Inductees

Over the years, Royals fans have followed the hitting of George Brett, graceful fielding of Frank White and the masterful pitching of Bret Saberhagen. But one aspect of Royals baseball has remained a constant – the voice of Denny Matthews.

His broadcasting career started in college, where he worked as an announcer during the basketball season and then began announcing high school football on Friday nights before playing on Saturdays for the Illinois Wesleyan Titans. After college, Matthews worked in St. Louis at KMOX when he found out about the vacant number two announcer position for the expansion Kansas City Royals. He was hired from a field of over 300 applicants. He served as the color commentator from 1969 to 1973 and was then joined by Fred White to form the tandem of “Denny and Fred,” which called Royals actions through the Midwest through the 1988 season. Ryan Lefebvre joined the Royals in 1999 and the circle has been completed, as Matthews now serves as the veteran announcer with the younger Lefebvre as his sidekick.