Former Wolverine Campbell Named Ford C. Frick Award Finalist
11/13/2020 1:54:00 PM | Baseball
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- University of Michigan graduate and member of its 1962 College World Series championship baseball team Dave Campbell is one of eight finalists for the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Candidates from the National Voices category will be considered for the 2021 Frick Award in accordance with the three-year Frick Award election cycle. Joining Campbell as finalists are Buddy Blattner, Joe Buck, Dizzy Dean, Don Drysdale, Ernesto Jerez, Al Michaels and Dan Shulman. The winner will be announced Dec. 9 and will be honored as part of the 2021 Hall of Fame Weekend, July 23-26 in Cooperstown. The 2020 Frick Award winner, Ken Harrelson, will be honored following the cancellation of that year's events.
As established by the Board of Directors, criteria for selection is as follows: "Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, and popularity with fans, and recognition by peers."
As a member of the Wolverines, Campbell, a Manistee, Mich., native played shortstop, second and third base. He was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1964 and made his major-league debut three years later. He had a small part in another title in 1968, appearing in nine games for the Tigers when they won the American League pennant, though he was not on the postseason roster. In August of that year, Campbell hit his first big league homer, an eighth-inning blast during a 6-1 Detroit victory over Cleveland.
Campbell was traded to San Diego in 1970 and had his best season, starting at second base for the Padres and hitting 12 homers. He played a total of eight big-league seasons with additional stops in St. Louis and Houston.
Campbell begin his broadcast career doing radio play-by-play for the San Diego Padres and San Diego State. He moved into color commentary with the Colorado Rockies, and in 1990 he began a 20-year career as one of the voices of Major League Baseball for ESPN and spent years as one of the analysts on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" program.
