Dick Stockton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Edward Stokvis November 22, 1942 (1942-11-22) (age 82) |
| Education | Syracuse University |
| Occupation(s) | Television and radio sportscaster |
| Years active | 1965–2021[1] |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sports | |
Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally asDick Stockton, is an American retiredsportscaster. Stockton began his career inPhiladelphia, then moved toPittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director forKDKA-TV. InBoston, he calledCeltics games forWBZ-TV andRed Sox games forWSBK-TV before transitioning to national broadcasting, which included calling the1975 World Series forNBC and later, theNBA Finals forCBS. In a career that spanned over five decades, Stockton worked for several different networks, most prominentlyCBS Sports,Fox Sports, andTurner Sports.
Stockton was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania to Joseph and Beatrice Stokvis. He has one older sister, Irene. He attendedForest Hills High School inQueens,New York, graduating in 1960. He went on to college atSyracuse University,[2] where he received his degree inpolitical science in 1964. At Syracuse, he was sports director atWAER.[1] He was inducted into the WAER Hall of Fame on October 12, 2016.[3] In 1965, he began his sportscasting career at localradio andtelevision stations in Philadelphia. He became sports director atKDKA-TV in Pittsburgh in 1967, and moved toWBZ-TV andWBZ radio in Boston in 1971.[4] Three years later, he began callingBoston Celtics telecasts for WBZ, and the following year he became the lead announcer forBoston Red Sox games onWSBK-TV. Stockton was part of the broadcast crew forNBC Sports' coverage of the1975 World Series, and on television calledCarlton Fisk's famous, game-winninghome run in Game 6 of that series as follows:
Stockton stayed silent as Fisk rounded the bases, waiting until he made his way into the Red Sox dugout before proclaiming: "We will have a seventh game in this 1975 World Series."
Stockton started freelancing forCBS Sports in the late 1960s, while still doing local television at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh. In 1978 (following a two-year stint callingNFL games for NBC), he joined CBS full-time, and from then until 1994 covered a variety of sports for that network, including theNFL, theNBA (for which Stockton was the lead play-by-play man from1981 to1990),[6]Major League Baseball andNCAA Basketball, including ten years as a play-by-play broadcaster of the NCAA Regional finals. Stockton also was the host at the famous upset ofVillanova overGeorgetown in1985.[7]
On January 23, 1972, he filled-in forJim Gordon who was not inBoston for theBuffalo-BostonNHL game onCBS, working the game withDan Kelly. As previously mentioned, although Stockton was doing some work forThe NFL on CBS, was also at the time a sports anchor forWBZ-TV inBoston.
Also while at CBS Sports, he called nineNBA Finals,[8] including the1984,1985 and1987 finals between theLos Angeles Lakers andBoston Celtics.[9] Stockton partnered withBill Russell[10] to call the finals from1982 to1983,Tom Heinsohn for the finals from 1984 to 1987,Billy Cunningham for the1988 finals, andHubie Brown for the1989 and1990 finals.
On May 7, 1989, Stockton and Hubie Brown, were behind the microphone for the fifth and decisive game for the NBA'sEastern Conference First round playoff series between theChicago Bulls andCleveland Cavaliers. The game was highlighted by abuzzer-beatershot byMichael Jordan to give the Bulls a 101–100 win and clinch a series victory.
Sellers has Jordan. Jordan with 2 seconds to go, puts it up and scores! At the buzzer! Michael Jordan has won it for Chicago! Michael Jordan hit the basket at the buzzer as a disconsolateLenny Wilkens leaves the floor. And for the second time today, the visiting team has won a deciding game in an opening round series. And the Chicago Bulls will move on to play theNew York Knicks in a best-of-7.
— Dick Stockton on the call on CBS.
CBS would lose their broadcasting rights to the NBA toNBC following the1989–90 season. At the end of CBS' coverage of Game 5 of the 1990 NBA Finals, Stockton signed off with the following message:
Well, I guess now the time has come. This is our last game as many of you may know. And it's really the end of a 17-year love affair between CBS and the NBA. For every member of our broadcast team and I mean technicians, and cameramen, production people, the terrifically talented folks in the truck, where it all happens, and of course...the commentators, this has been an extraordinary experience. We've witnessed the careers ofJulius Erving andLarry Bird andMagic Johnson. We've seenMichael Jordan take flight. All the players actually...fired the imagination not only for an entire generation of NBA fans but for all of us at CBS. We know we leave the NBA in good hands. But toIsiah andAkeem andPatrick andDavid Robinson, to all the players, coaches...and you the viewers, we're going to miss all of you. So long!
In 2001, Stockton received the Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award from theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame.[11]
As previously mentioned, Stockton called Major League Baseball for CBS[12][13] from1990 to1992. Working alongsideJim Kaat, Stockton was the number #2 play-by-play man behindJack Buck and subsequentlySean McDonough. He and Kaat also called theAmerican League Championship Series during that time period. It was initially speculated that Stockton[14] would not have been available to contribute as the secondary play-by-play announcer due to his football and basketball commitments for CBS. Stockton would, however, be replaced byGreg Gumbel in1993.
For the Game 5 of the1991 ALCS between theMinnesota Twins andToronto Blue Jays, Stockton called the final out by saying "And the Minnesota Twins have gone from thecellar to thepenthouse in theAmerican League."[15] The following year in Game 4 of theALCS betweenToronto and theOakland Athletics, Stockton describedRoberto Alomar's game-tying home run off of OaklandcloserDennis Eckersley by saying “A drive to right field,Sierra going back, looking up and this game is tied! Roberto Alomar!”
In addition, he was thehost of thePan American Games in San Juan in1979, and covered swimming anddiving at the Pan American Games in Edmonton andCaracas. Stockton also broadcast theWorld Swimming and Diving Championships inGuayaquil, Ecuador, theWorld Basketball Championships inCali, Colombia, and theWorld Figure Skating Championships inHelsinki in the first year that CBS acquired the rights. When CBS began covering theWinter Olympics, Stockton was assigned to coverskiing in France in1992[16] and two years later, he called thespeed skating events in the1994 Norway Games includingDan Jansen's record-breaking triumph of the 1000 meter gold medal as well as the gold medal victories ofBonnie Blair.[17]
Stockton left CBS in 1994 for the newly formedFox Sports,[18] who continued to employ him onNFL broadcasts[19] up until Stockton announced his retirement in March 2021.
Stockton calledMajor League Baseball telecasts for the Fox broadcast network/FX in some shape or form from 1997 through 2013.[20]
From the time he was hired until2006, he was Fox's second-team announcer for NFL games (behindPat Summerall and later,Joe Buck), working alongsideMatt Millen and thenTroy Aikman,Daryl Johnston, andTony Siragusa. For Fox's MLB coverage, he has partnered withEric Karros,Joe Girardi,Mark Grace andTim McCarver and others. He most recently worked withMark Schlereth for football.
Additionally, he called a limited slate of college basketball games on FS1 for 3 seasons from 2013 to 2016.
From1995 to2015, Stockton calledNBA telecasts for Turner'sTNT channel.[21] From2007 to 2013, Stockton called postseasonMajor League Baseball games onTBS. In 2007, he partnered withRon Darling to call theNational League Division Series between theArizona Diamondbacks andChicago Cubs for the network. In2008, he called theAL Central tiebreaker game between theMinnesota Twins andChicago White Sox with Darling andHarold Reynolds, followed by theNLDS between theChicago Cubs andLos Angeles Dodgers with Darling andTony Gwynn. In2009, he teamed withBob Brenly to call theNLDS between theLos Angeles Dodgers andSt. Louis Cardinals for TBS,[22] and the two worked the NLDS every year until 2014. Stockton split play-by-play duties during the2010 regular season on TBS withNBA on TNT studio hostErnie Johnson Jr. andMilwaukee Brewers announcerBrian Anderson. In2011, he partnered withRon Darling andJohn Smoltz to call Game 5 of theNational League Division Series between thePhiladelphia Phillies andSt. Louis Cardinals when his regular partner Brenly was away.
Dick Stockton's performance on TBS' baseball telecasts hasn't been without criticism.[23] For instance, during the2013 NLDS (St. Louis vs.Pittsburgh), he was cited as often misidentifying players, generally appearing confused at times, and never having hosting chemistry with his analyst Bob Brenly.
From1993 to1995, Stockton also calledlocal TV broadcasts of theOakland Athletics. In2004, he began doingpart-timelocal television work for theSan Antonio Spurs,[24] this role lasted three seasons until 2007. Stockton calledSuper Bowl XXXVIII alongsideDaryl Johnston andSuper Bowl XLII alongsideSterling Sharpe on the international feed,[25] provided by theNFL Network.[26] This is the feed used by theBBC and certain other English-language broadcasters outside North America. Starting in 2010, Dick assumed play-by-play duties forMiami Dolphins preseason games onWFOR; he substituted forJimmy Cefalo as play-by-play on the Dolphins' radio call of the team'sMonday Night Football game against theNew England Patriots on October 4,2010.
Stockton did the play-by-play commentary forNFL Fever 2000 alongsideMatt Millen.[27]
In 2017, Stockton launched his ownpodcast entitledStockton!, where he interviewed famous athletes.[28]
On March 25, 2021, Stockton announced his retirement from broadcasting.[29][30][31]
Stockton is wed to Jamie Drinkwater. The couple were married on July 31, 2014, at her family's home in New York on the St. Lawrence River. They divide their time between homes inBoca Raton, Florida andCarefree, Arizona. Stockton's previous marriage to sportscasterLesley Visser ended in divorce in 2010.
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–1975 | Boston Celtics | Play-by-play | WBZ-TV |
| 1975–1976 | New York Knicks | Play-by-play | WOR-TV |
| 1975–1978 | Boston Red Sox | Play-by-play | WSBK-TV[32] |
| 1976–1977 | NFL on NBC | Play-by-play | NBC |
| 1978–1993 | NFL on CBS | Play-by-play[32] | CBS |
| 1981–1990 | NBA on CBS | Play-by-play (lead)[33] | |
| 1983–1995 | College Basketball on CBS Sports | Play-by-play | |
| 1990–1992 | Major League Baseball on CBS | #2 Play-by-play[33] | |
| 1992–1994 | Olympics on CBS | Announcer[32] | |
| 1993–1995 | Oakland Athletics | Play-by-play | KRON-TV[32] |
| 1994–2020 | Fox NFL | Play-by-play 1994–2006: #2, 2007–2010: #3, 2011–2012: #4, 2013–2019: #6, 2020: #7)[32] | Fox |
| 1995–2015 | NBA on TNT | Play-by-play[32] | TNT |
| 1995 | NHL on Fox | Play-by-play[32] | Fox |
| 1997–2013 | Fox Major League Baseball | Play-by-play[34] | |
| 2004–2007 | San Antonio Spurs | Play-by-play (part-time) | FSN Southwest |
| 2007–2015 | Major League Baseball on TBS | Division Series play-by-play (2007–2013) Lead play-by-play (2007–2013) Part-time play-by-play (2014–2015) | TBS |
| 2010–2020 | Miami Dolphins | Preseason TV play-by-play | |
| 2010 | BCS on FoxOrange Bowl | Play-by-play | Fox |
| 2013–2014 | College Football on Fox | Play-by-play (fill-in) | |
| 2013–2016 | Fox College Hoops | Play-by-play |
Media offices
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