This year’s winner of the Ballpark Digest Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Roy Acuff, the longtime voice of the San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League). The Dean of Texas League Broadcasters, Acuff has been the Voice of the Missions for 20 seasons, but he goes even farther back in the Texas League; in 1974 he was the Voice of the Victoria Toros, and he managed to parlay that experience into a gig with the Missions with Dave Elmore’s purchase of the team in 1988.
This year’s winner of the Ballpark Digest Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Roy Acuff, the longtime voice of the San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League). The Dean of Texas League Broadcasters, Acuff has been the Voice of the Missions for 20 seasons, but he goes even farther back in the Texas League; in 1974 he was the Voice of the Victoria Toros, and he managed to parlay that experience into a gig with the Missions with Dave Elmore’s purchase of the team in 1988. Talk about stability: Elmore still owns the team, and the man who hired Acuff, Burl Yarborough, is still in charge.
That alone wouldn’t be enough for a Lifetime Achievement award. What swayed us were the testimonials from his fellow Texas League broadcasters. Like this one:
“Roy Acuff is one of the true joys of baseball in the Texas League,” says Phil Elson, play-by-play announcer for the Arkansas Travelers. “His love for and dedication to baseball shows all throughout the season. Roy doesn’t just enjoy watching the game and delivering play-by-play. He truly is interested in the men who play the game and the people who work around the league. San Antonio baseball fans have been well served throughout the years by Roy, and I have always valued his friendship.”