AP

Tim Kurkjian, Jack Graney honored by Baseball Hall of Fame

Jul 23, 2022, 4:00 AM | Updated: 4:47 pm

In this photo provided by Milo Stewart Jr. and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, from ...

In this photo provided by Milo Stewart Jr. and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, from left to right, Perry Smith, granddaughter of the late Jack Graney, who received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting, writer Tim Kurkjian, who was honored with the Baseball Writers' Association of America's Career Excellence Award, Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark, BBWAA president Larry Stone, and Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch pose on stage at the Opera Theater in Cooperstown, N.Y., Saturday, July 23, 2022. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum via AP) .

(Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum via AP)

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Writer Tim Kurkjian and the late Jack Graney, the first former major league player to transfer to the broadcast booth, were honored Saturday by the Baseball Hall of Fame for their contributions to the game.

Kurkjian was presented with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Career Excellence Award. He began his career in 1979 at the Washington Star and two years later was the Texas Rangers beat writer for The Dallas Morning News. Four years later, he returned to his native Maryland and joined The Baltimore Sun, covering the Orioles for four years. He then spent seven years as a senior baseball writer at Sports Illustrated.

“It’s such an honor to be here,” said Kurkjian, who moved to broadcasting at ESPN in 1998. “This has been the most overwhelming, most overpowering experience of my life. That love for the game, not in any sort of grace or talent, has carried my career. It was a privilege to cover the game 40 years ago, and now 40 years later, it is still a privilege. Baseball is the greatest game.”

Graney was honored posthumously with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting, but he started his career on the field for Cleveland and was the first major league player to bat against Babe Ruth (1914). He finished a 14-year playing career in 1922 and after a stint in automotive sales was hired in 1932 by Cleveland radio staion WHK to call games. He spent 22 years calling them for several stations and is now widely considered to be the first former big league player to broadcast a major league game.

Graney, who also called the 1935 World Series for a national audience in 1935 and that year’s All-Star Game in Cleveland, died in 1978.

Granddaughter Perry Smith spoke in his behalf.

“If Jack were here today, he would never tell you about his accomplishments,”she said. “He was such a humble man. And he probably was embarrassed by praise. Here’s how Jack described his career. He said, ‘I always tried to give the fans an honest account. It was a tremendous responsibility. And at all times I kept in mind that I was the eyes of the radio audience. I just tried to do my best and I hope my best was good enough.'”

Also Saturday, more than 50 Hall of Famers took part in the annual Parade of Legends. Chairs were lined up four deep on Main Street more than four hours before the parade began. Inside the Hall of Fame’s Plaque Gallery, several fans dressed in Red Sox gear stopped to take photos at the spot where the plaque of former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, afffectionately called Big Papi, will hang after his induction.

Thousands of Red Sox fans lined the route through the village center, many wearing Big Papi’s No. 34 on the back, and about 20 were carrying a Domincian Republic flag and chanting “Papi! Papi!” Several souvenir tables were set up with Ortiz induction jerseys in red and blue.

Ortiz is just the 58th player selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot. He’s part of the seven-member Class of 2022 that will be inducted on Sunday.

Joining Ortiz on stage will be three-time batting champion Tony Oliva and 283-game winner Jim Kaat.

Also getting their due on induction day are: Dodgers great Gil Hodges, who managed the New York Mets to their first World Series title in 1969; Minnie Miñoso, a star with the Chicago White Sox in the 1950s; Buck O’Neil, who played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues and was a tireless advocate for the game; and Bud Fowler, a pioneering Black player who grew up in Cooperstown in the 1860s and played in more than a dozen leagues.

___

Freelance writer Ken Powtak contributed.

___

More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Tim Kurkjian, Jack Graney honored by Baseball Hall of Fame