Dave Van Horne
{{Short description|American baseball announcer (born 1939)}}
{{about|the baseball announcer|the University of Arkansas baseball coach|Dave van Horn}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Dave Van Horne
|image = Dave Van Horne 2011 (cropped).jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Van Horne in 2011
|birth_name = David Van Horne
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|8|25}}
|birth_place = Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|awards = Montreal Expos Hall of Fame
Ford C. Frick Award (2011)
| module = {{Infobox baseball biography
| embed = yes
| hofcolor= #EC1C40
| hoflink= Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
| hoftype= Canadian
| hofdate= 2014
}}
}}
David Van Horne (born August 25, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball broadcaster whose big-league announcing career lasted for 53 seasons. He was honoured at the National Baseball Hall of Fame as winner of the Ford C. Frick Award in 2011.
Van Horne was the lead play-by-play announcer for the Miami Marlins Radio Network from 2001 through 2021; prior to that, he spent 32 years of his broadcasting career with the Montreal Expos, 14 of those years partnered with Duke Snider. In {{mlby|2003}}, he described games of the World Series-champion Florida Marlins.
Early life and education
Van Horne attended and graduated from Wilson Area High School in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1957. Van Horne entered the drama department at the Richmond Professional Institute in Richmond, Virginia.
Career
While attending Richmond Professional Institute, he began hosting a Top 40 program at a local radio station, which led to his dropping out of school and starting a full-time broadcasting career in Roanoke, where he began calling high school football and basketball. This led in turn to Van Horne calling baseball for the Richmond Braves, the Class AAA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, beginning in 1966. He was hired by the Montreal Expos{{cite news |last=Zurkowsky|first=Herb|date=January 17, 2022|title=Montreal near and dear to legendary Expos broadcaster Dave Van Horne|url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/baseball/montreal-near-and-dear-to-legendary-expos-broadcaster-dave-van-horne|work=Montreal Gazette|location= |access-date=}} for their inaugural season in 1969.{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dave-van-horne/|title=Dave Van Horne – Society for American Baseball Research|website=Sabr.org|access-date=3 December 2021}}
=Montreal Expos (1969–2000)=
Van Horne broadcast the Expos first game on April 14, 1969, and their ninth game on April 17, when Bill Stoneman pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Norm |title=Dave Van Horne |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dave-van-horne/ |website=sabr.org |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) |access-date=11 January 2025}} Across his tenure, he also got to call Willie Mays' 3,000th hit, Pete Rose's 4,000th hit, and two additional no-hitters (another by Stoneman in 1972, and Charlie Lea's in 1980).{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Norm |title=Dave Van Horne |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dave-van-horne/ |website=sabr.org |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) |access-date=11 January 2025}}
Van Horne is well known for his "El Presidente, El Perfecto!" call, made when Montreal Expos pitcher Dennis Martínez completed his perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28, 1991. With the Expos, his sign-in phrase "Thanks Duke and hi again, everybody. Glad to have you aboard for today's game...", and home run call "up, up and away" projected his enthusiasm and excitement.
In 2000, as the Expos had not secured an English radio or television contract, Van Horne broadcast the season over the Internet.{{Cite web| website= Canadianbaseballnews.com| date = 2000-04-18| title = under EXPOSed| url = http://www.canadianbaseballnews.com/MonExpos/exposstor.html| access-date = 2010-12-23 }}
With the Expos broadcast situation still unsettled for the 2001 season, Van Horne left at the end of 2000 to broadcast for the Marlins.
=Florida/Miami Marlins (2001–2021)=
Beginning in 2001, Van Horne broadcast games for the Marlins. During his time in Florida, he called the 2003 World Series championship.
Van Horne broadcast the last Expos home game in Montreal from the Marlins' broadcast booth on September 29, 2004—a 9–1 win for Florida. After the game was over, Van Horne joined the Expos television crew for a special post-game show.{{YouTube|id=3g_NodTKpA0|title=Final game for the Montreal Expos}}
By the 2020s, Van Horne had his schedule reduced substantially{{cite web |last1=Halberstam |first1=David J. |title=Hall of Famer Dave Van Horne pushed out by Marlins; Original Expos' voice gone after 53 years |url=https://www.sportsbroadcastjournal.com/hall-of-famer-dave-van-horne-pushed-out-by-marlins-original-expos-voice-gone-after-53-years/ |website=sportsbroadcastjournal.com |publisher=Sports Broadcast Journal |access-date=22 December 2024}} on the order of the radio station.{{cite web |last1=Di Nicola |first1=Christina |title=HOF broadcaster Van Horne retires |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/dave-van-horne-retires-from-broadcasting?msockid=22397ed1e3fc65c02a426bd0e24c6439 |website=mlb.com |publisher=MLB Advanced Media, LP. |access-date=22 December 2024}} After calling 54 games in 2021, he was offered a 20-game schedule for the 2022 season.{{cite web |last1=Jackson |first1=Barry |title=Miami Marlins radio voice Dave Van Horne retires. Here's why and what listeners can expect |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article257324187.html |website=miamiherald.com |publisher=The Miam Herald |access-date=22 December 2024}} In January 2022, Van Horne rejected the offer and instead officially announced his retirement from broadcasting.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=January 17, 2022|title=Dave Van Horne Retires As Radio Voice Of Miami Marlins|url=https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2022/01/17/dave-van-horne-retires-as-radio-voice-of-miami-marlins/|work=Barrett Sports Media|location= |access-date=}}{{cite news |last=Jackson|first=Barry|date=January 15, 2022|title=Miami Marlins radio voice Dave Van Horne retires. Here's why and what listeners can expect|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article257324187.html|work=Miami Herald|location= |access-date=}}
Awards and honors
Van Horne was named the 1996 recipient of the Jack Graney Award by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for "A lifetime of media achievement". He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 21, 2014, along with former Montreal Expos general manager Murray Cook and third baseman Tim Wallach.
Van Horne is the 2011 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/hof11/news/story?id=5898892|title=Broadcaster Van Horne wins Hall's Frick Award|date=8 December 2010|website=ESPN.com|access-date=3 December 2021}}
He received the award on July 23, 2011 in Cooperstown, New York.{{Cite web| title = HOF Weekend 2011| publisher = National Baseball Hall of Fame| year = 2011| url = http://baseballhall.org/plan-your-visit/events/hof-weekend| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110709111122/http://baseballhall.org/plan-your-visit/events/hof-weekend| archive-date = 2011-07-09| access-date = 2011-07-22}}
Personal life
Van Horne is married to his wife Josée, with whom he has six children: David, Jim, Jeff, Dewayne, Jon, and Madison.{{cite web |title=David Van Horne |url=https://montrealgazette.remembering.ca/obituary/david-van-horne-1066542148 |website=montrealgazette.remembering.ca |publisher=Montreal Gazette Obituaries |access-date=11 January 2025}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/frick/dave-van-horne Dave Van Horne] Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20091104020413/http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Silky+smooth+voice+Amours/2171809/story.html Montreal newspaper interview on memories of Expos]
- {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130120204744/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/Montreal/2004/09/28/647071.html Ottawa Sun article]}} on the final Expos home series
{{2011 Baseball HOF}}
{{Ford C. Frick Award}}
{{Washington Nationals HOF}}
{{Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Horne, Dave}}
Category:American expatriate baseball people in Canada
Category:American radio sports announcers
Category:Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Category:Major League Baseball broadcasters
Category:Miami Marlins announcers
Category:Minor League Baseball broadcasters
Category:Montreal Expos announcers
Category:Sportspeople from Easton, Pennsylvania