Denny Matthews
From SoSH
Denny Matthews (b. November 14, 1942) has been the radio voice of the Kansas City Royals since their inception in 1969.
Broadcasting Biography
Matthews was born in Bloomington, Illinois, and played baseball and football at Illinois Wesleyan University. He worked for local Peoria and St. Louis radio and TV stations before he was hired by the expansion Royals in 1969, where he works still today. He was initially paired with Bud Blattner, and from 1974 to 1998, he worked with Frank White. White was replaced with Ryan Lefebvre in 1999, and despite a nearly thirty-year age gap, Matthews and Lefebvre work well together.
Of Matthews, statistician and historian Bill James said, "His voice has a pleasant timbre which suggests a cheerful occasion. His inflection varies naturally so it's neither falsely enthusiastic nor boring. He has a dry, understated humor that drifts through much of his audience undetected. One cannot learn these things at a microphone; they are given."
Matthews received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
