Monday, 11 May 2026

Tony Kubek

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Commentators 2026
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Baseball
Statistics & Accolades: Ford C. Frick Award
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
After his playing career wound down, Tony Kubek immediately jumped into broadcasting at the national level for NBC, where he was a regular on the “Game of the Week”, working with the iconic Curt Gowdy, Joe Garagiola, and Bob Costas.

Kubek was known for his no-nonsense approach, forgoing any catchphrases to call the game in a straightforward manner. On a technical level, few could match Kubek’s educational approach to the diamond, which made him the perfect choice to cover the first 13 years of the Toronto Blue Jays' expansion, where he was the professor for hungry Canadian baseball students.

Kubek was also nobody’s schill, and the ever-honest Kubek would openly criticize the greed of ownership and players, which likely led to a premature retirement. Regardless of his issues with the game, the Baseball Hall of Fame awarded him the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting excellence.

We are proud to nominate Tony Kubek for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.