A Reason to Return
November 3, Phoenix - After spending so much time dormant since the vote for Mark Reynolds entry four months ago, Clay Zavada has given me a reason to return!
Finally....
Can this please be the winter that we finally see the late Tom Cheek earn the Ford C. Frick Award and take his rightful place in Cooperstown?
Cheek called Toronto Blue Jays games for 27 years, a streak that began at the franchise's birth and carried for 4,306 consecutive games. He was an instructor to an entire nation and the elective course was Baseball 101. Tom was a man who was large in voice, body, heart and confidence, yet was small in ego. Cancer took him from all of us in 2005 and an entire nation lost a friend, as did all of us in baseball.
My relationship with Tom was certainly unique, as I played college baseball with his son Jeff in Alabama and later in life became a fellow broadcaster with dad in the big leagues. I still call Jeff one of my best friends and we talk often about the classy way his dad carried himself at home and at work. There are many of us that owe Tom Cheek a great deal and not all of us are Canadiens, though those north of the border will always save a place in there heart for that unforgettable voice. Now his place should be in our hearts and along side all of the legendary voices in Cooperstown.
There are many that share this perspective and I still can't believe this has taken so long (check the date on this):
Leave a comment