[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO PAT HUGHES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, for nearly three decades, the crack of the 
bat, the smell of fresh cut grass, the greening of the ivy, and the 
sound of Pat Hughes' voice reporting from the ``beautiful and historic 
Wrigley Field'' has let Cubs fans far and wide know, it is time for 
baseball. This July, Pat Hughes--the voice of Cubs baseball and a 
Chicago legend--was awarded the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award by the 
National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY--the highest honor in 
broadcasting.
  Born in Tucson, AZ, Pat was raised in San Jose, CA. His father worked 
in the education department at San Jose State University, where Pat 
would later enroll. Pat would frequent the university's sporting events 
with his father and brother, smitten by the cadre of future greats that 
took the field for the Spartans. At around 17 years old, he realized he 
wasn't quite good enough to make a career playing, but his passion for 
sports fueled his determination to find a sports career.
  Just hours before Pat's acceptance speech at Cooperstown, he 
recounted that, ``It kind of feels a little bit surreal. As if it's 
almost happening to someone else, and I'm just kind of watching.'' 
Ironically, watching on sidelines was where Pat's broadcasting career 
began.
  At San Jose State University, while sitting on the bench for his 
college basketball team, he started to announce the game unfolding in 
front of him before his first listening audience: the other 
benchwarmers on the team. One of his teammates complimented Pat's knack 
for play-by-play. Once basketball season was over, Pat called his first 
baseball game, San Jose State versus the University of California Santa 
Barbara.
  In 1978, Pat graduated from San Jose State University with a degree 
in radio/TV journalism and began his baseball broadcasting career for a 
minor league team: the San Jose Missions. After a season with the 
Columbus Clippers, he joined the Minnesota Twins broadcast team in 1983 
before moving to Milwaukee just a year later, where he called Brewers 
games on radio with Milwaukee legend Bob Uecker.
  I first heard Pat when my son Paul enrolled at Marquette University. 
Back then, Pat was calling basketball games for Marquette, and even 
then, Pat had the distinct style that we all have come to appreciate. 
Pat would go on to call basketball games for Marquette for 16 seasons, 
including years spent alongside local legend, Coach Al McGuire.
  Since 1996, Pat has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the 
Chicago Cubs. The 2022 season marked the 40th consecutive year that 
Hughes served as a Major League Baseball announcer. With nearly three 
decades in Chicago, Pat is a Cubs institution. And, not only has he 
been a fixture in Wrigley since 1996, he almost never misses work. For 
nearly 11 years, he called nearly every inning of every Cubs game 
before he finally took a day off.
  A student of the game and a master of his craft, Pat regularly 
studied broadcasters he admired. He would listen to recordings of games 
that he called, analyze the modulation of his voice, eliminate filler, 
and perfect his catchphrases, setting the standard of meticulous 
preparation that he carries with him today. And just like the 
benchwarmer back in the 70s that called the basketball game, Pat seizes 
every moment.
  Never one to rest on his laurels, when Pat learned that he would be 
the just the third broadcaster to be inducted into the Cubs Hall of 
Fame, he went right back to calling the play, completely awestruck, but 
like the true professional he is, he never missed a beat. And little 
did he know that just a few months later, he would be getting the call 
from Cooperstown. Pat lives his life play-by-play--staying in the 
moment, constantly improving, and transporting Cubs fans everywhere to 
Wrigley Field with his distinctive voice. During Pat's acceptance 
speech in Cooperstown, he thanked Cubs fans for making him part of the 
Cubs family, inviting him to graduations, bar mitzvahs, and birthdays. 
And he was quick to give credit to the line-up of broadcasters that he 
deeply admired.
  Many remember Pat's time in the booth with Cubs Hall of Famer, the 
late Ron Santo, his broadcasting partner from 1996 until 2010. The 
``Pat and Ron'' show was a favorite for the fans as Hughes worked well 
with the former third baseman, who wasn't shy to hide his love for the 
Cubs. A nine-time winner of the Illinois Sportscaster of the Year 
Award, Pat also won three straight Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year 
Awards from 1990-92. He has called more than 6,000 MLB games, including 
eight no-hitters, the 25-inning White Sox v. Brewers contest in 1984 
that was the longest game in American League history, and Kerry Wood's 
20-strikeout game in 1998.
  On November 2, 2016, when the Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year drought 
by winning game seven of the World Series, it was Pat who called the 
final out. He will forever be a part of Chicago Cubs history, and just 
as Pat studied other broadcasters, his legacy will be one to learn 
from.
  I congratulate Pat; his wife Trish; their daughters Janell and Amber; 
and his entire family on this achievement. Cubs fans everywhere are 
flying the W for you. And, as Pat would say, ``Get out the tape 
measure, Long Gone!''--all the way to Cooperstown.

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