Nadel Is 15th Member of Rangers Baseball Hall
By: John Blake, Texas Rangers
Updated: May 15, 2012
Arlington, Texas-Eric Nadel, the longest-tenured broadcaster in the history of the franchise, has been selected as the 15th member of the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced today.
Nadel was selected for the Rangers' highest honor for his contributions to the franchise in a "non-playing capacity", joining Johnny Oates (2003), Tom Vandergriff (2004), Mark Holtz (2005), and Tom Grieve (2010) as Hall of Famers in that category.
Nadel will be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame during pre-game ceremonies on Saturday, August 11 before the Rangers game with the Detroit Tigers. The Rangers will also honor the members of the club's 40th Anniversary All-Time Team before that night game with the Tigers.
Nadel is in his 18th year as the lead voice on the Texas Rangers radio broadcasts, his second season on 103.3 ESPN and the Rangers ESPN Radio Network. It marks his 34th year broadcasting Rangers baseball, the longest tenure of any announcer in the history of the franchise and the second longest continuous current stint with one team in the American League to Kansas City's Denny Matthews (44th year in 2012).
A finalist for both the 2011 and 2012 Ford C. Frick Awards, Nadel joined the Rangers in 1979 and called games on television and radio in his first three seasons. Beginning in 1982, he began a 13-year run with Mark Holtz as the radio team on WBAP while returning to the television booth for one year in 1984. Nadel became the team's lead radio voice on KRLD Radio when Holtz moved to television in 1995. Among his most memorable calls are Nolan Ryan's 5,000th career strikeout on August 22, 1989, the Rangers' major league record 30-run outburst on August 22, 2007, and the final outs of Game 6 of the 2010 and 2011 American League Championship Series which sent the franchise to its first two World Series .
A seven-time recipient (1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Texas Sportscaster of the Year Award, and two-time winner of the Associated Press award for best play-by-play in Texas. Nadel is a graduate of Brown University, where he called football and hockey on the college radio station. He had minor league hockey play-by-play stints in Muskegon, MI, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Fort Worth, and was also the radio voice of the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's Professional Basketball League. A 1991 inductee in the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, Nadel is a long-time resident of Dallas.
Beginning with the 2009 inductions, a selection committee meets to consider individuals for the Hall of Fame based on their playing contributions in every odd year. In even years, individuals in a non-playing capacity are considered for induction.
The Texas Rangers Hall of Fame plaques are located in the Rangers Hall of Fame exhibit, in the space previously occupied by the Legends of the Game Baseball Museum.
TEXAS RANGERS BASEBALL HALL OF FAME MEMBERS (Year Inducted in parentheses)
Charlie Hough (2003) Mark Holtz (2005)
Johnny Oates (2003) John Wetteland (2005)
Nolan Ryan (2003) Rusty Greer (2007)
Jim Sundberg (2003) Toby Harrah (2009)
Buddy Bell (2004) Ruben Sierra (2009)
Ferguson Jenkins (2004) Tom Grieve (2010)
Tom Vandergriff (2004) Kenny Rogers (2011)
Nadel was selected for the Rangers' highest honor for his contributions to the franchise in a "non-playing capacity", joining Johnny Oates (2003), Tom Vandergriff (2004), Mark Holtz (2005), and Tom Grieve (2010) as Hall of Famers in that category.
Nadel will be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame during pre-game ceremonies on Saturday, August 11 before the Rangers game with the Detroit Tigers. The Rangers will also honor the members of the club's 40th Anniversary All-Time Team before that night game with the Tigers.
Nadel is in his 18th year as the lead voice on the Texas Rangers radio broadcasts, his second season on 103.3 ESPN and the Rangers ESPN Radio Network. It marks his 34th year broadcasting Rangers baseball, the longest tenure of any announcer in the history of the franchise and the second longest continuous current stint with one team in the American League to Kansas City's Denny Matthews (44th year in 2012).
A finalist for both the 2011 and 2012 Ford C. Frick Awards, Nadel joined the Rangers in 1979 and called games on television and radio in his first three seasons. Beginning in 1982, he began a 13-year run with Mark Holtz as the radio team on WBAP while returning to the television booth for one year in 1984. Nadel became the team's lead radio voice on KRLD Radio when Holtz moved to television in 1995. Among his most memorable calls are Nolan Ryan's 5,000th career strikeout on August 22, 1989, the Rangers' major league record 30-run outburst on August 22, 2007, and the final outs of Game 6 of the 2010 and 2011 American League Championship Series which sent the franchise to its first two World Series .
A seven-time recipient (1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Texas Sportscaster of the Year Award, and two-time winner of the Associated Press award for best play-by-play in Texas. Nadel is a graduate of Brown University, where he called football and hockey on the college radio station. He had minor league hockey play-by-play stints in Muskegon, MI, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Fort Worth, and was also the radio voice of the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's Professional Basketball League. A 1991 inductee in the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, Nadel is a long-time resident of Dallas.
Beginning with the 2009 inductions, a selection committee meets to consider individuals for the Hall of Fame based on their playing contributions in every odd year. In even years, individuals in a non-playing capacity are considered for induction.
The Texas Rangers Hall of Fame plaques are located in the Rangers Hall of Fame exhibit, in the space previously occupied by the Legends of the Game Baseball Museum.
TEXAS RANGERS BASEBALL HALL OF FAME MEMBERS (Year Inducted in parentheses)
Charlie Hough (2003) Mark Holtz (2005)
Johnny Oates (2003) John Wetteland (2005)
Nolan Ryan (2003) Rusty Greer (2007)
Jim Sundberg (2003) Toby Harrah (2009)
Buddy Bell (2004) Ruben Sierra (2009)
Ferguson Jenkins (2004) Tom Grieve (2010)
Tom Vandergriff (2004) Kenny Rogers (2011)
