Astros announce nominees for induction into Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros have announced the five nominees for induction into the Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor. All five esteemed media members were nominated by fellow colleagues in the industry. The 2023 nominees are retired journalist for the Houston Chronicle David Barron, TV broadcast statistician Phil Boudreaux, former Colt .45s and early Astros beat writer Clark Nealon, former Colt .45s and original Astros broadcaster Loel Passe, and former Astros broadcaster Bill Worrell.

The Astros began the Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor in 2007, when Anita Martini was chosen as the inaugural inductee. She’s been followed by Gene Elston (2008), Neil Hohlfeld (2009), Mickey Herskowitz (2010), Bill Brown (2011), Milo Hamilton (2012), Rene Cardenas (2013), Alex Treviño (2014), Harry Shattuck (2015), Mark Berman (2016), Bob Allen (2017), Karen Warren (2018), Larry Dierker (2019), Kevin Eschenfelder (2020) and Jamie Hildreth (2022).

Votes must be submitted no later than Friday, Sept. 15.

Barron’s career in Houston spanned three decades, from 1990-2021, while serving as a copy editor and assistant sports editor, and later as a writer for the Houston Chronicle. Barron covered high school, college, professional and Olympic sports during his time at the Chronicle, while also covering sports media. He covered some of the most noteworthy moments in Houston sports, which included the departure of the Houston Oilers, the contraction of the Southwest Conference and the constructions of Minute Maid Park, NRG Stadium and the Toyota Center. Barron wrote over 9,000 articles in his career in Houston, many of those covering the Astros organization, its ownership groups, front office staff, coaches, players and postseason appearances.

Boudreaux, a staple of Astros baseball for over 40 years, works behind the scenes as the statistician for Astros telecasts. For nearly every Astros home game in those 40 seasons, Boudreaux has assisted Astros broadcasters, a group that includes the current team of Todd Kalas and Geoff Blum and former broadcasters Bill Brown, Jim Deshaies, Larry Dierker, Milo Hamilton and Gene Elston, to name a few. In addition to joining the telecast in 1982, Boudreaux also served as a sports producer and reporter for KTRH Radio from 1982-89 producing the award winning Sportsbeat show with Jerry Trupiano and John Breen. Boudreaux has worked over 3,000 Astros games for the various television broadcasters over the years. Phil also collaborated with Bill Brown and Mike Acosta on the 2021 book “Houston Astros’ Golden Era,” which traced the team’s history.

Nealon, a pioneer of professional baseball in Houston, covered the sport for parts of five decades from the 1930’s until his retirement in 1974. He entered and retired from the Houston media as the sports editor at the Houston Post, with his time at the Post being interrupted by stints in the armed services and with the Houston Press. During his time in the Houston media, Nealon covered the minor league Houston Buffs until Major League Baseball came to Houston in 1962. He was among the first group of Houston-area writers to be at Apache Junction for the Colt .45s inaugural Spring Training. The 1991 recipient of the Fred Hartman Long and Meritorious Award, Nealon passed away in 1992 at the age of 83.

Passe was on the radio calling baseball games in Houston for over 25 years from 1950-1976. He got his start in baseball in 1950 as the main play-by-play announcer for the Houston Buffs, then a minor league baseball team in the city. When Houston was awarded an expansion franchise in 1962, Passe moved over to serve as one of the Colt .45s original broadcasters. He would stay in that role, partnering with Gene Elston, from 1962-76. A native of Alabama, Passe’s southern accent charmed Houston baseball fans for a generation. He passed away in 1997 and was posthumously inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2004.

Worrell had a broadcasting career that spanned over 50 years, which included time serving as an analyst on Astros telecasts from 1985-2004, a run that featured seven Astros playoff teams. A graduate of the University of Houston, Worrell covered the Astros from 1970-80 while at KPRC Channel 2, where he served as Sports Director from 1974-80. During his time at KPRC, Worrell received six “Best Sportscaster” awards from the United Press International and the Texas Association of Broadcasters. In addition to his time covering baseball, Worrell served as the Houston Rockets lead play-by-play announcer for 40 seasons before retiring following the 2021 campaign.