Read Tom Hamilton’s speech from Cooperstown as he receives the 2025 Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Tom Hamilton stood in front of a crowd of supporters from Cleveland and beyond Saturday as he accepted the 2025 Ford C. Frick Award presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hamilton spoke with his trademark humility and kindness after becoming the third Cleveland broadcaster to win the honor, joining Jimmy Dudley (1997) and Jack Graney (2022).

The 70-year-old Waterloo, Wisc. native shared stories of his first jobs in radio, broadcasting the Jefferson County Fair 4H competition complete with descriptions of livestock. He would go on to thank his family and countless members of the Guardians organization for getting him to the podium as the 2025 Frick recipient.

Below is an AI generated transcript of Hamilton’s remarks, which may include spelling errors and misunderstood names.

Tom Hamilton Ford C. Frick Award speech

Tom Hamilton: Thank you so much. We have been overwhelmed, humbled, honored and grateful. It is really hard for us to properly express how we have felt this entire week, this weekend, and really since the phone call we got on December 11th. And before we go any further, our eternal gratitude to Jane Forbes Clark, who is the chair of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and whose grandfather, Stephen Carlton Clark, founded this incredible place in 1936. Jane, we cannot thank you enough for all you do for our game and for this incredible place. Also a special thanks to the president of the Hall of Fame, Josh Rawitch, as well as Vice Presidents, John Shestakofsky and Ken Meifert who called us on December 11th with this incredible and stunning news and to Whitney Horn and Rachel King and all of their help this weekend and really since December, you have been so amazing and to our own Francine Summers and Curtis Danburg of the Guardians, you folks have been incredible and have again made this so easy for all of us. Now, special thanks to a gentleman you just heard Joe Castiglione and his wife Jan. Joe of course went in last year’s support Frank recipient and we have bothered them with countless phone calls jammed. I promise Joe can now enjoy retirement, we won’t bother you anymore, but your help has been beyond what you could have ever known, so thank you.

It’s 912 miles from Waterloo, Wisconsin to Cooperstown, New York and how this journey connected these two small towns is still very humbling, still very surreal for me. As you heard Jane mention, the dream started as a little guy on our porch on our dairy farm outside of Waterloo, listening to the late great Pearl Gillespie who called those Milwaukee Braves games. It seemed like such an enchanted life. Of course, like every little guy, I wanted to be Hank Aaron or I wanted to be Eddie Matthews or be Joe Torre. But reality hit it, and when I got to high school, the coaches were like, dang, son, you do have a backup plan, don’t you?

Somehow that backup plan has brought us all together for this weekend in Cooper Stellar. I want to thank the Hall of Fame and the Ford Frick Award voting committee for this incredible honor and congratulations to fellow 2025 classmates, Thomas Boswell, the incredible writer for so many years for the Washington Post, and of course, the players that make this the greatest game ever and their day will be tomorrow for Enshrinement cc, Ava Ichi, rose Suzuki, Billy Wagner, the late Dick Allen and the late Dave Parker, and a special thanks when we were coming over here on the bus ride to come into a bus with Hall of Famers like Alan Trammell and Ted Simmons and Robin and other hall of Famers that are here taking this in today. Guys, you have no idea how humbling that is, and we are so grateful that you’re taking the time to be with us today.

Since that phone call on December 11, I’ve taken some time to reflect and wonder how in the world did this happen? First major league baseball and now Cooperstown, totally unthinkable. When I look back at one of my first play-by-play jobs in Watertown, Wisconsin, I get called into the boss’s office. He is so excited because he’s got this great opportunity for me and I’m thinking, yes, finally Friday night football, I’m going to finally graduate for the big time. Get to do the Watertown Goslings Friday night football. We know how big Friday nights are. No. Instead I’m going to get to do the play by play of the Jefferson County Fair four H competition, a three hour live broadcast. Now, some of you here may not be familiar with this event, kind of a world series of livestock competition for youngsters involved in farming and racing their cattle. They’re all trying to win the blue ribbon. That’s right, three hours wall to wall coverage, steers, pigs, sheep, poultry, all being rated in front of the judges trying to get that ribbon. Now you soon learn creativity or maybe for a more honest appraisal, you learn how little creativity you actually possess when you’re describing farm animals for that.

Okay, folks, here’s another steer. Very big, black and white. Yes, this one too has four legs and by golly, it’s got a tail that’s working and oh no, we’re about to have a deposit. They pretty much all look alike. Every one of them is going for the ribbon. But of course, what the winning animal does not realize is that next week, that winter is the special of the day. That that drive back from the fairgrounds certainly had me questioning my career choice and in no way was major league baseball and certainly not Cooperstown even entering my mind. And I’ve always said I’ve had the best job in the world for 36 years. I have had the privilege of narrating the Cleveland Indians and now the Cleveland guardians for over three and a half decades. Cleveland and northeast Ohio has made us feel like family. You great fans have welcomed us into your homes, your cars, and yes, your back porches.

It’s a passionate fan base and it has been everything that we could have ever wanted and raising our family. Thank you Cleveland for being our Camelot. We also want to thank the Jacobs family and now the Dolan family and everyone that I have worked with and become friends with down through the years in this great organization you’ll never work for or with better people. And at the risk of forgetting someone, I’m not going to start mentioning names, but Wendy and I thank you again and again and again and for the Dolan family, getting a major league job is like winning a lottery of it, but being a part of your organization has been the gift of a lifetime. This world needs so many more. People like the Dolan family think that the Cleveland Indians and now the guardians have accomplished In the last 30 years. We’ve gone to the playoffs 14 times, the World Series three times. That only happens in a market like Cleveland with tremendous ownership, one plus some of the finest front offices that have ever been assembled. Incredible managers and coaches, outstanding people on the business side, scouts and of course the gifted players. We have watched a steady flow of phenomenal talent play at the corner of Carnegie in Ontario, and one of our very old CC Sabathia takes his rightful place in.

So the late herb score who welcomed me with open arms when I arrived in 1990, thank you. I learned not just how to call a game, but outside of my dad, no one ever gave me better advice. The greatest lesson from Herb came to 1990, my first year in the Major League. Now back then, we were the only team in Tucson, so every road trip was two plus hours going to Phoenix. So what that meant was we were now listening for two plus hours to one of herb’s, 15 Frank Sinatra cassettes. Finally, the first cassette ends, I think, okay, here’s my opening. And I’m quickly telling her, man, her, this is really a really good team. This is our year. My first year, of course, we’re going to be in the playoffs. Like I, herb gave me that look, Hey, we are a blankety blank team. We are not going to the playoffs.

But he said, that will not impact us or affect us in how we call the game. Once that game begins, it’s all about that game. And you may see something that night that you’ve never seen before in an Angel League game and you may never see it again. And Herb also made sure to point out that that night’s broadcast might be the one thing that one person had to look forward to the entire day, and we owe that one person the very best that we can do. Folks, that was the best advice ever, and I thank Herb for that.

Then Herb said, Hey, would you please stop talking and put in another Frank King? Another partner was the late Mike Keegan. Now, if you’re from Cleveland, Mike is still probably in any argument the greatest athlete to ever come out of St. Ignatius High School. He played college football at Holy Cross back when Holy Cross was a national power. He spent 12 years in the big leagues, won a World Series with the Oakland A’s, and he carried himself with the same grace off the field as he did on it. And even when Mike was in his sixties, he still had that incredible athletic ability. Mike and I are in the Metrodome, we’re filling out our scorecards, and I noticed something move I thought on Mike’s leg and I said, Mike, you got a little buddy there on your thigh. Well, for those of you that have never been to a Metrodome, Joe knows that little buddy meant he had a mouse on his thigh.

Mike launched out of his chair like he’s returning a kickoff. He still had the amazing first step quickness, the athleticism that made him one of the greatest defensive first basemen in the history of the game. And without question, Mike was one of the finest broadcasters to ever work in Major league baseball and all of my broadcasters over the years, Dave Nelson, Matt Underwood, Jim Rosenhaus, thank you for sharing the booth and the journey. We spend more time together for seven months than we do with our families, and I’ve been so blessed to work with such great guys. And now Rosie and I have had our longest tenure of 14 years, and Jim, I am so grateful for your friendship. Thank you, captain. Thank you. Terry Smith, the voice of the Los Angeles Angels who gave me an opportunity to work with him in Columbus doing AAA games. Without that, none of this happens, and of course, none of this happens without the love and support of my family. Going back to Waterloo with my parents, brothers and sister, no one’s ever had three better brothers than Dennis, Jim and Robert, and our sister, Mary Dennis is here with his wife Colleen, their sons Spencer and Casey, Jim and his wife Cindy, two of their sons Grant, and Angie and Reid and his wife Julia, Robert, his wife Ann, their son Drew and his wife Stephanie, along with son Ty, daughter Leah and son Davis. We had such great parents who taught us it’s okay to chase your dreams, but whatever it is you do, you better work hard, you better not cut corners and you better treat people right? And for those of you here that didn’t know, our parents, Frank and Theresa, they were very much extroverts and no matter who we saw on the street, whether we knew them or not, whatever city we were in, we were constantly told It does not cost you a nickel to say hello. What great advice that was then and still is today.

And of course, mom and dad, like all of us growing up in Wisconsin were huge Brewer fans, which meant they adored Bob ert. Now, you would always give them a shout out on the radio. When they played the Brewers back in the nineties, we were in the same division as Milwaukee, so there were a lot of times they got to hear their name on the radio. Thanks to Bob ert. Once I asked Bob, Bob, is it okay? Can I bring mom and dad up here? They would just love to meet you. Well, Bob being Bob said, oh my gosh, by all means, bring them on and on. Now I get mom and dad up there, I introduce them Dad first to Bob dad for the first and only time in his life cannot speak. He cannot utter a word, not Bob. Bob’s saying some nice things about me, and then he tells my mom, I am so sorry that you can’t listen to Tom do the brewer gains and you’re stuck listening to me.

Mom doesn’t hesitate. Bob, you know what? You take what you can get. Mom?? You take what you can get? I’m suddenly trying to usher them out. I am horrified. Bob is doubled over laughing. Dad still hasn’t said a word. And I go, mom, why would you say that? She goes, you know what? I believe it was another example of our mother believing in one of her children, and we all miss Bob, but I am so grateful for his friendship as well as all of the other Angel League broadcasters I’ve been able to get to know down through the years meeting and getting to know these broadcasters has been such a gift. And to my friends, thank you for your friendship, your loyalty, your sarcasm, your reminders. Never take yourself too seriously. You know what? Those are the best friends you can have, and we are so honored to have so many of our tremendous friends here with us this weekend, and we thank them as well as our extended family, our cousins, the Bradys, they’re from all over the country that they were able to get here, and we so appreciate that to my wife, Wendy, you thank you, doesn’t cover you.

This great life that we have lived is because of you. Your belief in me and your belief in our family. You made the real sacrifices, the late nights, the solo parenting, the chaos. You did it with love, with strength, with grace. No husband has ever been luckier than me, and I love you so much, dear.

Also, a quick lesson. I learned the hard way. Of course, when you’re on a 10 day road trip, you’re staying at five star hotels, your wife calls after spending most of the day in the er because that of course is when one of the four children decides to fall out of a tree breaking hard because none of that ever happens. If dad’s home only on a road trip when your wife calls and simply has to unload about the craziness of the day and just needs an adult to listen. That is not the time to say, you know what, honey? I’ve had a tough day too.

And of course, Wendy being Wendy, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I’m going on and on about the what happened. I’m sorry. Well, dear room service didn’t toast the you’ll soon learn that will be the most expensive cheeseburger of, and finally, to our children, Nick and his wife, Marissa, Kelsey, and her husband Ryan, their daughter Lexi Bradley, and his wife Brittany and their sons, Liam and John Patrick and our daughter Katie, thank you. Thank you for being our greatest pride, our greatest joy, our true legacy. This weekend has been incredible, but you’re the real miracle. You and our grandchildren are everything to us, and you’ve given us so many great memories, and we’re so lucky to be your parents, and now you’ve become these incredible young adults and boy in these times of cynicism and negativity in our world. We look to you and a number of other young people here today, and you go, you know what? Things aren’t so bad. We’re going to be okay, and we’re going to be okay because of people like you and always feel, the two greatest words ever are daddy and grandpa.

Every opening day, we always remind the fans it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey, the rollercoaster ride that is a baseball season. Every day for six months, for 36 years, we have been so blessed than fortunate to be a very small part of that journey in this great game of baseball. We remain so grateful for every inning, every mile, every friend, every laugh, every game, and now this truly is the final destination. I certainly do not feel deserving or worthy of this incredible honor, but wow. Mom was great. We’ll take what we can get. Thank all of you. Thank you so much, Cooperstown, and thank you baseball.