ON THE MARK.

TOM'S IN THE HALL, JERRY GETS HONOURED TOO.

Boy, 2013 can't get here fast enough can it?  If you're a Bluejay fan, it's already here.  Dickey's now in the fold, the Jays are 8-1 favorites to win the World Series, Tom Cheek is going to be inducted into Cooperstown,  and his partner for 25 years, Jerry Howarth, is going to receive the Jack Graney Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.  The award goes to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work.  Significant?  Jerry Howarth passed that milestone about 20 years ago.  He will join the likes of  Baseball Hall of Famers Bob Elliott, Ernie Harwell, Dave Van Horne and other fine writers and broadcasters this summer in St. Mary's Ontario.
     When I first met Jerry, I didn't like him.  I know that seems hard to believe now, but I considered Jerry to be my rival.   I wanted the job alongside Tom Cheek, and had done a game with him in 1979, so naturally I felt I was the best man for the job, even though I was only a kid.  Jerry had way more experience than me.  He had done Triple A baseball in Salt Lake City, and was a very pleasant fellow who sounded a bit like Vin Scully.  In 1980, Jerry filled in and broadcast 3 games alongside Tom.  The following year, 1981, he did 20 games during the strike-shortened season and then got the Jays job full-time.   I was working for the flagship station on the network, CJCL (Now The FAN) doing a nightly sports talk show.
     Baseball was the station's lifeblood during the summer, a wonderful escape from the music they were playing.  (I can't remember if it was Country or Music Of Your Life at the time, but it was lousy.)  Anyway, during the fall of 1981, Jerry would come into the station on a regular basis so he could learn more about hockey, since we also broadcast the Maple Leafs games in those days and after all, hockey was king back in the early 80s in Toronto.   By this time, of course, my dislike for Jerry had completely evaporated.   How could you not like a guy who was always smiling, always enthusiastic, and willing to learn the proper pronunciation of names like Vaclav Nedomansky, Pierre Larouche and Jiri Crha.   "Jerry, it's pronounced "YOU-REE SEAR-HAH", now you try it".  We would sit and go over names and he would quiz me about who the top players and coaches were,  and what to watch for during a hockey game.  He totally immersed himself in the Toronto culture, and not just sports. Jerry and his wife Mary raised two boys, Ben and Joe, whom I first met when they were youngsters, bouncing on Dad's knee in the broadcast booth.  They were pretty impressed with their Dad.  As time went on, everybody who met Jerry couldn't help but be impressed by him.   And I think I can safely say that, after 5000 games broadcast on the radio, millions more feel as if Jerry is one of the family.   Congratulations on your award Jerry.  Looks like 2013 is going to be a great year for the Bluejay family.