2018 San Mateo County History Maker is Jon Miller

Article Source: San Mateo County Historical Association

Photo: Jon Miller, Copyright San Francisco Giants

2018 San Mateo County History Maker is Jon Miller

The San Mateo County Historical Association is pleased to announce that baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Jon Miller is its 2018 San Mateo County History Maker. Jon Miller is best known locally for his 21 years as the San Francisco Giants play-by-play announcer. Among his professional highlights is broadcasting all three of the Giants World Series championships.

Each year the Historical Association organizes its San Mateo County History Makers dinner to recognize an individual or family who has made a significant impact on San Mateo County and whose actions have also significantly affected development outside of the County, at least on a statewide basis. This history making might have importance in people’s lives economically, socially, or politically. It may inspire lifestyle, educational, environmental, or spiritual change.

Past honorees have been:

· 2003: T. Jack Foster Family, for creating a progressive community, modeled by many
· 2004: Gordon Moore, for founding Intel and his western philanthropic interests
· 2005: Ann Johnson, for restoring the Carolands Chateau
· 2006: Dr. Thomas J. Fogarty, for medical advances and his winery
· 2007: Borel Family, for their many business and philanthropic works in California
· 2008: The Lane Family, for improving Sunset Magazine and establishing it in San Mateo County
· 2009: Roth Family, for the preservation of Filoli
· 2010: The Crocker Family, for this Hillsborough family’s influence in shaping the history of the West
· 2011: Keith Sorenson and Jim Fox, for exemplary work in bringing justice to San Mateo County over 57 years
· 2012: Willie Mays, for his activities as a concerned citizen of San Mateo County
· 2013: William K. Bowes, Jr., Reid W. Dennis, William H. Draper, and F.P. “Pitch” Johnson, for their groundbreaking work in venture capital which introduced services and products that changed the world
· 2014: Y.A. Tittle, for demonstrating outstanding citizenship as an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback
· 2015: Pete and Paula Uccelli, for conceiving an iconic San Mateo County business, Pete’s Harbor, and being effective community leaders for many decades
· 2016: The Wisnom Family, for being pioneers of “Old San Mateo” and establishing its business community
· 2017: Tad Taube for this Woodside resident’s record of distinction in international philanthropy



In 2018, the Historical Association wishes to honor Jon Miller because this resident of the San Mateo County Coastside is one of the greatest baseball announcers ever.

· Since 1997, he has been the play by play announcer for the San Francisco Giants.
· Between 1990 and 2010, he was a baseball announcer for ESPN.
· In 2010, he received the Ford F. Frick award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
· He began his broadcasting career at KCSM at the College of San Mateo.

Mr. Miller has decided to participate because the dinner functions as an important fundraiser for the Historical Associaiton’s programs. He is particularly interested in its educational offerings to the schools, which last year provided hands-on, interactive learning experiences for 20,000 school children and their chaperones.

In summation, the activities of the Historical Association include:

· Operating its three museums: San Mateo County History Museum, Sanchez Adobe, and Woodside Store (total attendance 65,000)
· Conducting school programs at the three museums plus Folger Stable
· Providing public access to its archives through its research library
· Caring for the 420,000 historic items in its collections
· Organizing special educational programs for adults and children on a monthly basis
· Continuing a creative schedule of changing exhibits at the San Mateo County History Museum
· Publishing a historical journal, La Peninsula
· Acting as a clearinghouse for matters of historic preservation throughout the county

The San Mateo County History Makers Dinner will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame on September 27. The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a hosted cocktail reception, followed by dinner, a brief live auction, a special film created by the Historical Association as a salute to Miller and then comments by Jon himself. The Master of Ceremonies will be Giants commentator Marty Lurie.

Those wishing to attend can contact the Association’s offices at 650-299-0104 or go to www.historysmc.org.

Jon Miller’s broadcast career has been amazing. He grew-up in Hayward and got baseball under his skin at the age of 10, when he saw the Giants beat the Dodgers 19 to 8 at old Candlestick Park. He quips he wanted to become a broadcaster after seeing an announcer having free food and drink in the press box! Miller credits the statistical game Strat O-Matic with advancing his interest in baseball and developing his speaking skills as he would pretend to be Vin Scully or other legendary announcers while playing the game.

After high school, he chose attending the College of San Mateo because it had developed a widely respected radio and television curriculum. He began calling school games over the College’s radio station (KCSM-FM). This included his first baseball broadcasts. After CSM he went to work as the sports director at KFTY-TV in Santa Rosa, and his career was launched.

Beginning in 1986, he became known nationally for announcing television games for NBC. Perhaps he is most remembered for a 20 year span in which he called games for ESPN with Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan. During this time he covered 13 World Series.
At the end of the 1996 season, he was hired by the Giants as their top play-by-play broadcaster.

Through the years, Miller has earned a variety of recognitions. None could be more meaningful than when the National Baseball Hall of Fame honored him with the Ford C. Frick award in 2010. This distinction is presented annually to a broadcaster for “major contributions to baseball.”

For local sports fans, Miller is best remembered for calling Barry Bonds’ record breaking 756th home run in 2007, and for his play-by-play during the Giants run of three World Series championships in five years. His call of the final out of the third of these World Series is now historic:

Madison Bumgarner trying to wrap up this World Series for the Giants. He’s ready. He throws, swing and a pop-up! Sandoval down the line in foul ground, he’s got plenty of room, and he’s got it! And the Giants have won; they have won the World Series for the third time in five years. And Madison Bumgarner has firmly etched his name on the all-time World Series record books as one of the greatest World Series pitchers the game has ever seen!

/s/ Sarah Phelps
Development Associate
San Mateo County Historical Association
2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063
Ph: 650.299.0104, ext. 224 | Fax: 650.299.0141
sarah@historysmc.org | www.historysmc.org

Current changing exhibits at the History Museum:
Your Country Needs You! Posters from World War II (through October 7, 2018)
Peninsula at War: San Mateo County’s World War II Legacy (through February 4, 2019)

Photo:

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Robert Riechel

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Photo Credit: Jon Miller, Copyright San Francisco Giants

Source Credit: San Mateo County CA History Museum

Web Site: www.historysmc.org

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