Pat Hughes gets a Cubs’ Hall of Fame surprise

CHICAGO – There were two revelations when it came to the Cubs and their honoring of former great players from their past on Wednesday evening.

There was also one very big surprise for their longtime radio play-by-play broadcaster.

Pat Hughes was among three people who were announced as part of the Cubs Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022, including recently enshrined Baseball Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil and outfielder Jose Cardenal.

Along with that came criteria that were set for induction for this induction by team historian Ed Hartig:

• Players who were with the team five or more years
• Made a significant contribution to the Cubs organization
• Pre-1950s Cubs players that finished in the top ten in one major statistical category
• Players who finished their Cubs’ career by the 2000 season that were in the team’s top ten in one statistical category in their era

The 13 voters included five Baseball Hall of Fame Members – Andre Dawson, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, and Billy Williams – along with eight members of the media.

Perhaps the best part of the announcement had to do with Hughes, who was in the broadcast booth when it was made. While on the air, Cubs business president Crane Kenney handed the announcer the list of the new members of the team’s Hall of Fame, with the first being Hughes.

“Wow,” said Hughes as he paused for a moment after reading his name while others in the booth clapped.

Joining the Cubs after a long run with the Brewers in 1996, Hughes has been a steady presence in the team’s radio booth with color commentators Ron Santo and Ron Coomer. He’s won numerous awards for his radio calls on both WGN-AM and WSCR-AM while also taking on occasional television play-by-play duties with Marquee Sports Network the past few seasons.