Eric C. Nadel (2016) - Hall of Fame - Brown University Athletics

Eric C. Nadel

Induction:
2016
Class:
1972

Eric Nadel ’72, the longtime radio voice of the Texas Rangers, started his career as a student announcer at Brown and is now regarded as one of the most accomplished and recognizable broadcasters in Major League Baseball.

As a Brown undergraduate, Nadel announced hockey and football games on WBRU, honing his skills with a future set on broadcasting. After graduation, Nadel called hockey play-by-play in Muskegon, Oklahoma City and Dallas and then announced for the Dallas Diamonds of the Women’s Professional Basketball League, before the Rangers hired him in 1979. Nadel paired with Mark Holtz on Rangers radio broadcasts for 12 years, before he was named the lead voice in 1995. Nadel went on to call several historic Ranger milestones, including a pair of American League pennants.

Nadel has been with the Texas Rangers for the past 38 years, including the last 21 years as the lead voice on Rangers radio broadcasts. He has received myriad accolades for his craft, highlighted by the 2014 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Nadel has won the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Texas Sportscaster of the Year Award eight times, most recently in 2015.

Nadel’s name is synonymous with Texas Rangers Baseball and was recognized by the organization in 2012 when he became the 15th member of the club’s Hall of Fame. In 2006, the Brooklyn native signed a “lifetime contract” with the Rangers, giving him the option of determining when he will retire.

An author of three books, Nadel has continued to develop his skills over the years, including learning Spanish. He learned to speak it fluently and has done Spanish language broadcasts in several Latin American countries. In 2002, he appeared in the film The Rookie as the Rangers’ radio announcer, and his high school alma mater, Midwood High School, has created the “Eric Nadel Award for Athletic Improvement and Character,” presented annually to a deserving student-athlete.