The 2016 Ford Frick and J.G. Spink Award winners will be honored during the Hall of Fame Weekend for Major League Baseball in Cooperstown, NY on July 22-24. A broadcaster and writer are honored each year during the weekend with the presentation of the Ford C. Frick and J.G. Taylor Spink awards. The presentation this year will take place at Doubleday Field on Saturday, July 23. The 2016 recipients of these awards are Dan Shaughnessy (Spink Award) and Graham McNamee (Frick Award).
2016 Ford Frick and J.G. Spink Award Winners
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award was established in 1978. The award is given to one broadcaster each year who has made “major contributions to baseball.” Ford Frick is in the Hall of Fame for his work as a broadcaster, National League President, and Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Frick was an instrumental leader in helping to create the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, also having worked to help establish a strong working relationship between MLB and radio broadcasters. His work certainly paved the way for future media personnel to thrive while working alongside professional baseball. Mel Allen and Red Barber were the first recipients in 1978. Other notable winners of the award are Vin Scully, Jack Buck, Dave Niehaus, and Bob Uecker. The 2016 recipient of the award is Graham McNamee.
Graham McNamee was born in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1888. McNamee’s career began during the “roaring” 1920s and continued on into the 1940s. Fellow Frick Award winner Red Barber called McNamee “the greatest sports announcer we ever had.” McNamee was also adored as the “pioneer of sports announcers” for his accomplishments. McNamee was part of the inaugural class of the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame in 1984 and given a star on Hollywood’s famed Walk of Fame for Radio.
J.G. Taylor Spink Award
The J.G. Taylor Spink Award was created in 1962. The award is named after John George Taylor Spink. Spink was the publisher and editor of The Sporting News. The weekly newspaper was so highly regarded by fans, players and baseball officials that it became known as “The Bible of Baseball.” Spink was the initial recipient of the award in 1962. The award is presented each year to a writer or writers who have distinguished themselves “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.” Other notable winners of the award are Fred Lieb, Jack Lang, Wendell Smith (the first black member of the BBWAA) and the 2015 recipient Tom Gage. The 2016 recipient is Dan Shaughnessy.
Dan Shaughnessy was born in Groton, Mass in 1953. Shaughnessy joined The Boston Globe in 1981, but he has covered the Red Sox since 1986. He has authored 12 books including “Francona,” “The Curse of the Bambino,” “and “Reversing the Curse” all of which are centered on Boston Red Sox baseball. Shaughnessy also spent time covering the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Celtics. He was fortunate to work alongside other Spink Award winners Dick Young, Red Smith, Peter Gammons, and Larry Whiteside. Shaughnessy says the award is “the greatest professional honor I’ll ever have.”
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