Cardinals legends Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner are up for historic Hall of Fame honors

The St. Louis Cardinals may have a short list of potential award winners this season, but the historic franchise has the potential to add a trophy to their case. Even with a few players putting up the best years of their careers, it will not be enough to squeak into the top of the major yearly awards. However, there are plenty of legends and deserving figures from the game's rich history and this year is more of the same.

The Ford C. Frick Award is an annual award given to a broadcaster who demonstrated a "commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers." Last year, the Cardinals had ties to many of the finalists before hometown talent Joe Buck took home the award. This year, baseball is turning back the clock and all of the finalists had careers prior to 1994 and Cardinals legends Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner are two who have connections to the St. Louis organization.

Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner are prominent figures in Cardinals history and are finalists for the Ford C. Frick Award

Beginning with Dizzy Dean, the Cardinals legend is best known for his franchise-best performances on the field. The one-time 30-game winner with the Cardinals was also the NL MVP that season that concluded in the Cardinals winning the 1934 World Series. The franchise icon ended up playing for the Cubs and St. Louis Browns before wrapping up his playing career in 1947 with a one-game return to the mound.

After his time on the field ended with a Hall of Fame induction in 1953, Dean spent the rest of his baseball life as a commentator. Upon finishing with the Cubs, Dean was in the booth for the Cardinals and Browns from 1941-1946 and then with the Yankees until 1951 before finishing his broadcast career with the Braves in 1966-1968. In between his time with the Yankees and Braves, Dean was on the call for ABC and CBS, adding his humor and commentary to the games of the week.

Moving to Buddy Blattner, he is a well-known figure behind the mic and a lot of that has to do with his partnership with Dean in the booth. Blattner did have a taste the big leagues, debuting with the St. Louis Browns in 1942 before finishing his career with four more seasons after serving in the war. He played 272 games as an infielder and put up a .247 batting average and hit 16 homers.

While playing, Blattner wrote for local television shows as a way to make some extra money. Once his career wrapped up, he moved behind the microphone with Dean for two seasons. Blattner then bounced around among organizations and media companies before wrapping up a 26-year broadcasting career in 1975.

The 16 Frick Award voters will have to choose between these two and eight others. The voting committee is made up of the 14 living Frick Award recipients and two broadcast historians or columnists. Joe Buck will be among those voting and the winner will be announced during the 2027 Hall of Fame weekend.

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