Dick Enberg | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | Richard Alan Enberg (1935-01-09)January 9, 1935 Mount Clemens, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 2017(2017-12-21) (aged 82) La Jolla, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1960–2016 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6; IncludingAlex |
| Parent(s) | Arnie and Belle Enberg |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team(s) | UCLA Bruins men's basketball (1966–77) Los Angeles Rams (1966–77) California Angels (1969–78, 1985) San Diego Padres (2010–16) |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | American football,baseball,basketball,tennis,golf,boxing,gymnastics,Horse Racing |
| Employer | NBC Sports (1975–99) CBS Sports (2000–11, 2014) ESPN (2004–11) |
Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an Americansportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he providedplay-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, includingNBC (1975–1999),CBS (2000–2014), andESPN (2004–2011), as well as for individual teams, such asUCLA Bruins basketball,Los Angeles Rams football, andCalifornia Angels andSan Diego Padres baseball.
Enberg was well known for his signature on-aircatchphrases "Touch 'em all" (for home runs) and "Oh, my!" (for particularly exciting and outstanding athletic plays). He also announced or hosted theTournament of Roses Parade for many years, sometimes with the help of family members. Enberg retired from broadcasting in 2016, after seven seasons as the Padres' primary television announcer.
Enberg was born on January 9, 1935, inMount Clemens, Michigan, as the first child to Belle Elizabeth (Weiss) and Arnie Enberg.[1][2] His paternal grandparents were Finnish immigrants, whose original name wasKatajavuori, which means juniper mountain.[1] Before they lived in America, they changed their name to the Swedish-sounding Enberg.[1] His mother was of English, French, German and Native American descent.[3] He had a younger brother, Dennis.[4] Enberg's family first moved toBridgeport, Connecticut, when he was two years old,[1] then to southern California in 1940[1] for several years, and then back to a farm nearArmada, Michigan.[5]
Following high school in Armada, Enberg attendedCentral Michigan University, where he playedcollege baseball and earned abachelor's degree in 1957. In his senior year at Central Michigan, Enberg was elected president of the student body. During this time, he was employed atWSAM inSaginaw, Michigan, then aDetroit Tigers radio affiliate. Enberg then went on to graduate school atIndiana University Bloomington, where he earnedmaster's anddoctorate degrees inhealth sciences.[6][7] While at Indiana, Enberg voiced the first radio broadcast of theLittle 500, the bicycle racing event popularized in the filmBreaking Away.
He was also the play-by-play announcer forIndiana Hoosiers football and basketball games and in 1961 called his first NCAA basketball tournament event, thechampionship game betweenCincinnati andOhio State.[8] From 1961 to 1965, he was anassistant professor andbaseball coach atCal State Northridge, then known as San Fernando Valley State College.[7] Enberg was also a member of thePhi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
In the late 1960s, Enberg began a full-time sportscasting career inLos Angeles, working forKTLA television (anchoring a nightly sports report and callingUCLA Bruins basketball) andKMPC radio (callingLos Angeles Rams football andCalifornia Angels baseball). After every Angels victory, he would wrap up his broadcast with "And the halo shines tonight" in reference to the "Big A" scoreboard atAnaheim Stadium and the halo at the top, which would light up for everyone in the area to see, particularly from the adjacent freeway. Enberg was named California Sportscaster of the Year four times during this period.[9]
In the 1960s, Enberg announced boxing matches at L.A.'sOlympic Auditorium. Enberg also presided over the Trophy presentation forSuper Bowl VII in 1973.[citation needed]
In 1968, Enberg was recommended by UCLA athletic director J.D. Morgan to be the national broadcaster for the syndicatedTVS Television Network to cover the "Game of the Century" between theHouston Cougars, led byElvin Hayes, and theUCLA Bruins, led byLew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).[citation needed]
In the 1970s, Enberg called the 1979 NCAA Championship game between Michigan State, led byMagic Johnson, and Indiana State, led byLarry Bird. He also hosted the syndicated televisiongame showSports Challenge and co-produced theEmmy Award-winning sports-history seriesThe Way It Was forPBS.[citation needed]
In 1973, Enberg hosted the game showBaffle, which lasted just a year before being cancelled in 1974. A year later, producerMonty Hall hired Enberg to host the shorter-livedThree for the Money.
In 1975, Enberg joinedNBC Sports. For the next 25 years, he broadcast a plethora of sports and events for NBC, including theNational Football League,Major League Baseball, theNational Basketball Association, theU.S. Opengolf championship,college football,college basketball, theWimbledon andFrench Opentennis tournaments, heavyweightboxing,Breeders' Cup and otherhorse racing events, and theOlympic Games.
Enberg replacedCurt Gowdy as lead play-by-play announcer for theNFL on NBC in1979, and on the network's telecast of theRose Bowl in January 1980. He was in the booth in Pasadena for nine straight years, untilABC took over the broadcast in1989.
While onThe NFL on NBC, Enberg called eightSuper Bowls (alongside such former NFL playersMerlin Olsen,Bob Trumpy,Phil Simms, andPaul Maguire), the last beingSuper Bowl XXXII in January 1998. Enberg also anchored NBC's coverage ofSuper Bowl XIII (called by Curt Gowdy) in 1979. He also called threeCanadian Football League games in1982 during theNFL strike.[10]
Among the notable games called by Enberg was the1986 Week 3 51–45 shootout between theNew York Jets andMiami Dolphins and the1987 AFC Championship Game between theDenver Broncos andCleveland Browns.
Well, and so the end of the1997 NFL season and forNBC Sports,Super Bowl XXXII is the end of our 32 years coveringAFL,NFL action.NBC's been there from the start, fromJoe Namath all the way toJohn Elway, fromCurt Gowdy to those of us who had the honor of calling this game tonight, and on behalf of all of our crew, all the men and women who have brought you the sights and sounds of NFL football here on NBC since1960, we want to thank you for your effort, and those of you who have watched, and we congratulate theSuper Bowl champions. Theunderdogs havewon. The 13 years of defeat have been erased at least for tonight asDenver wins it, 31–24. Don't wander away, more to come fromSan Diego.Greg Gumbel will be back afterstation identification. Denver Broncos are Super Bowl champs.
— Dick Enberg at the end of Super Bowl XXXII, NBC's final NFL telecast until the2006 season.
In1977, Enberg provided play-by-play for Game 2 of theAmerican League Championship Series and Game 4 of theNational League Championship Series Series alongsideDon Drysdale. Two yearslater, Enberg teamed withWes Parker andSparky Anderson[11] to call theALCS for NBC. And then in1981, Enberg alongsideTom Seaver, called theNational League Division Series between theMontreal Expos andPhiladelphia Phillies and then, the NLCS between Montreal and theLos Angeles Dodgers.
According to his autobiography,Oh My!,[12] Enberg was informed by NBC that he would become the lead play-by-play voice ofMajor League Baseball Game of the Week beginning with the1982 World Series (for which he served as pregame host and shared play-by-play duties withJoe Garagiola alongside analystTony Kubek) and through subsequent regular seasons. He wrote that on his football trips, he would read everySporting News to make sure he was current with all the baseball news and notes. Then he met with NBC executives in September 1982, and they informed him thatVin Scully was in negotiations to be their lead baseball play-by-play man (teaming with Garagiola while Kubek would team withBob Costas) and would begin with NBC in the spring of1983.
According to the book, Enberg wasn't pleased about the decision (since he loved being theCalifornia Angels' radio and television voice in the 1970s and was eager to return to baseball) but the fact that NBC was bringing in Scully, arguably baseball's best announcer, was understandable. Enberg added that NBC also gave him a significant pay increase as a pseudo-apology for not coming through on the promise to make him the lead baseball play-by-play man. Enberg returned to the Angels' radio booth to call 40 games in1985, citing a desire to reconnect with the sport, which he has described as having been "in my DNA since I was in diapers".[13]
Enberg hosted NBC'spregame shows of the1985 National League Championship Series withJoe Morgan. It was Enberg who broke the news to most of the nation thatVince Coleman was injured before Game 4. NBC even aired an interview with one of the few people who actually saw the incident, aDodger batboy. Enberg was also inToronto[14] to do the pregame for Games 1 and 7 of the1985 American League Championship Series alongsideRick Dempsey[15] (who was still active withBaltimore at the time).
NBC planned to use Enberg as one of its announcers forThe Baseball Network coverage in1994,[16][17] but theplayers' strike that year ended the season before he had the opportunity to call any games.
As NBC's voice of theWimbledon Tennis Championships, the last tournament for him being in1999 (alongsideBud Collins and, later,John McEnroe), Enberg regularly concluded NBC's coverage of the two-week event with thematically appropriate observations accompanied by a montage of video clips.
Enberg was hired byCBS Sports in 2000, serving as a play-by-play announcer for CBS'sNFL,college basketball, andUS Open Tennis coverage. For several years he also contributed toCBS's coverage ofThe Masters andPGA Championship golf as an interviewer and essayist.
Enberg during his tenure at CBS, was notably on the call[18] alongsideDan Dierdorf for anNFL game between theNew England Patriots andNew York Jets on September 23, 2001. It was during this game that New York linebackerMo Lewis injured the Patriots' starting quarterbackDrew Bledsoe. Bledsoe's injury resulted inTom Brady becoming New England's quarterback, beginning theBrady–Belichick era for the Patriots that saw them enjoy nearly two decades of dominance and win sixSuper Bowl titles. As a result, Lewis' hit on Bledsoe is often noted for its impact on NFL history.[19][20]
One of the more notable games Enberg also called was the2005 AFC Divisional matchup between thePittsburgh Steelers andIndianapolis Colts that saw the Steelers go on to upset the Colts 21–18 en route to their victory inSuper Bowl XL in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. Coincidentally, Enberg also called a previous playoff game between the two teams for NBC, the1995 AFC Championship Game, a 20–16 Steelers victory that is often marked as one of the NFL's greatest games.
Another enduring element of Enberg's broadcasting legacy was his ability to provide warm and poignant reflections on the sporting events he covered.Enberg Essays, as they came to be known, were a regular feature of CBS's coverage of college basketball'sFinal Four.
On March 27, 2010, Enberg called his final college basketball game for CBS, anEast Regional tournament final featuring theKentucky Wildcats versus theWest Virginia Mountaineers.[21] After becoming the Padres' play-by-play announcer, Enberg said he hoped to continue calling late-season NFL games for CBS, but his name was omitted from the network's announcing roster for2010.[22] He continued to call the US Open for CBS through2011.
Enberg returned to call one match and serve as an essayist during the2014 US Open, to help commemorate CBS's last year covering the event beforeESPN took over in2015.[23]
On September 14, 2009,Juan Martín del Potro defeatedRoger Federer to win the Men'sUS Open Championship. Enberg hosted the post-match ceremony during which del Potro requested to address his fans inSpanish. Enberg declined the request saying that he was running out of time but went on to list the corporate sponsored prizes del Potro won.[24] A couple of minutes later, Del Potro made the same request again and only then Enberg relented saying "Very quickly, in Spanish, he wants to say hello to his friends here and inArgentina". An emotional del Potro finally spoke a few sentences in Spanish to a cheering crowd. Many viewers expressed disappointment with Enberg and CBS over the interview.[24] A CBS executive later defended Enberg, noting that the contract with theUnited States Tennis Association required that certain sponsors receive time during the ceremony.[25]
Beginning in 2004, Enberg served as a play-by-play announcer forESPN2's coverage of theWimbledon andFrench Open tennis tournaments, adding theAustralian Open the following year. Enberg came toESPN on lease from CBS, where he already called theUS Open, the oneGrand Slam tournament not covered by ESPN until2009. At the2004 French Open, Enberg called a match per day and also provided his "Enberg Moments". AtWimbledon in 2004, he participated in a new one-hour morning show calledBreakfast at Wimbledon. ESPN asked CBS for permission to use Enberg during the summer of 2004 at both the French Open and Wimbledon. Enberg then surprised his new bosses by volunteering for the2005 Australian Open in January 2005. "I've never been toAustralia," he said. "At my age then [69], to be able to work a full Grand Slam is something I'd like to have at the back of my book." Enberg stopped calling the French Open after2009 due to his Padres commitments, though he continued to call the Wimbledon and Australian Open tournaments over the next two years. In June 2011, it was reported that his ESPN contract had ended and that the2011 Wimbledon tournament would be his final one for ESPN.[26]
_(cropped).jpg)
In December 2009, Enberg was hired as a television play-by-play announcer by theSan Diego Padres, signing a multi-year deal to call 110–120 games a season for channel4SD.[27] Enberg primarily teamed withMark Grant on the Padres' telecasts.
In hisdebut season as a Padres broadcaster, Enberg took some criticism from fans over a perceived lack of enthusiasm for the home team. Told that he was regarded by some viewers as getting "too excited" over plays by opposing players, Enberg responded, "I find that a real compliment."[28] He did move to placate the critics, however, by limiting the use of his signature home run call of "Touch 'em all!" to Padres home runs.[29]
In2012, Enberg returned as play-by-play voice of the Padres as they moved their telecasts from 4SD toFox Sports San Diego, in the first year of a 20-year deal between the team and the newly formed network. On September 23, 2015, Enberg indicated he would call Padres games for one more season in2016, then retire.[30]
On May 21, 2016, Enberg served as a special guest play-by-play broadcaster for theDetroit Tigers in their home game with theTampa Bay Rays, calling the game onFox Sports Detroit alongside analystKirk Gibson. The Tigers were Enberg's boyhood team, as he lived in the Detroit area.[31] Enberg also called a weekend series for the Tigers post retirement, an interleague series between the Tigers and the Dodgers, August 18–20, 2017 for FSD and one game for FS1.
Enberg's last game with the Padres was October 2, 2016. In his last week on air, he made a guest appearance withLos Angeles Dodgers announcerVin Scully, who also was retiring at the end of the baseball season, after a 67-year career.[32]
In2006 and2007, Enberg calledThursday night and postseason NFL games forWestwood One radio. Also in 2006, he began narrating a documentary style television series forFox Sports Net calledIn Focus on FSN. For Fox Sports Net, he called his final college basketball game on November 11, 2012, aboard theUSS Midway alongsideSteve Kerr.[33]
In addition to his career in sports broadcasting, Enberg hosted three game shows besides the aforementionedSports Challenge:The Perfect Match in 1967,Baffle on NBC from 1973 through 1974, andThree for the Money on NBC in 1975. He also lent his voice to the animated CBS cartoon seriesWhere's Huddles? (1970), the filmRollerball (1975), and the American-dubbed version of the animated UK Christmas specialRobbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire (2002); made appearances in the filmsTwo-Minute Warning (1976),Gus (1976),Heaven Can Wait (1978),The Longshot (1986),The Naked Gun (1988), andMr. 3000 (2004); and appeared as himself in episodes of such television programs asThe King of Queens andCSI: NY. In addition, Enberg was seen in a series of commercials forGTE during the 1980s and early 1990s, and was the voice of the announcer in the classicTalking Football tabletop game fromMattel.
Enberg garnered many awards and honors over the years, including 13Sports Emmy Awards (as well as a Lifetime Achievement Emmy), nine National Sportscaster of the Year awards from theNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (and induction into that organization's Hall of Fame), five Sportscaster of the Year awards from theAmerican Sportscasters Association (which also ranked Enberg tenth in its 2009 listing of the Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time[35]), thePete Rozelle Award from thePro Football Hall of Fame, theCurt Gowdy Award from theBasketball Hall of Fame, theFord Frick Award from theNational Baseball Hall of Fame, and a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame. Enberg is the only sportscaster thus far to win Emmys in three categories (broadcasting, writing, and producing), and in 1973 became the first U.S. sportscaster to visit thePeople's Republic of China.
Enberg was inducted into Central Michigan University's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.[36] The university named an academic center for him in 2007. A student-athlete award in Enberg's name is presented annually to a Central Michigan student.[36]
Enberg was raised inArmada, Michigan and was responsible for the naming of the Armada High School yearbook, the Regit (Tiger spelled backwards), a name it has to this day. A hallway in theMacomb Academy of Arts and Sciences, which is run by Armada school district and shares the building with its administration office, was named after him.
UCLA named its Media Center in Pauley Pavilion after Enberg in 2017 in his honor.
Indiana University awarded Enberg an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2002. He would be inducted into the Indiana University Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in the fall of 2006.
Enberg also received honorary doctorates of humane letters from his alma mater Central Michigan University in 1980 andMarquette University in 2009, and gave the addresses at both universities' May commencement ceremonies.
In 1997, theCollege Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) honored Enberg with an award in recognition of his longtime support of the organization's Academic All-America program.The Dick Enberg Award is given annually to a person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America Teams Program and/or the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics. Past recipients includeGerald Ford,Mike Krzyzewski,Pat Summitt, andJoe Paterno. Enberg continued to be an avid supporter of the program, often lending his voice to video presentations related to CoSIDA's annual Academic All-America Hall of Fame ceremony.[37]
In 2006, Enberg was Awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission for his involvement in the community.[38]
For his contributions to the Rose Bowl game and parade through the years, Enberg was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 31, 2011.[39]
TheNational Baseball Hall of Fame named Enberg the 2015 recipient of theFord C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. He was presented with the award in a ceremony during the Hall's induction weekend on July 25, 2015.[40] Enberg was the second American sportscaster (afterCurt Gowdy) to be selected for broadcasting awards from each of the Halls of Fame in professional football, basketball and baseball.
On August 20, 2017, the Detroit Sports Media (formerly Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association) named Enberg the 2017 recipient of the DSM Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award for a lifetime of service to the sports broadcasting community.
Although Enberg was Finnish on his paternal side, his surname was ofSwedish origin.[41] During an ESPN television broadcast from the Wimbledon tennis championships on June 24, 2010, Enberg said his father was born in Finland, and changed his name from the Finnish "Katajavuori" to the Swedish equivalent Enberg on arrival in the U.S. as he felt it would be a simpler name. The surname means "juniper mountain." Enberg said it pleased him thatJarkko Nieminen was doing so well as Finland is close to his heart and it is a small nation with few tennis facilities.
While working at Saginaw, Michigan radio stationWSAM early in his career, Enberg considered changing his name professionally to "Dick Breen" after being told that "Enberg" was tooJewish-sounding.[42] The story of his surname is also detailed in his autobiography,Oh My!
Enberg was the father of actorAlexander Enberg, actor-musician Andrew Enberg, and daughter Jennifer Enberg by former wifeJeri Taylor.[43] Enberg and Taylor divorced in 1973.[44][45] At the time of his death, he was married to his second wife, Barbara (née Almori), with whom he had one son, Ted Enberg (also a sportscaster), and two daughters, Nicole and Emily.
Ted Enberg is a play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN,Pac-12 Network and called the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in2017. Ted currently resides in San Diego and has a sports podcast withPodcastOne entitled,Sound of Success. He is married to Sara Elizabeth Miller. Ted would ultimately portray his father in the 2022HBO seriesWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.[46]
Enberg penned a one-man theatrical play titledCOACH, as a tribute to his former television broadcast partner and late friend,Al McGuire, the extraordinary college basketball coach and commentator. It debuted atMarquette University's Helfaer Theater in 2005. It drew positive reviews as an accurate portrayal of the eccentric coach. At the2007 NCAA Final Four inAtlanta, Enberg presented three performances ofCOACH at the Alliance Theater. Those attending the April 1 matinée includedHall of Famers coachDean Smith (whom McGuire defeated in the1977 NCAA Championship in Atlanta) and formerUCLAAll-American centerBill Walton. The play was then performed atHofstra University, near Al's old neighborhood onLong Island in New York. It has since been booked inSan Diego,Los Angeles,Las Vegas,Chicago,Portland, Maine,North Carolina andIndiana. The most recent performance was at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. ActorCotter Smith portrayed McGuire in the one-man show.
Enberg served as Chairman of theAmerican Sportscasters Association from 1983 until 2017. He was also a board member for theLott IMPACT Trophy, which is named afterPro Football Hall of Famedefensive backRonnie Lott and is given annually to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year.
Enberg died on December 21, 2017, inLa Jolla, California, from a suspected heart attack. He was 82.[13][47]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | NCAA Men's Final Four play-by-play announcer 1976–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NFL on NBC lead play-by-play 1979–1997 | Succeeded by Al Michaels (in2006) |
| Preceded by | World Series network television play-by-play announcer (withJoe Garagiola) 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Play-by-play announcer,Rose Bowl 1980–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Super Bowl television play-by-play announcer (AFC package carrier) 1980–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer, Major League Baseball on NBC 1982 (alternating withJoe Garagiola) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-playannouncer, Major League Baseball Game of the Week 1982 (alternating withJoe Garagiola) | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
