Radio voice Hughes surprised on air with Cubs Hall of Fame nod

CHICAGO -- Pat Hughes remembers in his early days with the Cubs, Harry Caray would swing by the Wrigley Field radio booth on his few days off from the television broadcasts. Caray would take a seat between Hughes and Ron Santo and hop on air.

Hughes would tell his audience: "Along with Hall of Famer Harry Caray and Ron Santo, it's Pat Hughes at Wrigley."

In the fifth inning of Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Cardinals, Hughes smiled at that memory as the Wrigley Field crowd hummed in the background. He recalled how he would catch himself wondering how he got lucky enough to find himself in the booth with those Cubs icons.

"I had that same feeling a few minutes ago," Hughes said. "How did I get here? I can't explain it. It's just kind of, it's almost surreal."

A few minutes earlier, Hughes found out on air that he was going to be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame next month. Crane Kenney, the Cubs' president of business operations, handed Hughes a press release to read on the television broadcast announcing the newest members.

"Can you read that there, partner?" Cubs broadcaster Ron Coomer said.

"I think it says this is me going into the Hall of Fame?" Hughes said on air. "Wow."

During his usual in-game break from the booth, the 67-year-old Hughes found himself in the back of the press box, meeting with reporters to discuss his on-air moment. Hughes quipped that he is rarely speechless, but this news "came out of the blue" for the long-time voice of the Cubs.

Hughes, who began his Cubs broadcasting career in 1996, will be inducted along with the late Buck O'Neil and former Cubs outfielder José Cardenal (1972-77). The trio will be honored on Sept. 10, when their Hall of Fame plaques will be unveiled in the left-field concourse.

"How about that?" Cubs manager David Ross said after the Cubs’ thrilling win. "Yeah, I was happy for Pat. Pat's great. I mean, this isn't about me, but I've listened to his calls of some of my accomplishments, especially of my time here. Pat, he's a good human being. He's a good soul."

O'Neil -- inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year -- was the first Black coach in American League or National League history in 1962 with the Cubs. He was also a scout for the franchise in the 1950s, as well as a former player, manager, champion and beloved advocate for the Negro Leagues.

Eddie Vedder, the lead singer of Pearl Jam and a Cubs fan, has made it no secret over the years that Cardenal was his favorite player growing up. On Wednesday night, the Cubs released a video of Vedder informing Cardenal that he was going into the Cubs Hall of Fame.

"I don't know what to say, man," Cardenal said in the Zoom call with Vedder. "I know I'm never going to make it to Cooperstown, but that's great that at least I can make it to the Cubs Hall of Fame. To me, I don't know what to tell you, man. I feel like crying."

After Hughes learned of his induction during the broadcast, the news was displayed on a video board inside the Friendly Confines. The crowd roared with approval for Hughes, who will join Jack Brickhouse and Caray as the only broadcasters in the Cubs Hall of Fame who were not former players.

Hughes joked that he did not know whether to salute or wave when the latest standing ovation from the Wrigley faithful was in his honor.

"I'm not used to that," he said. "That's another thing about being a Cubs announcer: The audience that we get to perform for every single day is incredibly gracious. At the end of every season, invariably, I'll get emails or texts from people that I know.

"And they thank me for the job that I did -- 'Thank you, Pat.' No, no, no, you got it wrong. I'm the one thanking you for being a great audience, because they really are an incredible group of fans. Knowledgeable, numerous, passionate, and just the sweetest bunch of people that you could possibly have as a public performer."

At the end of the top of the third inning, as Hughes was still on air discussing the surprise reveal, Cardinals star Nolan Arenado struck out and was promptly ejected for arguing the call. The Cubs’ broadcaster laughed when asked whether that helped him get back into game mode.

"Well, no," he said with a smile. "I said, 'I'm kind of glad this is the way that my half-inning ended, with a Cardinal getting booted out of the game. But no, that was just one of those things. And he was kind of upset, but I'm glad to see him go. That gives us a better chance of winning."