"for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, merely featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum, but writers and broadcasters commonly call them "Hall of Fame writers" or words to that effect. Living recipients were members of the Veterans Committee for elections in odd years 2003 to 2007. Three final candidates, selected by a BBWAA committee, were named on July 12, 2005 in Detroit in conjunction with All-Star Game activities; the finalists were: Joe Goddard of the Chicago Sun-Times; the late Vern Plagenhoef, who covered the Detroit Tigers for Michigan's Booth Newspaper Group; and Tracy Ringolsby, who has covered the Colorado Rockies for the Rocky Mountain News since 1993 and has written on baseball for 30 years. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November. On December 7, Tracy Ringolsby was announced as the recipient, having received 225 votes out of the 429 ballots cast, with Goddard receiving 128 votes and Plagenhoef receiving 76. Ford C. Frick Award Gene Elston received the Ford C. Frick Award honoring a baseball broadcaster. The Frick Award has been presented at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1978. It recognizes a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, merely featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum, but writers and broadcasters commonly call them "Hall of Fame broadcaster" or words to that effect. Living honorees were members of the Veterans Committee for elections in odd years 2003 to 2007. On December 6, 2005, the ten finalists were announced. In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a research committee at the museum: Tom Cheek, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Gene Elston, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, and Graham McNamee. Three additional candidates – Bill King, Dave Niehaus, and Jacques Doucet – were selected through results of voting by fans conducted throughout November at the Hall's official website; more than 105,000 votes were cast. Photos and profiles of the ten candidates can be found at the Hall's website. On February 21, Gene Elston was announced as the 2006 recipient ; best known for his 25 years of broadcasting Houston Astros games from 1962 to 1986, he was selected in a January vote by a committee composed of the 14 living