Denny Matthews

Dennis G. Matthews

• School Illinois Wesleyan University
• Born November 14, 1942 in Jacksonville, FL USA

Biographical Information

Denny Matthews is a broadcaster for the Kansas City Royals. Matthews had a stellar football career at Illinois Wesleyan University, and entered broadcasting after graduation in 1966. He began his career at WMBD-TV in Peoria before moving to the larger market at KMOX-TV in St. Louis.

With the Expansion of 1969, the Royals needed to fill out their broadcasting team. They hired veteran broadcaster Bud Blattner and installed Matthews as their #2 man on radio. He has been with the club ever since.

From 1974 to 1998, Matthews was paired with Fred White, creating one of the longest combinations in broadcasting history. Matthews is one of nine broadcasters to spend his entire career of at least 35 years with one franchise. Starting his 49th year with the Royals in 2017, he has the second longest tenure of any active broadcaster, behind only Dodgers Spanish-language announcer Jaime Jarrin. He currently works with Ryan Lefebvre on the Royals Radio Network.

In addition to his work with the Royals, Matthews called the 1982 and 1985 World Series for CBS Radio. In 1982, he worked with Ernie Harwell on the ALCS.

In 2004, Matthews was elected to the Royals Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Ford Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Related Sites

• Denny Matthews at the SABR Bio Project