Dan Shulman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dan Shulman |
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Shulman in 2022
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| Born: Daniel Shulman February 9, 1967 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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Daniel Shulman (born February 9, 1967) is a Canadian sports announcer. He works for Sportsnet in Canada and ESPN in the United States.
Dan Shulman is known for calling games for the Toronto Blue Jays on Sportsnet. He also hosts a baseball podcast called Swing and a Belt with Dan Shulman. For ESPN, he is the main announcer for men's college basketball games. He used to call Major League Baseball games for ESPN on TV and radio.
Before this, Shulman was the play-by-play announcer for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. He left that role at the end of the 2017 season.
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Dan Shulman's Early Life and Education
Dan Shulman was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He went to the University of Western Ontario. He studied actuarial science, which involves math and statistics. However, he chose to work in sports broadcasting instead.
Dan Shulman's Broadcasting Journey
Starting His Career
Shulman began his broadcasting journey at the University of Western Ontario. He was the main voice for university football and basketball games. He worked for CHRW radio in London, Ontario. Later, he worked at radio station CKBB in Barrie. He also volunteered at a local community TV station there.
In the early 1990s, he joined Fan 1430 in Toronto. This is a sports radio station now called Sportsnet 590 The Fan. He hosted a show called Prime Time Sports. He also worked for CTV during the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. He covered hockey games there. He also covered the 1994 World Championships of Basketball.
Working at TSN
In 1995, Dan Shulman became a play-by-play announcer for TSN. He called Toronto Blue Jays baseball games. He worked alongside former Blue Jays catcher Buck Martinez. Shulman stayed with TSN for seven years. During this time, he also called NHL hockey and NBA basketball games. He covered CHL hockey games too. He also helped host TSN Inside Sports.
Until 2007, Shulman continued to work with Buck Martinez for TSN during the World Series. He would send daily reports from the games. In 2011, he returned to TSN as an analyst and contributor.
Time at ESPN
Shulman started working part-time for ESPN while still at TSN. In 2001, he joined ESPN full-time. He covered many sports events, including baseball and college basketball. ESPN signed him to a new contract in 2007. They also assigned him to call NBA games. Shulman is still the main announcer for NCAA college basketball at ESPN.
On July 27, 2007, Shulman called Barry Bonds's 754th home run for ESPN.
From 2002 to 2007, he was the main play-by-play announcer for ESPN Radio's MLB coverage. He worked with Dave Campbell. They called the network's Sunday Night Baseball games. They also called the All-Star Game, Home Run Derby, and some playoff games. In 2008, Gary Thorne took over as the main Sunday Night Baseball voice. However, Shulman still called the All-Star and playoff games that year. He also filled in for some regular season games. Shulman also worked with Orel Hershiser to call Monday Night Baseball for ESPN television from 2008 to 2010. He teamed with Hubie Brown for ESPN NBA coverage from 2007 to 2012.
On December 1, 2010, ESPN announced that Shulman, Hershiser, and Bobby Valentine would be the new Sunday Night Baseball team. This started with the 2011 MLB season. During a Sunday Night Baseball game on May 1, 2011, Shulman announced live on ESPN that Osama bin Laden had died. Shulman said he learned the news from Bobby Valentine. He confirmed it with his producer before sharing it on air.
Shulman also worked with Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine for the ESPN Radio broadcast of the 2011 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals won that series against the Texas Rangers.
In 2011, he called a big college basketball game between Indiana and Kentucky. His call for the game-winning shot was "Jones... Watford for the win… YES! YES!"
Shulman was named 2011 National Sportscaster of the Year. This award came from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He was the first Canadian-born announcer to receive this honor.
In 2012, ESPN hired Terry Francona to join Shulman and Hershiser for the 2012 MLB season. Francona stayed for one season. Then, John Kruk joined Shulman and Hershiser for the 2013 MLB season. In 2014, Curt Schilling replaced Hershiser. Shulman and Kruk worked as a two-person team until Schilling joined them later that season.
On July 3, 2017, Shulman announced he would leave Sunday Night Baseball after the 2017 season. He wanted to spend more time with his family in Toronto. He continued to work on ESPN Radio's MLB playoff coverage. He also kept his role in ESPN's college basketball coverage.
In October 2022, it was announced that Shulman would step down as ESPN's main radio announcer for the MLB postseason. This change started in the 2023 season. He now focuses only on his college basketball role with the network.
Working at Sportsnet
In addition to his work with ESPN, Dan Shulman joined the Sportsnet broadcast team. This happened on November 19, 2015. He started calling about 30 Toronto Blue Jays games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In March 2018, it was announced he would call more Blue Jays games. He calls games on Sportsnet Radio and up to 50 games on Sportsnet television.
In April 2018, Shulman started a podcast with Sportsnet. It is called Swing and a Belt with Dan Shulman. Each week, he talks about a different baseball topic. He also interviews people like Mike Trout and Aaron Boone.
In 2020, Shulman took on a bigger role. He became the play-by-play voice for most Blue Jays games.
He won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Play-by-Play in 2022.
Shulman also provides commentary for Canada Basketball on Sportsnet. He continued this role during the CBC coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics. He took a break from his Blue Jays duties for this.
Personal Life
Dan Shulman is Jewish. He has participated in the Maccabiah Games, which are like the Olympics for Jewish athletes. He has three sons. His third son, Ben, is also a sportscaster. Ben is the radio play-by-play announcer for the Blue Jays.
