jack brickhouse

Jack Brickhouse was born January 24, 1916, in Peoria, Illinois. The legendary sportscaster began his career at WMBD/Peoria in 1934. At age 18, Brickhouse was the youngest announcer in the nation. Among his other duties were man on the street interviews, covering disasters and parades, and reading the Sunday funnies to children.

With the help of sportscaster Bob Elston, he landed a job with WGN/Chicago in 1940. While at WGN, Brickhouse was the voice for both the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, and he also spent 24 consecutive seasons as play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bears along with friend and colleague Irv  Kupcinet.

Brickhouse was also heard nationally describing four World Series, five All Star Games and three NFL championship games. In addition, he brought wrestling into America's living rooms as ringside announcer on the DuMont Television Network.

Although primarily known for his sportscasts, Brickhouse covered big band remotes, political conventions and presidential inaugurations. In the 1960s, he hosted Jack Brickhouse Reports on WGN which featured interviews with entertainers, athletes, politicians and authors.

Jack Brickhouse died on August 6, 1998.

He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998.