2019 Sports Broadcating Hall of Fame by Sports Video Group

Class of 2019

INDUCTION CEREMONY

December 17, 2019

The New York Hilton Midtown, Trianon Ballroom

www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org

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It’s. What. We. Do. Since 2012, the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund has been making a difference in people’s lives, day in day out, week after week. Created especially for those involved in sports production, the Fund this year has paid more than $160,000 The SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund in bills for 30 families, helping them get exists thanks to the generous financial through difficult times due to illness, support of those in our industry. As you injury, or disaster. or your company lays out charitable Our goal is simple: to be available contributions, please make sure to as a “first responder” and to quickly include the SVG Sports Broadcasting help those we serve pay bills, enabling Fund in your plans! recipients to stretch their own cash All ticket sales to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame reserves so that stress related to Ceremony directly support the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund, which is currently awaiting approval of 501(c)(3) nonfinancial challenges is not piled onto an profit status from the IRS. Upon approval you will receive the already stressful situation. appropriate receipt for your tax records.

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arlier this year, Game Creek truck driver Josh Tidwell’s wife Erika was in an auto accident that left her badly hurt and also required modifications to their house. The Fund stepped in to pick up the cost of those changes, removing a big financial burden.

or 30 years, Kristen Sleboda has been a freelance graphics operator and project manager at various networks. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, it meant she wouldn’t be able to work as all of her time was devoted to treatments and recovery. During that three-month period, the Fund helped pay major bills, allowing Kristen to take the time needed to recover with her family.

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ary Carillo serves as a correspondent for NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games and analyst for NBC’s tennis coverage. Carillo finished her 14th Olympic assignment overall and her 11th with NBC as a correspondent for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Carillo’s previous Olympic roles include serving as a correspondent and tennis analyst at the 2016 Rio Olympics; working as a correspondent at the 2012 London Olympics, where she also called the women’s gold medal tennis match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova; and more. At the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Carillo hosted Olympic Ice, a daily figure skating show on USA Network. At the 2004 Athens Games, Carillo earned critical praise in her debut as a full-time Olympic host on Bravo’s coverage in addition to anchoring USA Network’s live, Grand Slam-style coverage of the tennis gold medal finals. During NBC’s coverage of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games, Carillo served as the reporter at Utah Olympic Park, where she covered the bobsled, luge, and skeleton competitions. Her comment that men’s doubles luge is “like a bar bet gone bad” was recognized as “line of the year” in many sports television columns. In addition, Carillo’s work co-hosting the 2002 Closing Ceremony alongside Dan Hicks earned her critical acclaim. Carillo served as a tennis analyst in both Sydney (2000) and Atlanta (1996) and as the skiing reporter for CBS’ coverage in Nagano (1998), Lillehammer (1994), and Albertville (1992). She made her NBC broadcast debut as an analyst for the 1996 Family Circle Magazine Cup tennis event. In 2003, Carillo joined NBC as an analyst on the network’s French Open and Wimbledon coverage, teaming with analyst John McEnroe and play-by-play commentator Ted Robinson. She also served as an analyst during U.S. Open coverage on USA network. Carillo’s candid and insightful commentary has earned her accolades throughout the industry, including the distinction of being called “the sport’s top analyst” by Sports Illustrated. Carillo has worked as a tennis analyst for CBS Sports since 1986 and for the Tennis Channel since 2011. She returned to ESPN as a tennis analyst for Grand Slam coverage from 2003-10, having worked for the network from 1988-97. Since 1997, Carillo has worked as a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. Carillo was both a host and analyst for Turner Sports’ coverage of Wimbledon from 2000-02 and on HBO’s Wimbledon coverage from 1996-99. Prior to ESPN, she worked for USA Network (1980-87), PBS (1981-86), and Madison Square Garden Network (1981-88). Her assignments for ESPN, CBS, and NBC have earned Carillo a “career Grand Slam” for working the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. Carillo has received two coveted Peabody Awards, one of television’s highest honors, one for work on the HBO documentary Billie Jean King, Portrait of a Pioneer and the other for co-writing with Frank DeFord the HBO documentary Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sport. Carillo was named “Best Commentator” by Tennis Magazine (1988-91), “Best Commentator” by World Tennis Magazine (1986) and “Broadcaster of the Year” by the WTA (1981 and 1985). She has co-written two books — Tennis My Way with Martina Navratilova and Rick Elstein’s Tennis Kinetics. Carillo played on the professional tennis tour from 1977-80. Teaming with childhood friend John McEnroe, Carillo won the 1977 French Open mixed doubles title. In 1977, she was doubles quarterfinalist at the US Open and a doubles runner-up at the U.S. Clay Court Championships.

HONORING OUR INDUSTRY’S BEST

elcome to the 2019 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony. This is the 14th time the industry has come together to honor those who have helped make the sports broadcasting industry what it is today. The accomplishments of today’s class range from Roger Penske’s leadership that transformed an entire sport to commentators like Bud Collins, Bob Ley, and Mike “Doc” Emrick who transformed the way sports reporting and play-by-play is done. There are craftsmen like director Bob Fishman and cameraman Ken Woo who took the art of storytelling to a new level. And production and engineering executives like Doug Wilson of ABC Sports, Steve Anderson of ESPN, and Jerry Gepner who proved that brilliance begins with great ideas and execution. And then there is Mary Ellen Carlyle of Dome Productions, who helped make a small Canadian production company into a global force. Tonight’s ceremony will be filled with plenty of emotion. The stories and memories shared tonight will elicit laughter — and most likely, some tears — and that is OK, as tonight we celebrate not only individuals but the bonds that hold our industry together. Those bonds extend far beyond the walls of the ballroom where we gather tonight. Thousands of sports production professionals are busy across the U.S. and around the globe ensuring that millions of sports fans are engaged with their favorite sports, teams, and athletes. In fact, somewhere tonight a Hall of Fame career may be getting underway. Those bonds also extend to those who may be unable to work due to illness, surgery, or disaster. All ticket sales from tonight’s event will be donated to the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund, the industry’s first and only Fund that provides financial assistance to those in need. For more information about how to get involved with the Sports Broadcasting Fund or to make a donation today, please visit www.svgsportsbroadcastfund.org. Thank you again for your support tonight and over the years, and please enjoy tonight’s ceremony. We hope you have a very happy holiday season. Happy Holidays,

PRODUCED BY

19 West 21st Street, Suite 301 New York, NY 10010 Tel: 646-205-1810 Fax: 212-696-1783 www.sportsvideo.org Executive Producer Ken Aagaard Show Producer Michael Goldman Producer Ken Kerschbaumer Stage Manager Greg Fox Video Producer/Coordinator David Beld EIC/Technical Manager Jon Campbell Production Manager Julia Rodgers Graphics Operator Thom Paris Prompting Operator Mariel Grullon VO Talent Colin Cosell Talent Coordinator/PA Alyssa Goldman Registration & Table Sales Carrie Bowden Editorial Support Ken Kerschbaumer, Jason Dachman, Brandon Costa, Kristian Hernandez, P.J. Bednarski, and Susan Qualtrough Production Support Karen Hogan Ketchum and Katie Champion Art Direction Riva Danzig Sponsorship Rob Payne, Andrew Gabel, and Dylan Davidson Event Operations Director Cris Ernst Meetings and Events Manager Alicia Montanaro Membership Services Andrew Lippe

Ken Aagaard Chairman, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Thank you to these partners for providing video-footage support: ABC Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports, IMG-TWI, IMS Productions, Golf Channel, HBO Sports, NASCAR Productions, NASCAR Race Hub, NBC Sports, SNY, TSN, and YES Network

TECHNOLOGY. EXPERTISE. SOLUTIONS. On this extraordinary evening, PRG congratulates and honors the 2019 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductees. Steve Anderson Jerry Gepner Mary Ellen Carlyle Bob Ley Bud Collins

prg.com

Roger Penske Mike “Doc” Emrick Doug Wilson Bob Fishman Ken Woo

STEVE ANDERSON ESPN’s Versatile Leader and Production Powerhouse

uring ESPN’s first 35 years, few individuals had a greater hand in crafting the network’s production philosophy and content strategy than Steve Anderson. From building SportsCenter into the gold standard of sports-news programs to launching new cable networks to overseeing thousands of ESPN’s live game productions, Anderson’s fingerprints can be seen today across ESPN’s expansive programming portfolio. “Steve’s place in ESPN’s legacy is considerable and concrete,” says legendary ESPN commentator Bob Ley. “No one, in my experience, has ever been more respected, and rightfully so.” Born in Brooklyn and reared in Tenafly, NJ, Anderson played basketball at College of the Holy Cross and served a short stint as an assistant coach at Fordham University before snagging a gig at the fledgling ESPN cable network as a SportsCenter PA in April 1980. A year later, Anderson caught on as an associate producer and, over the next five years, worked his way up to producing NBA, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, college football, and USFL telecasts. In 1986, when ESPN won the rights to the NFL’s new Sunday Night Football package, Anderson took over as coordinating producer for the NFL, including ESPN Sunday Night Football, NFL GameDay, and NFL PrimeTime hosted by Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. “Steve was one of a handful who helped put ESPN’s flag in the ground in 1979,” says Berman. “His contributions at all levels were second to none. His energy, dedication, creativity, and kindness will long be remembered. … There wasn’t anyone who didn’t like Steve Anderson.” Anderson left perhaps his most indelible stamp on ESPN in his next role, teaming with John A. Walsh to manage the day-to-day production operations for SportsCenter. Although the show had already served as ESPN’s flagship program for more than a decade by the time they arrived, Walsh and Anderson revamped its format and helped elevate the show into the cultural zeitgeist. “Steve, for 35 years, was the heart and soul of ESPN,” says Walsh.“Every significant decision in my time with SportsCenter we made together. He knew and understood how to make everything we did better.” During his four years at the helm with Walsh, Anderson brought aboard a veritable Murderers’ Row of anchors, including Robin Roberts, Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick, Mike Tirico, and Stuart Scott. “Steve was instrumental to ESPN’s newsgathering success,” says former ESPN President Steve Bornstein. “He has brains, ambition, and integrity, and he taught the art of television to my dear friend John Walsh. Together, this tandem turned ESPN into a first-class news organization.”

After four years co-running SportsCenter with Walsh, Anderson returned to the remote-production side, serving as SVP, remote production, and managing all remote/event productions (including the inaugural X Games), talent, and production personnel. “Steve Anderson is one of the most understated superstars this industry has ever known,” says NFL SVP, Broadcasting Media Operations, Howard Katz, who was ESPN’s EVP, production, at the time. “A tireless worker who combined exceptional intelligence with common sense and a warm, self-deprecating sense of humor, he’s also one of the most honest and ethical people I’ve ever worked with.” In 1996, when ESPN and ABC came under the same corporate umbrella at Disney, Anderson was tapped as ABC Sports SVP, production, managing all talent and production personnel for Monday Night Football and ABC’s other properties. “Across the landscape of broadcasting — talent, production, and technical — Steve Anderson set a standard of excellence at ESPN and ABC,” says former ESPN Coordinating Director Chip Dean. Anderson would return to ESPN in 1999, taking over as EVP, production and technical operations, overseeing all of ESPN’s productions and playing a vital role in the launch of ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, and ESPN Deportes, as well as the rapid growth of ESPN Radio. Anderson would stay in Bristol for another 17 years, taking on senior-management roles as EVP, news, talent, and content operations (2007-14) and EVP, content operations and creative services (2014-16). “Steve was a very important player in the growth and success of ESPN for 35 years,” says former ESPN President/Executive Chairman George Bodenheimer. “The sheer number of shows, franchises, and responsibilities he touched — including ABC Sports — stretched through the entire content spectrum of the company.” In addition to managing the exponential expansion of ESPN’s operations, Anderson also helped cultivate the network’s next generation of talent and executives. “Steve Anderson is one of the most talented production executives in the industry: smart, creative, and a tremendous leader,” says Jodi Markley, who took over as EVP, content operation and creative services, when Anderson retired in 2016. “He was the driving force behind key accomplishments and innovations at both at ABC and ESPN.” A winner of more than 40 Sports Emmy Awards, Anderson has seen ESPN grow from a fledgling longshot to an iconic sportsmedia company and one of the largest on the planet. – Jason Dachman

Congratulations To Mary Ellen and all fellow 2019 Inductees on your impressive achievement and well-deserved honour.

Welcome to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame!

SPORTS BROADCASTING HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Ken Aagaard, CBS Sports and HOF VOTING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Rick Abbott, Circuit of the Americas Adam Acone, NFL Glenn Adamo, Ivanhoe Productions Fred Aldous, Fox Sports and HOF Steve Anderson, ESPN Michael Aresco, American Athletic Conference Katina Arnold, ESPN Mike Arnold, CBS Sports Lance Barrow, CBS Sports Bob Basche, Connect Sports & Entertainment Steve Beim, Fox Sports Chris Berman, ESPN and HOF Andrea Berry, PRG and HOF George Bodenheimer, HOF Steve Bornstein, Activision Blizzard and HOF Robin Brendle, CBS Sports Tim Brosnan, PrimeSport Garrett Brown, HOF James Brown, CBS Sports Harold Bryant, CBS Sports Dick Button, HOF Chris Calcinari, ESPN Mary Carillo, NBC Sports Group and HOF Leonard Chapman, HOF Jason Cohen, CBS Sports Joe Cohen, The Switch and HOF

Michael Cohen, Bizzy Signals Entertainment Rob Correa, CBS Sports Bob Costas, NBC Sports Group and HOF Michael Davies, Fox Sports Morris Davenport, ESPN Jim DeFilippis Ed Delaney Donna Devarona Jed Drake Dave Dukes, PGA Tour Productions Dick Ebersol, HOF John Entz, Fox Sports Drew Esocoff, NBC Sports Group Patti Fallick, USTA Craig Farrell, Alliance Productions John Filippelli, YES Network Davey Finch, HOF Sam Flood, NBC Sports Group Bob Fishman, CBS Sports Rosa Gatti Fred Gaudelli, NBC Sports Group Jerry Gepner, CP Communications Bruce Goldfeder, NFL Network John Gonzalez, NBC Sports Group Ed Goren, HOF Steve Gorsuch, USTA Ken Goss, NBC Sports Group Curt Gowdy, Jr., SNY New York Mark Grant, CBS Sports Ross Greenburg Mark Haden, NHL Gordon Hall, Showtime Steve Hellmuth, NBA Entertainment

David Hill, HOF Barry Hogenauer Deb Honkus, HOF George Hoover, HOF Charlie Jablonski, OnLive Craig Janoff Barry Johnstone, CTV OB and HOF Robert Jordan, 1‎ 337 Facilities Howard Katz, NFL and HOF Artie Kempner, Fox Sports Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG Mark Lazarus, NBC Sports Group Chris Laplaca, ESPN John Leland, PSL International David Levy Mark Loomis, Fox Sports Verne Lundquist, HOF Jodi Markley, ESPN Geoff Mason, ESPN and HOF David Mazza, NBC Olympics and HOF Mike McCarley, Golf Channel John McCrae Bill McKechney, F&F Productions Sean McManus, CBS Sports and HOF Mike Meehan, NBC Sports Group Johnny Miller Steve Milton, CBS Sports Group Jim Nantz, CBS Sports and HOF George Orgera, F&F Productions and HOF Chuck Pagano, HOF Phil Parlante Tony Petitti, MLB Patty Power, CBS Sports Jamie Reynolds, ESPN

Scott Rinehart, University of Notre Dame Jimmy Roberts, NBC Sports John Roché, NEP and HOF Mike Rokosa, NHRA Amy Rosenfeld, ESPN Jennifer Sabatelle, CBS Sports Tom Sahara Chuck Scoggins Jeremy Schaap, ESPN Eric Shanks, Fox Sports Tom Shelburne, HOF John Skipper, DAZN Suzanne Smith, CBS Sports Molly Solomon, NBC Sports Group Charlie Steinberg, HOF Jerry Steinberg, HOF Bob Stenner Susan Stone, MLB Network Pat Sullivan, Game Creek Video and HOF Larry Thorpe, Canon and HOF Bob Toms, ESPN Lesley Visser, CBS Sports and HOF Leslie Anne Wade Eric Weinberger Michael Weisman, HOF Darrell Wenhardt, CBT Systems Mike Werteen, NEP John Wildhack, Syracuse University Mike Wimberley Richard Wolf, The Switch Gary Zenkel, NBC Sports Group

MARY ELLEN CARLYLE Trailblazing Team Leader

hen your grandfather was a pioneer at CBC radio in Canada, testing microwave links through train tunnels, and your father was a producer for the CBC, broadcasting is in your blood. The question for Mary Ellen Carlyle was whether blood would overcome her father’s advice. “My dad said, ‘Don’t get into it,’” says Carlyle of her early years in college. “But, in my second year, I decided I was going into it, taking TV and film and ending up with a master’s in communications from the University of Windsor.” Carlyle began her career in 1985 as a freelancer (working at TSN, taking ESPN content from the U.S. and putting in blocks for Canadian commercials) and did everything from camera to master control and even TD. But, when she got involved with scheduling, she found an affinity for the remote-operations side. “I was doing things like booking phones and satellites, and that was it,” she said of finding her passion. In 1988, she worked for TSN at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (“I worked my butt off but learned so much”), which, to this day, remains a top career highlight. The next year, she became an original employee of Dome Productions and started off on her road to the Hall of Fame. Launched as a sister company to TSN, Dome intended to use its two control rooms to edit episodics and, when the Toronto Blue Jays were playing, have one room produce the Canadian feed and the other the U.S. feed. “After a couple of years,” Carlyle explains, “we realized that didn’t work too well when the postproduction guys would put up a two-hour reel. We eventually moved postproduction into another building so we could do the live-event side.” In those early years, Dome Productions produced the 81 Blue Jay home games, 10 CFL games, and a few other events. It also operated a government-owned HD mobile unit in 1990-91, which was years ahead of other HD efforts (eventually, Dome purchased the truck). In 1992, the company also bought two mobile units from Challenger Productions and has never looked back. “If you had told me back then that we would go from 81 to 2,500 events, which is where we are now, I would have been

in shock,” says Carlyle. “Now we have 18 trucks, consider ourselves forward-thinkers, and have a great reputation worldwide. I had the chance to go from analog to digital, SD to HD, and then HD to 4K. The leap from HD to 4K has been nothing compared with going from SD to HD, which took a whole leap forward for the workflow.” She notes that technology drives her forward and considers herself a “doer” with both the good and bad that comes with that. “It’s my biggest strength and weakness, as I will sometimes do something before I manage it,” she says. “And I love to learn every day. If we hadn’t changed at Dome and expanded beyond two control rooms, I would not have stayed. But senior management wanted to change and look for the next new thing.” Throughout her career, there have been her husband, Brian, and children, Robbie (23) and Jamie (20). “My mom passed away when I was 8, and, when I had children, I said I was going be there for them and they were either going to come with me or I was going to take time off. So I have balanced work and family really well and made the time. I’ve been very fortunate.” Besides her family, there is the Dome Productions team, which receives a lot of credit and praise. Bell Media President Randy Lennox notes that Carlyle and her team consistently deliver the superior services, ingenuity, and leadership that Bell Media relies on. “As a Canadian, I couldn’t be more proud to have Mary Ellen representing us in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame,” says Lennox. “She has been blazing a trail for women in the industry and the industry itself, and we’re fortunate to get to work with her.” TSN President, Media Sales, Marketing, Stewart Johnston describes Carlyle as one of the most passionate and empowering behind-the-scenes people in television. “She has had the benefit of great teachers and herself has become a great teacher, passing on her love of live production and devotion to details to the teams that are lucky enough to work with her.” Carlyle says her success “is 100% a team effort. The key is having people that want to work at Dome.” – Ken Kerschbaumer

CONGRATULATIONS

CLASS OF 2019 INDUCTEES, INCLUDING NBC’S VERY OWN MIKE “DOC” EMRICK Play-by-Play Announcer, NBC Sports

AND

BUD COLLINS Legendary NBC Sports Tennis Commentator, In Memoriam

BUD COLLINS Tennis’ Greatest Advocate

t’s hard to believe that a sportscaster who had a closetful of the wildest pants on the planet and wore them at tennis tournaments around the globe isn’t remembered just for that. When people talk about Bud Collins’s legacy and his importance to tennis, those blindingly loud fashion statements might not be mentioned until deep into their reminiscences. But they aren’t forgotten, of course, and explaining how they became a trademark says something about the man, who died in 2016. Collins’s widow, Anita Ruthling Klaussen, recalls, “Sometime early in the ’60s, his tailor in Boston, Charlie Davidson, told Bud, ‘You look awfully boring on TV. You look like a yachtsman.’ Charlie said he would make him a pair that people would remember but he had to promise to wear them. And Bud kept his word.” Spectators shrieked when they saw him in that first pair at a Davis Cup match in the ’60s. He also discovered they thought it was, well, fun. And so did he. “He had 52 pairs when he died,” Klaussen says, many of them outrageous enough that an onlooker might not even notice the fancy bowtie he also wore. His famous strawberry-colored pair — the special one he always wore at Wimbledon — is now in the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club museum, which held a special event to celebrate the pants’ arrival. Another pair, weirdly commemorating the “Rumble in the Jungle,” featured a drawing of Muhammad Ali on one leg and Joe Frazier on the other; it’s in the Smithsonian. But, really, that’s sideshow. Broadcasters and tennis fans and players loved Collins because he loved them. He loved the players, he loved the fans, and he loved the game. “I don’t know if anyone has been more important to any sport than Bud Collins,” says Lesley Visser, whose friendship (and mentorship) with Collins went back all the way to the Boston Globe. Fresh out of Boston College, she joined a quintet of sports writers — Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, Will McDonough, Ray Fitzgerald, and Collins — whom Sports Illustrated described as “arguably the greatest collection of reporting talent ever assembled in a sports section.” Collins took Visser under his wing. He showed her more ropes than she ever imagined existed, and having Collins as her mentor opened every door a young journalist could ever knock on. In 1977, she recalls, she was at her first Wimbledon Championships and had to introduce herself to the pros. “Some were more difficult than others,” she says, diplomatically. “But, when I said, ‘I work with Bud Collins at the Globe,’ the seas just parted.” Collins never got too big for his britches, however outrageous they

were. He called himself “a scribbler for papers and a babbler for TV.” He was, of course, much more. A sportswriter and TV commentator, mostly for NBC, he also reported about boxing, civil rights, and Vietnam. He had the comfort of being a man who just knew. When NBC dumped Collins in 2007, fans and colleagues howled. He joined ESPN and, later, ended his career at the Tennis Channel. Ken Solomon, the cable network’s president, grabbed Collins as soon as he could. “I told people, ‘There’s not a Tennis Channel without Bud Collins,’” he recalls. “Before Bud, there was really no sports calling. The tennis announcer was just an extension of the TV picture, removed from having personality, just giving a technical account. Bud was just the opposite. Bud was at the forefront.” Solomon’s not the only one who thinks that way. “It is difficult for people to completely understand how much Collins has meant to tennis and to journalism,” wrote Washington Post columnist John Feinstein. “You know all those ex-print guys now working in TV, many making serious money? The trailblazer for all of them was Collins.” His knowledge of the game was encyclopedic. He wrote the authoritative 795-page book on tennis, The Bud Collins History of Tennis, and he and Rod Laver wrote Laver’s autobiography, The Education of a Tennis Player. New York Times sports columnist George Vescey wrote, “Across the decades, Bud Collins had a standard line when someone — typically, a newspaper competitor — would rush over and wonder if he had a moment to answer a question. He would look up cheerily from the keyboard and say, ‘Ask two.’” Klaussen and Visser remember that generous spirit. When he traveled, he would bring back spectacular, thoughtful gifts for staffers where he worked. At tournaments, he always knew the fabulous restaurant no one else knew about and would take everyone after “work” was done. But Collins is certainly remembered. Those pants in the Wimbledon museum, for example. In 1994, he was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1999, he received the Red Smith Award for distinguished sports reporting from the Associated Press and, in 2002, was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. Today, other accomplished sports journalists receive awards named after Bud Collins. “He was beloved by people around the world.” says his widow. “Bud’s life was five stars.” – P.J. Bednarski

THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE CONGRATULATES

MIKE "DOC" EMRICK The National Hockey League is proud to support the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame

MIKE “DOC” EMRICK The Voice of American Hockey

hoveled. Finessed. Pitchforked. Galloped. Waffleboarded. Most great sports announcers have an iconic phrase or two that followers of the game can recite from memory. Only one, however, has an entire dictionary of terms that fans have adoringly linked to them. Michael “Doc” Emrick is the preeminent American hockey broadcaster of this — or any — generation. A winner of six Sports Emmy Awards (the only hockey announcer ever to win one), he has been broadcasting hockey for more than four decades, supplying his voice to 18 Stanley Cup Finals for ESPN, Fox, and, since 2006, NBC Sports. “Doc is the best ever,’’ Al Michaels said recently to the Boston Globe. “He’s brilliant. He’s one of a kind. It’s such a pleasure to listen to him. He makes the game so interesting. He’s got just the right level of excitement. And his descriptions of things are phenomenal. Every once in a while, he’ll come up with something you’ve never heard, and I’ll just laugh and go, ‘Wow, that’s great.’’’ Doc (yes, he’s actually a doctor, having earned a doctorate in radio and television from Bowling Green State University) has loved hockey since he was a teenager. The first love of America’s “Voice of Hockey,” however, was actually baseball. His childhood dream was to call Pittsburgh Pirates games on the radio. But, when he was 14, an International Hockey League game between the Fort Wayne Komets and the Muskegon Zephyrs shot an arrow through his young heart. The sport would never be the same. Having cut his teeth in the minors, Emrick got his first shot in the pros calling games for the Philadelphia Flyers. It wasn’t long into his career, though, that a franchise residing in Colorado decided to pack their bags for a long trip to the East Coast. The Colorado Rockies became the New Jersey Devils, and Emrick was given the call by MSG Networks to become the team’s first television voice. Who knew, when the team was drowning at the bottom of the standings for much of the 1980s, that Doc and the team would become synonymous with winning by the 1990s. After ping-ponging back to Philly, Emrick returned to Jersey in 1993 and called all the Devils’ games in the team’s glory days through 2011, an era that included three Stanley Cup titles.

“Doc is among the rare few broadcasters who elevate the game and the moment simply by his presence,” former MSG Networks GM Dan Ronayne said when Emrick left the Devils to go fulltime at NBC in 2011. “We learned something new about the game of hockey and the players every time we tuned in. There is no finer ambassador for the game of hockey.” Having worked NHL games for ESPN from 1986 to ’88, Emrick was thrust onto the national scene when he was tapped to be part of Fox Sports’ revolutionary coverage of the NHL beginning in 1995. Ironically enough, he was on the mic for the first Stanley Cup championship in Devils’ history. In 2005, he added national games to his busy slate, calling action on the NBC-owned Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was rebranded Versus and eventually NBC Sports Network. Like in New Jersey, his time at NBC mirrored an era of mainstream success for hockey, including perhaps its biggest marketing splash: the NHL Winter Classic began in 2008 inside an iconic snow-globe– like scene in Buffalo. Of all the nights at the rink, though, the one that tops the list is the night USA and Canada battled into overtime of the gold-medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. “The sound of Doc Emrick’s voice is synonymous with hockey, and the genuine enthusiasm he brings to every single broadcast is infectious,” says NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.“His calls define this era of the National Hockey League and have elevated the profile of our game. Doc is incredibly deserving of this honor not only as a Hall of Fame broadcaster but as a Hall of Fame person as well.” Sure, Emrick has branched out from the rink throughout his career, calling everything from the NFL to NCAA Tournament games and even water polo at the 2004 Athens Olympics. But so beloved by his sport is Emrick that hockey has broken barriers to show its appreciation. In 2004, he was the first member of the media to receive the NHL’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award (given to a person for contributions to hockey in the U.S.), and, in 2011, he became the first broadcaster ever inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, ensuring that his unique style and theatrical mastery of the English language will remain etched in hockey culture for generations to come. – Brandon Costa

Here's to

BOB FISHMAN and all of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SPORTS BROADCASTING HALL OF FAME CLASS

BOB FISHMAN A Directing Virtuoso and Creator of Iconic Moments hirty-seven NCAA Final Fours. 27 US Open tennis championships. 20 Daytona 500s. Three Olympic Winter Games. Two World Series. Plus the NFL and NBA playoffs, college football, Triple Crown horse races, and so much more during 45 years at CBS Sports. Bob Fishman’s résumé speaks for itself. However, what cements the longtime CBS Sports director as a true industry legend is not the raw numbers but the iconic moments he has etched into the memories of millions of sports fans: Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison duking it out on the track at Daytona, NC State coach Jim Valvano sprinting across the court looking for someone to hug, a weeping Tanya Harding showing Olympic judges her broken skate lace mid-routine, and Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the World Series for Toronto. “I have one goal as a director, and that’s to capture emotional moments,” says Fishman. “Directing for me — whether it’s film or sports or anything else — is about capturing those moments that have true emotion.” In the words of CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus: “Bob has distinguished himself as one of the great directors in the history of sports television. His ability to tell the story and set the scene through the camera’s lens is simply remarkable. He is both innovative and creative but never loses sight of his main job: to cover the action.” After graduating from Boston University, Fishman landed a job at CBS News in 1972 as a production assistant and associate director. In 1976, he moved to CBS Sports and was tapped as director of CBS Sports’ new pregame show, The NFL Today, which blazed the trail for all NFL studio shows. “Almost a half century [after I met Bob in 1976], Bob’s innovative and imaginative work has achieved Hall of Fame status,” says former CBS Sports President Neal Pilson. “But he remains the same kind, humble, and gracious person we have always known and loved.” Fishman got his first big break in 1979 when he was assigned to direct the unforgettable 1979 Daytona 500 for CBS, marking the first time the entire race had been broadcast live from flag to flag. Fishman captured the epic last-lap crash between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison that allowed Richard Petty to sneak through for the win, as well as Yarborough and Allison’s coming to blows after the race. Fishman would direct every Daytona 500 for the next two decades and, in 1981, he became the first U.S. director to use Race Cam onboard cameras.

After CBS Sports won the TV rights to the 1982 NCAA Final Four, Fishman was selected to direct the Championship Game. He was gifted with the first of what would be countless Final Four iconic moments in the directors chair when North Carolina freshman Michael Jordan sank a jumper in the closing seconds to beat Georgetown. “All of those highlights, all of those, pardon me, ‘shining moments’ have come through his cameras,” says CBS Sports lead announcer Jim Nantz. “He’s just the Coach K, if you will, of directors.” CBS Sports Lead Reporter Tracy Wolfson adds, “I see first-hand the talent he is, the incredible attention to detail, the love he has for sports, the feel he has for the game, and what a tremendous teammate and friend he is. He has set a standard not only at CBS but for so many in this industry.” In addition to redefining the way auto racing and college hoops are covered, Fishman has proved to be one of the most versatile directors in the history of sports television, covering nearly every major sport during his 45 years at CBS, including nearly 30 years producing NFL games. “Bob has directed of some of the biggest events over the past 40 years,” says Mike Arnold, lead game director, The NFL on CBS. “He has been one of the standard-bearers of our industry for almost half a century.” Fishman is also a veteran of three Olympics, having directed figure skating at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, as well as the Opening Ceremony in Nagano. “Bob is the man,” says Mark Wolff, Fishman’s longtime producer on college basketball and the NFL. “There is no better director in our industry. He possesses a keen eye and sharp editorial mind that he has brought to some of the world’s biggest sporting events.” Fishman has also helped mentor dozens if not hundreds of successful directors, producers, and other industry stalwarts during his years in the production truck. “Bob is not only a pioneer in the television-sports industry; he has been instrumental in almost every production person’s career at CBS Sports,” says Jim Rikhoff, lead game producer, The NFL on CBS.“He has been a giving mentor and leader at our sports division for as long as I can remember.” At 71 and still at the top of his game, Fishman says retirement isn’t in the cards just yet. “As difficult and complex as the job has become with the responsibilities we have in the truck, I still love what I do,” he says, “and I’m still having fun.” – Jason Dachman

JERRY GEPNER A Vision for Sport or many Hall of Famers, the key to success was a strong understanding of what they wanted to do. Often, it was a drive to do one thing extremely well or being able to do that one thing better than anyone else. Jerry Gepner is a bit different. His story begins like many Hall of Famers. He was hooked by, specifically, broadcast technology at the University of South Carolina, where he graduated in 1978 and then had the opportunity to work at South Carolina Public Television. “I have always been fascinated by learning new things,” he says. “It has an overpowering appeal to me.” That fascination has given him a résumé that carries titles like EIC, tech manager, VP of field operations, president, and CEO at companies like Fox Sports, CBS, NMT, F&F Productions, Bexel, Vitec Group, Sportvision, and, way back when, Continental Color Recording (CCR). Gepner’s time at F&F Productions was his first real exposure to life on the road with a production team. It also set him up for a move to the network side of things, and he joined CBS in 1988. “There,” he says, “I had a chance to work for Jim Harrington, who was probably the most influential person in my career. He was thoughtful, patient, and really cared about people. I could not have done better in terms of a role model.” And then a thing called Fox happened. CBS Sports lost some key rights and some key executives, who helped bring Gepner over. He joined Fox Sports in 1994 as VP, field operations and engineering. “It was a weird band of brothers: everything was new, there was chaos, and we wanted to reinvent everything,” he recalls. “But it was quality people with top talent, and the energy was pure adrenaline.” Among the innovations that Gepner was involved with at that time were the concept of a B unit and creating software to manage crew and travel. But key among his accomplishments was the onscreen clock and score. In 1995, Gepner worked with News Corp. CTO Stan Honey to create the FoxTrax Glowing Puck for NHL on Fox games. Between them, they created the first augmented-reality television system from scratch in about four months. Recalls Honey: “When David Hill asked me to develop the FoxTrax system to track and highlight the hockey puck in 1994, I figured out that I could build a team that could track the puck and compute the graphic overlay, but we didn’t know anything about working in TV production. Gep taught us all that we needed to know about building a system that would work with TV field operations. Gep had the unusual combination of huge practical field experience, but

he was interested in technology. That was the perfect match for our needs.” After several months working together, Gepner, Honey, and News Corp. attorney Bill Squadron decided to strike out on their own, and Sportvision was formed in 1998. In 2001, it was time for a new challenge, and Gepner left Sportvision to serve as president of National Mobile Television (NMT), which was the largest mobile-production company in the world. “We built the first multiformat HD truck in the world,” says Gepner, “incorporating a lot of innovations like using new materials and construction techniques.” In 2005, he moved to the manufacturer side as CTO of The Vitec Group and, in 2009, was promoted to division CEO, overseeing Bexel and a group of other companies, an opportunity that helped him refine his management and financial skills. “I had to learn fast,” he recalls,“but I had a bunch of people willing to teach me how to measure success financially and commercially.” In 2014, he joined Tekserve as CEO. The company was one of the original Apple retail and repair centers in the U.S. and the largest Apple reseller in the country. Gepner lead the transition from pure retail to media/IT VAR services and consulting and, ultimately, rebranded the company as T2 Computing. Gepner is currently COO of CP Communications, a leading provider of wireless audio, video, and communications systems for the broadcast industry. “We’ve been introducing new wireless technologies to add to our core services,” he notes. Looking back, he considers himself fortunate to have gone from exciting time to exciting time. “Some people like the security and get a lot of satisfaction out of working for one company for their entire career,” he observes. “In my 30s, I learned that doors will open, and, if you choose, you can walk through them. “And,” he continues, “I’ve been blessed to have a wife, Bonnie, and three children [Elizabeth, Daniel, and Mitchell] who let me do that. Bonnie was the bedrock, who, wherever we were, made it home for me and the kids. I could never have had the career I have enjoyed without her.” “What I always loved about Gepner was that he has a mind which is not scared of the new, the unexplored, the dangerous,” says Hill. “It would be great to clone the Gepner mind — because it’s that innovative way of thinking which I believe is required more in our industry than at any time in the past.” – Ken Kerschbaumer

BOB LEY

Professionalism Unmatched, Class Personified

SPN sportscaster Scott Van Pelt calls him “the Moral Compass.” Chris Berman dubs him ESPN’s “North Star.” It’s one thing to be admired for the professional you become. It’s quite another to be beloved for the man you are. To many at ESPN — and the sports television industry at large — Bob Ley is both. Winner of 11 Sports Emmys and four Edward R. Murrow Awards, Ley established himself as one of, if not the, preeminent anchors in modern sports television. One of the original employees when the network launched in 1979, Ley spent a spectacular four decades at the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” “Bob has been the conscience of our company from the moment it began,” says ESPN colleague Mike Greenberg. “No one ever meant more to ESPN.” A New Jersey native and graduate of Seton Hall University, Ley got his career started at a very young age, working at a local cable system near his hometown in Northern New Jersey. He also groomed his voice as a public-address announcer for New York Cosmos soccer games at the old Giants Stadium. In summer 1979, at age 24, Ley landed job interviews on backto-back days: one was to become a weekend anchor and weekday reporter for New Jersey Public Television; the other was at a channel that didn’t even exist. A primo gig in his home state that would also put him on-air in New York City and Philadelphia? Or who knows what at this E-S-P-N thing? Trusting in legendary execs Scotty Connal and Chet Simmons, who interviewed him, Ley decided to pack his car and head for Bristol, CT. “It was an opportunity to do something fresh and new,” says Ley of the decision. “I didn’t look at it as a major gamble. It’s tough to make a bad career choice at 24. But it worked out well for me.” Thus began an employer-employee relationship for the ages. Many stars came and went from behind the ESPN desk in the 40 years that followed, but one of the great consistencies was the measured, even, and always informed tone of Bob Ley. Among his notable moments behind the desk, Ley hosted the first-ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show in 1980; anchored hundreds of episodes of the network’s iconic

studio program, SportsCenter; and helped found ESPN’s muchheralded investigative-news program, Outside the Lines. On OTL, Ley was able to flex the journalistic muscles that defined his career. The show has been showered with numerous awards, including a Peabody for its coverage of the NFL’s concussion crisis. The show prides itself on diving into the murkiest waters of sports culture and played roles in shedding light on critical issues like the USA Gymnastics sex-abuse scandal, steroid use in Major League Baseball and its effect on children playing Little League Baseball, and the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. In addition to his journalistic accomplishments, Ley also became the torchbearer for ESPN — and for much of sports media — for the sport of soccer in the U.S. He served as the primary studio host for ESPN’s telecasts of global tournaments like the 2012 and 2016 European Championships, the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, and the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups in South Africa and Brazil. Those international events have forever left a mark on Ley and remain some of his most treasured times in the business. “When you work with [ESPN production legend] Geoff Mason, especially in an overseas location, the phrase that becomes synonymous [with that] is sense of place,” says Ley. “Bring [the location] to the people at home; it can be five seconds, or it can be 10 minutes. Remind them, they aren’t just watching a sporting event on their television; they are in this country. Those of us who worked on those Cups know this, but you become a family. Those are seminal moments in my career. I stay in touch with so many people and those friendships deepen over the years.” Ley officially retired from ESPN in June, but his legacy is still felt within the halls of ESPN, with many at the network still beholden to the standard that he set not only for himself or his network but for all of sports television. “He remained a journalist to the core even as our medium grew more fractured and yelling at each other became a way to attract eyeballs,” said Van Pelt upon the announcement of his retirement. “His dedication to and mastery of the craft has made him a legend in our shop, as well as the manner in which he carried himself: dignity and integrity personified.” – Brandon Costa

ROGER PENSKE

Driver of the Auto-Racing Business

elevision and its constant innovation have changed sports, giving fans better and more opportunities and creating a potent platform for advertisers. With the possible exception of pro and collegiate football, the biggest beneficiary has been the racing industry, and probably no race-car executive did more to make it happen than Roger Penske. In a real way, sport racing blossomed because of Penske. In 1973, he began Roger Penske’s International Race of Champions, featuring the biggest names in the sport from its various forms: NASCAR, Indy racers, Formula 1. Among the racers were Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, and Emerson Fittipaldi. In a crucial liaison, he persuaded ABC Sports and Roone Arledge to feature it on Wide World of Sports. The first year, all the cars were Porsche Carreras, because Penske already had an association with the famed automaker through the Can-Am racing series. Eventually, Penske and WWS became good for each other and for the racing business. He provided the expertise, and ABC brought the stage. Fast forward to today, and Penske has been deeply involved in the technological and philosophical evolution of racing. Innovations like helmet cams, cameras embedded in cars, and access to the pit areas are now relatively commonplace. And, with those and other enhancements, auto racing on TV took off. For Roger Penske, successful outcomes are an old story. In the past 53 years, cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced 545 major race wins, 621 pole positions, and 37 championships. And Penske cars have won the Indianapolis 500 18 times. He’s one of the most successful sports-business executives in history, but it goes beyond sports. Penske Corp. comprises 150 auto and truck dealerships nationwide, a truck-leasing company (owned with Mitsui) with 320,000 vehicles, 3,000 U.S. locations, and distribution of engines and motor parts in Australia and New Zealand. According to the company, the privately held Penske business has consolidated revenues of $32 billion and employs 64,000 people around the world. On top of all that, Penske recently acquired the IndyCar Series and, oh, yes, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions, which puts Roger Penske even more firmly at the center of racing as the proprietor of its most historic U.S. site. It’s a challenge for any new owner, but people who know 82-yearold Penske know it’s a brilliant move. “When I heard the news about Indy,“ says legendary sports TV boss and producer David Hill, “I thought, why the hell didn’t this happen a long time ago? He’s perfect.”

Hill headed Fox Sports when it acquired, along with NBC and TBS/TNT, the rights to NASCAR in 1999. It was a time when technological innovation was changing the way the sport was presented to fans. Although in-car cameras began to be used in 1979, it was later that they became as common or complex as they are today. “Beyond just the drivers and teams, our broadcast partners wanted to highlight the emotions and personality of the drivers’ families,” Penske has explained. “The view from the in-car cameras has helped bring the speed and intensity of racing to the fans. It was so difficult on television to capture the feeling of going 200 miles per hour and racing side by side at that incredible speed. It revolutionized how racing was covered on TV.” Penske persuaded his team and then others to allow TV cameras into places they hadn’t been before. “The teams,” he says, “saw how beneficial it was for them to have a good relationship with our broadcasters and give their sponsors more vis and more exposure.” His fans in the sports business realize that Penske has one attribute few other sports-business executives of his stature can claim: he can talk the talk because he has walked the walk. Drivers and other business people in the racing business know he’s the real deal, because he was a driver himself. Growing up in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Penske was mesmerized by racing. He won his first race in 1959, the year he graduated from Lehigh University. He never stopped racing, even after taking a job as a sales engineer at Alcoa Aluminum — a job he kept until 1963. By then, though, he was already an emerging star in the race-car business, winning the Sports Car Club of America’s Presidents Cup in 1960, 1962, and 1963. By ’63, he won NASCAR’s Grand National Series race, too. “He was a driver,” notes long-time sports-TV executive and producer Howard Katz.“He knows that of which he speaks. His business is racing. There’s no part of it that he hasn’t done and excelled at.” Katz also calls Penske “an incredibly loyal person. People who work with or for Penske do so with pride. He’s a brilliant man. And he brought corporate relations to a new level.” What impresses him is Penske’s way of paying attention to what would seem to others to be “the little things.” Says Katz, “His management style is the personification of excellence, even down to the details. One thing that always impresses me: you go into a Penske garage, and it’s spotless. You could eat off the floor.” – P.J. Bednarski

DOUG WILSON A Lifetime of Storytelling

hen the Director’s Guild of America gave Doug Wilson its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the word Lifetime must have seemed adequate. By 2008, when he retired, it seemed an understatement. Wilson worked on ABC’s Wide World of Sports as a director or producer for 50 years — nearly the entire existence of the landmark show. He says he covered 51 sports for that show, traveling the globe. He produced and directed 10 Olympic Games for ABC and Roone Arledge. Most of all, though, he made his reputation for excellence directing figure-skating competitions. He says he witnessed 360 performances featuring some of the Olympics’ most beloved American heroes: Scott Hamilton, Dorothy Hamel, Peggy Fleming, JoJo Starbuck. “I tried to make the camera part of the performance,” he says. He would go to rehearsals and, at the end of the day, ask the coaches if the skaters could talk to him rinkside. “I’d have them play their music and start a stopwatch, and they’d draw what they are doing at certain points in the song on special paper I had made.” That worked to a point. But it was tough to decipher all those chicken scratches. So Wilson began watching the performances and speaking camera directions to his assistant. She would furiously write down what he said at what point in the music and in the routine. Later on, they would decipher them and, by the day of the performance, decode that into instructions for the crew. It worked. One of his favorites, and one that brought him much acclaim, was Brian Boitano’s Gold Medal performance at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Amazingly, after the Games, Boitano got in touch with Wilson, who recalls that the skater declared, “‘I want to skate on a glacier in Alaska.’ I told him, ‘Well, I don’t think a glacier will be possible.’” But ABC found a lake 3½ hours north of Anchorage, amid mountains and wilderness and nothing else, and there Wilson produced a performance that he says was “really a spiritual happening.” Wide World of Sports revolutionized television, letting people learn about the real lives of the athletes they saw. It was a formula perfected by ABC’s Olympics telecasts and carried over to ABC News when Arledge took the reins there, too. The 84-year old Wilson has decades’ worth of stories. Some just indicate how far television and technology have come. Today, live transmissions from Olympic sites are old hat. In 1964, pioneering satellite Telstar was orbiting Earth.“We had something like a 20-minute window to upload material,” Wilson recalls, “or we’d miss it.”

And he remembers that tragic Olympics in 1972. He didn’t have a hand in covering what he repeatedly calls “the horror” but can’t forget being in the control room when Jim McKay famously and sadly announced, “They’re all gone” about the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists. There are silly stories, too. Evel Knievel, though “not a very good motorcyclist,” was a shrewd businessman whose stunts often showed up on Wide World. In 1975, he planned a stunt in which he would jump over a group of London buses at the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium. Days before the jump, Wilson recalls, the stunt performer discovered that only 3,000 tickets had been sold. So, when he arrived in London, Knievel went on a rampage of insulting Britons to get them riled enough to show up to jeer him and hope for the worst. He filled the stadium and successfully flew over 12 buses. Unfortunately, 13 were lined up. He fractured his pelvis and broke a hand, and Wide World and Wilson had a great story to tell. Wilson arrived at WWS in 1963, two years after its debut, and was there at the end in 1998. But the show leaves deep memories with viewers who remember it all, particularly its opening montage where the show famously promised to deliver stories about “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” It’s that “defeat” footage viewers remember. In 1970, Vinko Bogataj, a young Yugoslavian ski jumper, crashed spectacularly, his body bouncing around like a pinball. His career was over, but the incident lived on for years in that opening montage. Wilson directed coverage of that jump. It’s “his” footage that viewers saw week after week on Saturday afternoons. In 1980, Wide World of Sports had a celebration of its 20th season at the Waldorf Astoria and invited Bogataj to attend. He was at the hotel bar in the afternoon, speaking in his native tongue to Wilson through his interpreter. Eastern European waiters overheard the conversation and figured out who he was. “He’s ‘Agony of Defeat!’ one of them exclaimed, and soon the bar was abuzz. Wilson recalls, “I told him, ‘Tonight at the event, some of the greatest athletes in the world will be there, but, when Jim McKay introduces you, just watch: you’ll get a standing ovation.’ ‘But I fell!’ he protested.” Wilson was right, of course. The crowd gave him a long sustained “standing O.” Wilson has hundreds of stories like that, thanks to a career in TV sports in which, clearly, he has repeatedly enjoyed the “thrill of victory.” – P.J. Bednarski

We Proudly Congratulate Our Client and Friend

MIKE ‘DOC’ EMRICK On Being Inducted Into the

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame

The Switch congratulates all of the

2019 Hall of Fame Inductees

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KEN WOO

The Conduit to Sports’ Greatest Televised Moments

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A picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s a saying that has become cliché. For Ken Woo, though, those words have carried the world-renowned camera operator and DP to a career that has lasted for more than 40 years. And, more often than not, his have been the iconic shots of some of sports’ most memorable moments over the past four decades. “It’s really knowing the game and knowing the athlete that you’re with,” he says. “It hasn’t always worked, but it’s just being dialed into what’s happening, understanding all of the options that you have, and just picking one. It’s a roll of the dice.” Whether it was Greg LeMond’s dramatic come-from-behind sprint to grab the yellow jersey by seconds at the 1989 Tour de France, Kerri Strug’s run towards gold on one ankle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, or Tiger Woods’s fist pump in his first career win at The Masters in 1997, the man had the knack of being at the right place at just the right time. “Kenny Woo is an artist,” says veteran NBC anchor and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Al Michaels. “You know somebody is extraordinary when you can see 10 seconds of video and say, ‘I know who shot that.’” As a child, “The Wooman” had a cardboard camera and admiration for photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. On television, the 1968 Olympics set his heart on fire. While most kids idolized athletic feats, Woo was intrigued by the athletes’ lives. Kenya’s Kip Keino caught his attention during a story by ABC. “They showed a feature of him running barefoot in Africa,” Woo recalls. “It was the first time I noticed a personal profile.” Woo’s mark on sports was almost a non-factor as he headed to the University of Georgia as a pre-law student. The pull of his past was too strong, though, to lead him away from a sports tale to tell. By graduation, Woo had a keen eye and experience with equipment. “My first job was at WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, SC,” he says. “I got tons of experience because I learned many skills.” Woo shot high school games for the sports department on the weekends, but his course to mastering a camera began with hijinks: “I stole the manual and learned how to use the new RCA TK-76.” In 1982, Woo nailed his first stint in network television with CBS. Since then, his résumé has grown, with a few rough patches

along the way. “1992 was a chaotic year,” he notes. “I was doing other projects, so I traveled 270 days.” During that time, he documented the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Opening Ceremony in the only way he knew how. “Take the Opening Ceremony and Kenny Woo,” says NBC Head of Production Bucky Gunts, “and you have your money shot.” The moment would be a practice run for what was to come four years later on American soil. For the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Woo was chosen again for the money shot during the Opening Ceremony, in which boxing legend Muhammed Ali lit the torch. Four days later, he was behind the lens for a 10-second clip that now embodies the very essence of Olympic competition and has virtually become synonymous with U.S. gymnastics: Kerri Strug’s dismount from the vault. “You really have to plan ahead when you’re out there,” Woo explains. “It’s crazy on the floor, but I realized how important it was to be in that position because I have two or three different spots when we’re doing the vault. I knew that was going to be the [important] moment because, if she hit it and they won, that was going to be the best shot. She sticks the landing, falls to her knees, and begins crawling towards me while calling my name.” Woo’s ability to get to know the individual made such vignettes possible. “I’d known Kerri since she was 12 years old. I got to spend time with [the athletes] in their home countries, so I became a familiar face.” Woo’s accolades include 27 Emmys, a Peabody, an Olympic Golden Ring, and respect from his peers. “He took ENG photography to a new level,” says Molly Solomon, now executive producer/president, NBC Olympics Production. “The trust and bond he forged with athletes gave fans unprecedented access, so, when that special moment happened, he was there, and so were we.” As he continues to shoot history, his artistry satisfies the boy who watched the 1968 Olympics. “I went to Kenya to do an Olympic feature, and I got to meet Kip Keino,” he says. “He took me to the places that they filmed. It was really something special.” – Kristian Hernandez

THE LEGACY CONTINUES

hall of famers from years past...learn mo

Marv Albert

Fred Aldous

Roone Arledge

Marvin Bader

Julius Barnathan

Deane Beman

Leonard Chapman

Frank Chirkinian

Joe Cohen

Scotty Connal

Howard Cosell

Bob Costas

Barry Frank

Frank Gifford

Ed Goren

Curt Gowdy

Bud Greenspan

Sandy Grossman

Steve Laxton

Cory Leible

Verne Lundquist

John Madden

Geoffrey Mason

David Mazza

Mike Pearl

Neal Pilson

congratulations to the class of 2019

Andrea Berry

Gary Bettman

George Bodenheimer

Steve Bornstein

Garrett Brown

Jack Buck

Dick Button

Bob Dixon

Ray Dolby

Dick Ebersol

Dick Enberg

Davey Finch

Bill Fitts

Chet Forte

Stan Honey

Deb Honkus

George Hoover

Chuck Howard

Keith Jackson

Barry Johnstone

Howard Katz

Mark McCormack

Jim McKay

Sean McManus

Al Michaels

Gene Mikell

Bob Mikkelson

Brent Musburger

John Porter

Bill Raftery

Linda Rheinstein

Robin Roberts

John Roché

Dan Rooney

Pete Rozelle

CONGRATULATIONS to the

13th Annual Sports Broadcasting HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES STEVE ANDERSON MARY ELLEN CARLYLE BUD COLLINS MIKE ‘DOC’ EMRICK BOB FISHMAN JERRY GEPNER BOB LEY ROGER PENSKE DOUG WILSON KEN WOO