TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Mud Hens airwaves will be quieter and sadder with the club's announcement of the death of "Voice of the Hens" Jim Weber. The play-by-play announcer's passing was made public by the organization on Friday.
Weber first took to the airwaves on April 12, 1975, as he called the team's road game against Charleston. After that, Weber never missed a game, broadcasting more than 6,000 consecutive contests.
"Jim Weber will forever be synonymous with Toledo Mud Hens baseball,” Erik Ibsen, executive vice president and general manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, said in a news release. "He was a complete icon, a legend in his field and a good friend. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him and had the pleasure of listening to him call games for nearly 50 years.”
Among the notable series Weber called were Mud Hens’ Governors Cup Championship teams in 2005 and 2006 as well as play-by-play duties of two International League All-Star contests in 1990 (in Las Vegas) and when the game was held at Fifth Third Field in 2006.
Weber made it into the IL Hall of Fame in 2014 on the first ballot.
“As players have come and gone over the years, Jim was a staple of Mud Hens baseball for nearly 50 years,” said Neil Neukam, executive vice president and general manager of the Toledo Walleye. “An amazing accomplishment that I don’t believe we will ever see again in Minor League Baseball. A first ballot International League Hall of Famer, with a style all his own, I will miss Jim, his play-by-play, his stories and his uncanny ability to always make me laugh.”
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