2024 Ford C. Frick Award winner Joe Castiglione

Joe Castiglione, who has called Red Sox games on the radio for a record 41 seasons, is the 2024 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.

“My first hero was Mel Allen (who along with Red Barber earned the initial Frick Award in 1978),” Castiglione said. “It’s just so meaningful to be in with some of the greats. It’s a tremendous honor."

Born March 2, 1947, in Hamden, Conn., Castiglione earned an undergraduate degree at Colgate University and took his master’s degree at Syracuse University – each about an hour from Cooperstown – before beginning his career at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio. After moving to Cleveland to work for WKYC-TV, he began calling Indians games in 1979 before working Brewers games in 1981 and then returning to the Indians’ booth in 1982.

Joining the Red Sox radio team in 1983, Castiglione is the longest tenured broadcaster in Red Sox history and has called historic moments that have included both of Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout games and four no-hitters. He delivered the final out calls in each of the Red Sox’s four World Series wins from 2004 through 2018, including the historic victory that snapped Boston’s 86-year championship drought.

“I had a one-year agreement (in 1983), so I was not counting on being here over 40 years later. I just wanted to get to the next season,” Castiglione said. “I never thought this would culminate in this great award."

Castiglione was inducted in the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014. The home Fenway Park radio booth was named in his honor in 2022.