Former Blue Jays announcer Tom Creek has been selected as the recipient of the 2013 Ford C. Frick Award, which honors excellence in broadcasting annually. Cheek, who passed away in 2005, will be honored posthumously as part of Hall of Fame Weekend on July 26-29, 2013.

He broadcasted Blue Jays games from the franchise’s birth in 1977 to 2004, never missing a game during that span. He took 2 days off in 2004 to attend his father’s funeral. Just days later he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and never was able to get back into the booth full-time. Creek quickly underwent surgery to remove the tumor but some of the tumor was unreachable. He died a little more than a year later.

Blue Jays fans know Creek well but the average baseball fan might not be familiar with his work. He called Toronto’s first 4300+ games and helped generate interest in a fledgling franchise. His most famous call came on Joe Carter’s walk-off, World Series winning home run in 1993.

“Touch ’em all Joe, you’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life.”

That’s a call that any baseball fan will recognize. It was just the 2nd World Series ending HR in baseball history and Creek’s call helped immortalize that historic moment. It’s a shame that he is no longer alive to receive this prestigious award. The voters got this one right and Creek’s name will now be alongside the likes of Mel Allen, Red Barber, Bob Wolff and Vin Scully – and rightfully so.