Dick Enberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dick Enberg
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Enberg in December 2010
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Richard Alan Enberg
January 9, 1935 Mount Clemens, Michigan, U.S.
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| Died | December 21, 2017 (aged 82) La Jolla, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1960–2016 |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 6 |
| 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(s) | Play-by-play |
| Sports | American football, baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, boxing, gymnastics, Horse Racing |
Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was a famous American sportscaster. He worked for about 60 years. He was known for calling many different sports games. He worked for big TV networks like NBC, CBS, and ESPN. He also announced games for teams like UCLA Bruins basketball, Los Angeles Rams football, and California Angels and San Diego Padres baseball.
Enberg was famous for his special phrases. When a player hit a home run in baseball, he would say "Touch 'em all!" For amazing plays, he would exclaim "Oh, my!" He also hosted the Tournament of Roses Parade for many years. Dick Enberg stopped broadcasting in 2016. His last job was as the main TV announcer for the Padres baseball team.
Contents
Growing Up and School
Dick Enberg was born on January 9, 1935. His birthplace was Mount Clemens, Michigan. His parents were Belle and Arnie Enberg. His grandparents came from Finland. Their original family name was Katajavuori, which means juniper mountain. They changed it to Enberg when they came to America.
His family moved around when he was young. They lived in Connecticut and California. Then they settled on a farm near Armada, Michigan. After high school in Armada, Enberg went to Central Michigan University. He played college baseball there. He earned his first degree in 1957. While in college, he worked at a radio station in Michigan.
Enberg then went to Indiana University Bloomington. He earned two more degrees there. While at Indiana, he did the first radio broadcast of the Little 500. This is a bicycle race that became famous in the movie Breaking Away. He also announced games for Indiana's football and basketball teams. In 1961, he called his first big college basketball championship game.
From 1961 to 1965, he was a teacher and baseball coach. He worked at Cal State Northridge.
Working in Los Angeles
In the late 1960s, Enberg became a full-time sportscaster in Los Angeles. He worked for KTLA television. He reported on sports every night. He also called UCLA Bruins basketball games. For KMPC radio, he announced Los Angeles Rams football and California Angels baseball.
After every Angels baseball win, he would say, "And the halo shines tonight." This was about the "Big A" scoreboard at Anaheim Stadium. A halo at the top would light up after a win. People could see it from far away. Enberg was named California Sportscaster of the Year four times.
In the 1960s, Enberg also announced boxing matches. He worked at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. In 1973, he presented the trophy for Super Bowl VII.
In 1968, Enberg was chosen to announce a special college basketball game. It was called the "Game of the Century." It was between the Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins. This game showed that many people wanted to watch college basketball on TV. In 1973, Enberg went to China. He hosted the first ever TV broadcast of a US vs. China basketball game. This was the first team sport played between the two countries.
In the 1970s, Enberg called the 1979 NCAA Championship game. This game featured Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. He also hosted a TV game show called Sports Challenge. He helped make a sports history TV series for PBS.
Working for NBC Sports (1975–1999)
In 1975, Dick Enberg joined NBC Sports. For 25 years, he announced many different sports and events for NBC. These included National Football League games and Major League Baseball. He also covered National Basketball Association games. Other sports he announced were golf, college football, and college basketball. He also covered Wimbledon and French Open tennis tournaments. He announced heavyweight boxing and Breeders' Cup horse races. He even worked on the Olympic Games.
Enberg became the main announcer for the NFL on NBC in 1979. He also announced the Rose Bowl game. He was in the announcer's booth for nine years.
The NFL on NBC
While at NBC, Enberg called eight Super Bowls. He worked with famous former NFL players. Some of them were Merlin Olsen and Phil Simms. He also hosted NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XIII in 1979.
Major League Baseball on NBC
In 1977, Enberg announced some important baseball games. He covered parts of the 1977 American League Championship Series and the 1977 National League Championship Series. He also called games for the 1979 American League Championship Series. In 1981, he announced the 1981 National League Championship Series.
Enberg loved baseball. He had been the radio and TV voice for the California Angels in the 1970s. He was excited to be the main baseball announcer for NBC. But NBC decided to hire Vin Scully, another famous baseball announcer. Enberg understood this decision. He still got a big pay raise from NBC. In 1985, he went back to call 40 games for the Angels. He wanted to feel connected to baseball again.
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
Enberg was also the voice of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships for NBC. His last tournament there was in 1999. He often ended NBC's coverage of the event with special thoughts. These were shown with video clips of the tournament.
Working for CBS Sports (2000–2014)
Enberg joined CBS Sports in 2000. He announced games for the network's NFL coverage. He also covered college basketball and US Open Tennis. For several years, he also worked on CBS's golf coverage. He interviewed players and wrote essays for The Masters and PGA Championship golf.
One famous NFL game Enberg called was in 2001. It was between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. During this game, the Patriots' starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, got hurt. This led to Tom Brady becoming the Patriots' quarterback. This started a long period of success for the Patriots. They won six Super Bowl titles.
Enberg also called a very exciting NFL playoff game in 2005. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Indianapolis Colts in a big upset. The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL. Enberg had also called an earlier playoff game between these two teams for NBC.
Enberg was known for his "Enberg Essays." These were warm and thoughtful reflections on the sports events he covered. They were a regular part of CBS's coverage of the college basketball Final Four.
On March 27, 2010, Enberg called his last college basketball game for CBS. It was a regional final tournament game. He continued to call the US Open for CBS until 2011. He returned in 2014 for one match. This was to celebrate CBS's last year covering the event.
In 2009, Enberg hosted the post-match ceremony for the US Open Men's Championship. The winner, Juan Martín del Potro, wanted to speak to his fans in Spanish. Enberg first said there wasn't enough time. But del Potro asked again, and Enberg allowed him to speak briefly in Spanish.
Working for ESPN (2004–2011)
Starting in 2004, Enberg also announced tennis for ESPN2. He covered the Wimbledon and French Open tournaments. He added the Australian Open in 2005. Enberg loved tennis. He said he wanted to work a full Grand Slam tournament. He stopped calling the French Open after 2009. This was because of his new job with the Padres. But he continued to call Wimbledon and the Australian Open for two more years. His contract with ESPN ended in 2011.
Working for the San Diego Padres
In December 2009, Enberg became a TV announcer for the San Diego Padres baseball team. He signed a deal to call 110–120 games each season. He mostly worked with Mark Grant.
In his first season with the Padres, some fans thought he wasn't excited enough for the home team. Enberg said he took it as a compliment. He started to use his famous "Touch 'em all!" call only for Padres home runs.
In 2012, Enberg continued as the Padres' announcer. Their games moved to a new network, Fox Sports San Diego. On September 23, 2015, Enberg announced he would retire after the 2016 season.
On May 21, 2016, Enberg was a special guest announcer for the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers were his favorite team when he was a boy. Enberg's last game with the Padres was on October 2, 2016. In his last week, he visited Vin Scully. Scully was another legendary baseball announcer who was also retiring.
Other Appearances
Besides sports, Enberg hosted three game shows. These were The Perfect Match, Baffle, and Three for the Money. He also lent his voice to cartoons and movies. He appeared in films like Rollerball and The Naked Gun. He also appeared as himself in TV shows like The King of Queens.
Film Roles
- Rollerball (1975) - Pregame Announcer
- Gus (1976) - Atoms' Announcer
- Two-Minute Warning (1976) - Himself
- Heaven Can Wait (1978) - TV Interviewer
- The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) - Baseball Announcer #2
- Mr. 3000 (2004) - Brewers Sportscaster
Career Timeline
- 1957–1961: Indiana Hoosiers football play-by-play
- 1957–1961: Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball play-by-play
- 1961–1965: Teacher and baseball coach at California State University, Northridge
- 1966–1977: UCLA Bruins men's basketball play-by-play
- 1966–1977: Los Angeles Rams radio play-by-play
- 1967–1968: The Perfect Match host
- 1969–1978, 1985: California Angels play-by-play
- 1971–1979 Sports Challenge host
- 1973–1974: Baffle host
- 1975: Three for the Money host
- 1975–1981: NCAA Basketball on NBC play-by-play
- 1977–1998: NFL on NBC play-by-play
- 1977–1982: MLB on NBC play-by-play
- 1979, 1981–1999: Wimbledon play-by-play (NBC)
- 1980–1988: Rose Bowl play-by-play (NBC)
- 1983–1989: MLB on NBC studio host
- 1984–1990: Breeders' Cup host (NBC)
- 1988: 1988 Summer Olympics Gymnastics play-by-play (NBC)
- 1990–1999: NBA on NBC play-by-play
- 1992: 1992 Summer Olympics host (NBC)
- 1995–1999: PGA Tour on NBC host
- 1996: 1996 Summer Olympics contributor (NBC)
- 1998–1999: Notre Dame Football on NBC play-by-play
- 2000–2010: NFL on CBS play-by-play
- 2000–2010: NCAA Basketball on CBS play-by-play
- 2000–2011, 2014: US Open (tennis) play-by-play (CBS)
- 2000–2006: The Masters contributor (CBS)
- 2000–2006: PGA Championship contributor (CBS)
- 2004–2011: Wimbledon and Australian Open play-by-play (ESPN2)
- 2004–2009: French Open play-by-play (ESPN2)
- 2006–2007: Westwood One Thursday Night Football play-by-play
- 2006: In Focus on FSN narrator
- 2010–2016: San Diego Padres TV play-by-play
Awards and Honors
Dick Enberg received many awards. He won 13 Sports Emmy Awards. He also won a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. He was named National Sportscaster of the Year nine times. He is in the Hall of Fame for sportscasters and sportswriters. He also received awards from the Pro Football, Basketball, and Baseball Halls of Fame. Enberg is the only sportscaster to win Emmys in three areas: broadcasting, writing, and producing. In 1973, he was the first U.S. sportscaster to visit China.
Central Michigan University put Enberg in their Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993. They named an academic center after him in 2007. A special award for student-athletes is also named after him.
His hometown of Armada, Michigan, also honored him. A hallway in a local school was named after him. UCLA named its Media Center in Pauley Pavilion after Enberg in 2017.
Indiana University gave Enberg an honorary doctorate degree in 2002. He was also inducted into their Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
In 1997, a sports organization created the Dick Enberg Award. This award honors people who support student-athletes and education. Famous people like Gerald Ford and Mike Krzyzewski have received this award.
In 2011, Enberg was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. This was for his work with the Rose Bowl game and parade.
In 2015, the National Baseball Hall of Fame gave Enberg the Ford C. Frick Award. This award is for excellent baseball broadcasting. He was the second sportscaster to receive awards from the Halls of Fame in football, basketball, and baseball.
About His Life
Dick Enberg's father was from Finland. His family name, Katajavuori, was changed to Enberg when they came to the U.S. because it was simpler. The name means "juniper mountain."
Early in his career, Enberg thought about changing his name to "Dick Breen." Someone told him "Enberg" sounded too Jewish. But he decided to keep his real name.
Dick Enberg had six children. Three of his children were with his first wife, Jeri Taylor. These are Alexander, Andrew, and Jennifer. He had three more children with his second wife, Barbara. Their names are Ted, Nicole, and Emily. His son, Ted Enberg, is also a sportscaster. Ted has announced games for ESPN and the Pac-12 Network.
Enberg wrote a play called COACH. It was a tribute to his friend, Al McGuire. McGuire was a famous college basketball coach and commentator. The play was performed in many cities.
Enberg was the Chairman of the American Sportscasters Association for many years. He also helped with the Lott Trophy. This award goes to a college football player who shows great leadership.
His Passing
Dick Enberg passed away on December 21, 2017. He was 82 years old. He died in La Jolla, California. It is believed he had a heart attack.
