Dave Van Horne, Wilson Borough native, heads to the baseball Hall of Fame

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Dave Van Horne couldn't quite believe it.

The Florida Marlins' radio play-by-play man knew he'd been nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award, baseball's highest honor given to a broadcaster -- an award that carries with it immortality in the baseball Hall of Fame.

And now Van Horne had won.

"When I got the call from (Hall of Fame President) Jeff Idelson, I was almost in disbelief," Van Horne, a 1957 Wilson Area High School graduate, said recently.

His colleagues weren't.

"You listen to so many other radio play-by-play men and you don't get any information," said ex-Phillies first baseman Tommy Hutton, the Marlins' television analyst who has known Van Horne since 1978 and worked with him intermittently since 1982. "Dave gives you information, stories, history of the game. And that goes back to his preparation and hard work. A lot of broadcasters don't do that. Dave always has, and still does."

And all that info comes in Van Horne's smooth and authoritative tones.

"What I hear from fans about why they like Dave is that nice, pleasant voice," said Joe Capozzi, the Marlins' beat writer for the Palm Beach Post since 2000. "He's really easy to listen to, very relaxing."

After 43 years of work in the booth -- 32 in Montreal and 11 in Florida -- Van Horne will join the list of Frick winners July 24 when he's enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The 71-year-old Van Horne, who grew up in Wilson Borough and Palmer Township, looked back on his career in an interview earlier this month before his Marlins played the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

"When you look at the list of the men who have won this award, to think that I was joining them was thrilling and very humbling at the same time," said Van Horne, who noted he was friendly with many previous winners such as ex-Mets broadcasters Bob Murphy, Cubs' legends Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray, the Reds' Marty Brennaman and the Royals' Denny Matthews, who started in Kansas City the same year Van Horne did in Montreal (1969).

Best advice he was ever given: Be yourself

Van Horne said he grew up listening to radio broadcasts of another Frick winner, longtime Phillies and Athletics announcer By Saam.

But Van Horne said the best advice came from his first mentor.

"In Richmond when I got my first job in 1966 (for the Atlanta Class AAA affiliate) my partner was Frank Soden and he told me, 'Don't try to be anyone else,'" Van Horne said. "He said it was fine to listen to broadcasters but don't imitate anyone else; develop your own style and stay with it."

Van Horne has stayed with his style long enough to develop a passionate fan base.

"I still get letters from people in upstate New York, Vermont, all over Canada, telling me they learned baseball from my broadcasts, that I was a big part of their summers, bringing me along on their radios, and that's always very rewarding," Van Horne said.

Van Horne still has enough fans in Montreal that several chartered buses are coming south for his enshrinement. They will join a Van Horne family contingent that includes his six children, his wife, Josee, his brother Allan, and their families.

"One of my sons is chartering a bus just for his family," Van Horne said.

"It's overwhelming. I can't tell you how honored I am to have all these people at my induction. It's especially gratifying to me that all my sons and my (11) grandchildren will be there."

A budding career

dave van horne candidView full sizeExpress-Times Photo | MATT SMITHVan Horne, here in the dugout prior to a game, had an interest in sports and media as a child, his brother says.
Allan Van Horne said he's not surprised at his brother's success. The Van Hornes were a sports family, and Dave van Horne had an interest in broadcasting even as a kid.

"We were not surprised at the path he took and he did real well," said Allan Van Horne, who lives in Bethlehem Township, Pa., and is retired from Victaulic. "I don't mean he just reached that level. He did his job well. He was always the consummate professional. He worked hard at his craft.

"It sounds so easy when you hear him, but it involves a lot of preparation. He's a master at taking the knowledge that's available and make it sound so natural."

One of Van Horne's biggest fans, his mother, won't be at the induction ceremony. Evelyn van Horne died at age 98 in March, three months after Dave Van Horne was announced as the Ford Frick recipient.

"She was a baseball fan," Allan Van Horne said. "She lived a very full life, full of life and vitality up to her last year. She used to go down to Florida to see Dave well into her 90s. She'd fly down there by herself and stay and go to games."

Memories of Philadelphia

Dave Van Horne has attended two Hall of Fame inductions before -- for his ex-broadcast partner Duke Snider and for Expos great Gary Carter -- but he knows this July will be different.

"I can't imagine what it's like to be honored," Van Horne said. "I love Cooperstown. It's a step back in time, a perfect place for baseball fans. It's hallowed ground for anybody who loves baseball."

Van Horne has loved baseball since he was a Phillies and Dodgers fan growing up.

"I was more of a National League fan but I went to Athletics games, too," he said. "One of the big thrills I have had as a broadcaster was in my first season when (Montreal's) Bill Stoneman threw a no-hitter at Connie Mack Stadium, a ballpark I went to games in as a kid."

Van Horne's memories of Philadelphia have remained just as warm.

"Dave Montgomery and (longtime Phillies public relations chief) Larry Shenk always go out of their way to say hello," Van Horne said. "And Richie Ashburn and I were friends. Richie knew I was from Easton and would always ask me to do his pregame show, and he'd always introduce me with, 'From Easton, Pennsylvania, Dave Van Horne.'"

The warmth goes both ways.

"Dave is one of my all-time favorite people," said Phillies broadcaster Chris Wheeler, who has been friendly with Van Horne since 1971. "Dave's an old-time pro radio voice, and he paints a picture of the action. And to even be considered for the Hall of Fame -- look at the company you are in. Dave's been so successful and I am so happy he wound up in Florida."

Celebrity follows

Van Horne's recognition factor has increased all around the sport, and the continent, since the Frick award. He's done interviews and talk shows all over Canada, and he's become in demand in another way as well.

"I never thought I'd receive so many items to autograph and send back," Van Horne said. "Almost every day in January and February my mailbox was stuffed. I don't know how many baseballs I've signed. You can tell some are professional collectors but you can tell the fans by the style of their letters."

dave van horne closeupView full sizeExpress-Times Says Van Horne of his call to Cooperstown: "It's a wonderful, exciting thing to happen to me."
Van Horne found out about the specialization of some of his new fans.

"It kind of surprised me that so many people collect the signatures of the Ford C. Frick Award winners," he said. "Some of them have 10, 12 of the winners, and I (met) one who had an article about the award that he had 12 Frick winners sign."

Hutton said all the attention is well deserved.

"The award shows another side of the game. It honors the amount of time and hard work we put into the game," said Hutton, who carpools with Van Horne to Marlins' home games. "Dave's been close to me for a long time and has been absolutely instrumental about showing me how to prepare for a game. We've always talked about that since I got into broadcasting."

Wheeler said Van Horne was a model for him as well.

"When I started here (in PR for the Phillies in 1971) we'd always talk shop," Wheeler said. "Our job (as broadcasters) is to entertain and inform and be the voice of the organization. Dave always had to walk a fine line doing that in Montreal (during the disputes that eventually led to the team's departure in 2004); that was hard on him but he did a good job."

Van Horne still feels humbled by all of the attention and recognition.

"It's a wonderful, exciting thing to happen to me," he said. "The Frick Award is the highest honor a broadcaster can receive."