Tom Hamilton (sportscaster)

Last updated

Tom Hamilton
Tom Hamilton.jpg
Hamilton in 2014
Born (1954-08-19) August 19, 1954 (age 70)
Waterloo, Wisconsin, U.S.
Children4
Awards Ford C. Frick Award (2025)
Sports commentary career
Team Cleveland Indians/Guardians (1990–present)
Genre Play-by-play
Sport(s) Major League Baseball
College basketball

Tom Hamilton (born August 19, 1954 [1] ) is an American sportscaster, primarily known as the chief radio play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball team for 35 years. He is the recipient of the 2025 Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Contents

Career

Hamilton joined the then- Indians Radio Network for the 1990 season, after spending three years in the booth for the then AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Columbus Clippers.

Cleveland

Hamilton was paired with Indians legend Herb Score until 1997, when Score retired after 30 seasons. Hamilton became chief play by play announcer in the 1998 season, a position he still holds today. Because of his longevity and popularity, he is now considered to be the "voice of the Tribe". After the Indians were renamed to the Guardians, he has also been referred to as the "voice of the Guardians". [2]

Over his career, Hamilton has called over 5,000 games, including two World Series (1997 and 2016 [3] ).

On August 5, 2023, Hamilton received praise for his energetic call of a bench-clearing brawl between the Guardians and Chicago White Sox. [4]

Other Work

Hamilton also called college basketball games in the offseason (usually Ohio State games) for ESPN Plus, and Big Ten Network for 25 years. [5]

Broadcasting associates with the Indians/Guardians

(*) - Nelson, and later Underwood joined Hamilton and Hegan in a three-man booth from 1998 to 2007, when the Indians then went to a two-man booth. Rosenhaus, Hamilton and Hegan formed a three-man team for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Broadcasting credits

(all pre-Indians/Guardians) [7]

Signature calls

Personal life

Hamilton resides in Avon Lake, Ohio, with his wife and four children. [7] One son, Nick, was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 35th round in the 2012 MLB Draft out of Kent State University. [16]

Another son, Brad, works as a reporter for Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW-TV 8. [17]

Books

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ Loede, Matt. "Happy Birthday to Indians Radio Voice Tom Hamilton!". Sports Illustrated Cleveland Guardians News, Analysis and More. The Arena Group. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ↑ Doherty, Leah. "Guardians' Tom Hamilton named 2025 Ford C. Frick Award Winner". cleveland19.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  3. ↑ Bell, Mandy. "Guardians radio announcer Tom Hamilton named Frick Award winner". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  4. ↑ Noga, Joe. "'Down goes Anderson!' Guardians broadcaster delivers epic play-by-play of brawl with Chicago". cleveland.com. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Guardians Broadcasters". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  6. ↑ "All-Time Broadcasters - Cleveland Guardians". Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "Broadcasters - Cleveland Guardians". Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ Justice, Camryn (April 10, 2020). "You can have 'Voice of the Tribe' Tom Hamilton call your play from home". News 5 Cleveland. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Meisel, Zack (May 28, 2024). "It's hard to not be a fan of Guardians announcer Tom Hamilton — just ask his kids". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  10. ↑ Tom Hamilton - SABR.org
  11. ↑ For Tom Hamilton, the voice of the Cleveland Indians, 'the impossible dream came true' - Cleveland.com (The Plain Dealer)
  12. ↑ Tom Hamilton's call of the Jose Ramirez-Tim Anderson fight on Cleveland radio is the stuff of legend. - Awful Announcing on Twitter
  13. ↑ "DOWN GOES ANDERSON LIMITED EDITION T SHIRT". GV ART AND DESIGN. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ Traina, Jimmy (August 8, 2023). "Guardians' Tom Hamilton Takes Us Through the Viral Call of the Wild MLB Fight". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ DeNatale, Dave (September 8, 2020). "25 years ago: Remembering the night the Cleveland Indians clinched the 1995 American League Central Division crown". WKYC. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Hamilton's son drafted - Cleveland.com". Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Browns legend, Olympic gold medalist, champion volleyball coach and longtime broadcaster inducted into Hall of Fame - Fox 8.com Archived October 19, 2022, at the Wayback Machine (WJW-TV)
  18. ↑ Hamilton Ohio Sportscaster of the Year - NSSA.com
  19. ↑ "Hamilton inducted into Cleveland Broadcasters HOF - CAB Cleveland.com". Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  20. ↑ "LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - Greater Cleveland Sports Awards". Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  21. ↑ 2025 Ford C. Frick Award Winner Tom Hamilton - National Baseball Hall of Fame
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