players and satellite radio there's little room in a kid's life for a transistor radio. I'm just glad there was room in my life for one that Christmas morning.
Tom Cheek deserves to win the Ford C. Frick Award. The Ford C. Frick Award is the highest honour for baseball broadcasters and they're now accepting votes as they select the final ballot for the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award. Go to http://www.facebook.com/baseballhall now and vote for Tom Cheek.
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You can smell spring in the air. Today, Canada takes on the USA in WBC baseball action at the ballpark formerly known as SkyDome. The Blue Jays are playing spring training games in Florida and I'm getting excited about another season of slo-pitch.
When I threw my support 
Former Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek is back on the ballot for the 2008 Ford C. Frick Award, given annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Cheek, who died at 66 from brain cancer in 2005, is among the 10 finalists for the honour. He called 4,306 consecutive games from 1977 to 2004.
In my lifetime I've probably received hundreds of Christmas gifts, but there are a few I remember best. I never lobbied for an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle so what I got on Christmas morning was always a surprise. On one particular Christmas in the early to mid-eighties I received a little blue transistor radio.