The quest to keep Jack Quinlan's legacy alive ... and in the Hall

Second of 2 parts

A generation of Cubs fans fondly remembers the voices of Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau streaming from transistor radios tuned to WGN.

But before Vince and Lou, there was Jack and Lou, and if it weren't for a tragic twist of fate, we might recall Jack Quinlan as the radio voice calling Leo Durocher's Cubs during the fateful 1969 season.

But during spring training, on March 19, 1965, the award-winning broadcaster was driving back to his motel after playing golf when his rented car failed to negotiate a curve on an Arizona highway near Mesa and crashed into a parked truck. He was only 38.

Glenview native and longtime St. Louis broadcaster Ron Barber compared the impact on young Cubs fans to the death of JFK.

"He had a Pied Piperesque quality with us. Every one of us kids who grew up listening to him knows exactly what he or she was doing the moment we heard he had been killed. For many of us, our summers were never the same."

Today, Barber is devoted to keeping Quinlan's memory alive. He has an active Quinlan Facebook page and has published a two-volume audiobook set, "Jack Quinlan - Forgotten Greatness."

Barber isn't merely content with reviving his idol's work. He wants to see Quinlan receive the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to a broadcaster for excellence in broadcasting.

As the years pass, Barber's quest is growing more quixotic. Quinlan came close in 2015. He was one of the 10 finalists, three of whom, including Quinlan, were chosen by the fans. But Dick Enberg emerged as the 2015 recipient.

Barber notes that the next year the Hall discontinued the practice of fan voting.

"I really feel they were taken off guard by the magnitude of support for Jack Quinlan and wanted to present the award to a living ex-broadcaster," he said.

The vice president of communications and education for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Jon Shestakofsky, in an email, said, "Frick Award voters are asked to base their selections on the following criteria, without regard to whether or not the candidate is living or can present a speech in Cooperstown: Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers."

He added that in two of the last seven award cycles that "did not specifically focus on broadcasting pioneers, winners of the Frick Award included Tom Cheek in 2013 and Bill King in 2016, who both passed away in 2005."

Undaunted, Barber continues on the stump, recently appearing on the Chicago radio show hosted by another Quinlan advocate, Bob Sirott.

He also has an ally in Quinlan fan Bob Costas, a former associate of Barber's at KMOX in St. Louis, who told him, "Barber, this guy Quinlan is one of the 10 best broadcasters who ever lived!"

And Barber said that when he asked Quinlan's successor, Vince Lloyd, if Quinlan belonged in the Hall, Lloyd, without missing a beat, answered, "Oh, hell, yes! And anyone who heard three innings of any game he ever broadcast would agree."

Barber began reassembling Quinlan's legacy after hearing tapes of the 1960 World Series, an experience that brought tears to his eyes.

WGN helped by providing him its archives of reel-to-reel and cassette tapes. Sad to say, an executive at one point had trashed precious boxes of archival material.

In explaining Quinlan's appeal, Barber said, "He was one of a kind. His voice was electrifying in its timbre and quality."

Quinlan displayed a rich sense of humor as well, especially in his banter with Boudreau on commercials for Wieboldt's department store.

Quinlan's professionalism shined on the national stage, when he and Chuck Thompson alternated calling all seven games of the 1960 World Series, including the famous climax, when the Pirates' Bill Mazeroski hit his dramatic homer to beat the Yankees.

Barber points out that Quinlan's World Series call was not only technically flawless, but particularly impressive since he did not have a color commentator.

But the best way of assessing Quinlan is by listening. Let's turn the dial to WGN. On May 15, 1960, Don Cardwell, in his first start with the Cubs, is one out away from a no-hitter and the Wrigley Field crowd of 33,000 is roaring.

Quinlan gets caught up in the excitement as the Cardinals' Joe Cunningham wipes his hands on a rag with the count 3-and-1.

Cardwell blows a called strike two past Cunningham, who feels it was out of the strike zone.

"Cunningham is arguing now. He's really sore. He is really peeved at that strike two that was called. He's back here barking at Tony Venzon the plate umpire."

Cunningham then steps back in.

"One more pitch could end the ballgame. You know what kind of a pitch we're hoping for. The dark one. Blow it past him, Don.

"Three balls two strikes. Cunningham waits. Cardwell into the windup. Here's the biggest pitch of this ballgame ... lined into left field. Here's ('Moose') Moryn coming."

His voice loses all restraint as he cries, "He's got it. He's got it. A no-hitter," We then hear, "Cardwell's teammates are pounding him to death. Listen to this crowd."

Quinlan's next opportunity for the Frick award, according to the Hall of Fame, will be in 2023.

In a way, Barber's quest is reminiscent of the efforts to enshrine Ron Santo. With a boost from Costas and lobbying from the faithful who still remember, Barber might yet attain his impossible dream.