to take time off to undergo surgery on June 12, 2004 to remove a brain tumor. Following the surgery, Cheek was able to call some Blue Jays home games while undergoing chemotherapy, but was replaced on the road by various guest announcers. For a time, it seemed he had recovered and would be able to resume calling Blue Jays games in 2005. However, the cancer returned and he required further treatment at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital. Cheek sat in with the new commentator, Canadian-born former minor league baseball infielder/outfielder Warren Sawkiw, and Howarth, to call an inning of the Blue Jays' 2005 opening game in Tampa Bay. He died at age 66 in Oldsmar, Florida, and was interred in the Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater, Florida. Personal life Cheek married his wife, Shirley, of Hemmingford, Quebec, in 1959. They had three children—Jeff, Lisa, and Tom—and seven grandchildren at the time of his death. Jeff was a pitcher in the Blue Jays organization from 1992 to 1994. Awards and honors Cheek was inducted into the Blue Jays Level of Excellence in 2004 with the number "4306" next to his name, signifying his broadcasting streak. Shortly before his death, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame established the Tom Cheek Media Leadership Award for "playing a key role in promoting Canadian sports"; Cheek himself was the recipient of the first award. During the 2006 season, the Blue Jays wore a white circular sewn-on patch with the letters TC, and a radio microphone in black, beside the letters on their uniform sleeves in tribute to Cheek. For nine straight years (2005–2013), Cheek was among the ten finalists for the Ford C. Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, an award presented each year, during the Hall's induction weekend, to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". He received the 2013 award on December 5, 2012. Memorable calls On October 2, 1991, Cheek described the Blue Jays' win of the AL East this way: On October 24, 1992, Cheek called the Blue Jays' first World Series championship: On October 23, 1993, Cheek called the Jays' back-to-back World Series championship with his famous call: Bibliography References External links Tom Cheek Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tom Cheek calling Joe Carter's 1993 World Series-clinching Home Run 1939 births 2005 deaths American radio sports announcers