Ken Kal (Kalczynski) is being honored by the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame (NPASHF) as the 2024 recipient of its Tony Kubek Media Award. Presentation of the award to Mr. Kal will take place on June 20, 2024, at the 51st NPASHF Induction Banquet in Troy, Michigan.
Kal is the long-time radio play-by-play voice of the Detroit Red Wings on flagship station WXYT-FM 97.1 The Ticket and the team’s radio network.
The Tony Kubek Media Award is named after the NPASHF inductee and nationally known and honored television announcer. It is presented to an individual of Polish American heritage for outstanding contributions to sports media. The inaugural winner in 2019 was ESPN writer and sports analyst Adrian Wojnarowski and the 2021 recipient was national award-winning journalist Joe Posnanski.
Ken has demonstrated outstanding play-by-play professionalism throughout his long and distinguished career. Even after experiencing emergency surgery in the current Red Wings season, he has bounced back to broadcast the team’s quest to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Kal is Past President of the Detroit Sports Media Association and won its renowned Ty Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting in 2007. Tyson Award winners include Frank Beckmann, George Blaha, Jim Brandstatter, Mark Champion, Ken Daniels, Dan Dickerson, Jennifer Hammond, Ernie Harwell, Ray Lane, Josh Lewin, Budd Lynch, Dan Miller, Jamie Samuelsen and Will Tieman.
Kal always dreamed of calling Red Wings games. He gained valuable hockey broadcasting experience at the University of Michigan where he called Wolverines games for 11 seasons. He is thorough and diligent prepping for opposing NHL players and teams. His interviews with Red Wings coaches and players and his calls are well known to Red Wings fans (“He shoots…he scores!).
“I grew up in Detroit, and we had a pond in the backyard that would freeze over. I loved to skate out there and think about being the Red Wings’ announcer one day. Well, around age 10, my father bought me a tape recorder that I used to tape games from TV or radio. Then I would take the recorder outside and play the games as I skated along, joining in on the announcing.”
The National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame is delighted to honor this proud Polish American for his lifetime accomplishments in sports media.
Tickets for the banquet, honoring Ken Kal and the entire NPASHF Class of 2024, are $160 and can be ordered by calling George at (586) 574-3016 Visit the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame is available at www.polishsportshof.com.
