Background
Brickhouse was born in Peoria, Illinois to Will and Daisy Brickhouse. His father died when Jack was just two years old, and he was largely raised by his mother. He started his first job when he was only eleven, delivering the Peoria Journal and Peoria Star, and subsequently attended Peoria Manual High School.
He began his long broadcasting career when only eighteen, at Peoria radio station WMBD in 1934. Chicago radio station WGN hired him in 1940 to broadcast Cubs and White Sox games, largely on the recommendation of their top announcer, Bob Elson. He was also the very first face shown when WGN-TV, Chicago's Channel 9, began broadcasting in 1948 after his U.S. Marine Corps service in World War II, when he missed the 1945 season, the only time in his long tenure that the Cubs would win the National League pennant. His only pennant as a broadcaster would belong to the White Sox in 1959, but neither the 1945 Cubs nor the 1959 Chisox won the World Series.
He broadcast both Cubs and White Sox games until 1967, which he was able to do because they almost never played at home on the same day, and retired in 1981.
Even in retirement, Brickhouse maintained a high profile as a Cubs and WGN ambassador. He would occasionally return to the booth for special events, such as Wrigley Field's annual "70's Night". He also guested with Harry Caray when the Cubs secured their first postseason berth in 39 years, as they clinched the 1984 National League Eastern Division title in Pittsburgh.
They won the first two games at Wrigley but lost the last three to the Padres in San Diego, in the last year the LCS was only a best-of-five series.
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