2025 Ford C. Frick Award winner Tom Hamilton

Tom Hamilton, who has voiced one of the most successful on-field eras in Cleveland baseball history, is the 2025 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.

Born Aug. 19, 1954, in Waterloo, Wis., Hamilton came to Cleveland in 1990 after spending the previous three years as the voice of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Teaming with the franchise’s beloved former pitcher Herb Score in the broadcast booth, Hamilton soon had a front-row seat to call a resurgent team that advanced to the World Series in both 1995 and 1997.

Assuming duties as the voice of the franchise following Score’s retirement in 1997, Hamilton partnered with Mike Hegan, Dave Nelson, Jim Rosenhaus and Matt Underwood during the ensuing decades on WWWE-AM and WTAM-AM, the longtime radio home of the Guardians.

A multi-time winner of the Ohio Sportscaster of the Year Award, Hamilton has called more than 100 postseason games and is the only broadcaster in franchise history to call three different Cleveland World Series teams, including the 2016 American League pennant winners.

With an unmatched love for Cleveland, Hamilton endeared himself to fans with passionate home run calls while creating the soundtrack for some of the franchise’s most historic moments. For a generation of listeners, Hamilton defined Cleveland baseball.