Jimmy Roberts facts for kids

Jimmy Roberts was born in 1957. He is a famous sportscaster who works for NBC Sports. Before joining NBC in 2000, he spent almost 12 years reporting sports for ESPN and ABC Sports. He has won many Emmy Awards for his great work.

Growing Up and Early Jobs

Jimmy Roberts grew up in White Plains, New York. His dad, Ralph, worked in investments. His mom, Betty, was a first-grade teacher.

When he was in White Plains High School, Jimmy was the captain of the lacrosse team. He also announced the morning news at school. Sometimes, he wrote articles for his high school newspaper, The Orange.

After high school, Jimmy studied at the University of Maryland, College Park. While in college, he worked at a popular place called R.J. Bentley's. One of his Emmy Awards is now shown there. Even in college, he started working for ABC Sports. He helped the TV crew cover the lacrosse national championship.

Working in Sports TV

Jimmy Roberts has spent most of his career at NBC as a sports presenter. He first worked briefly for NBC in 1980. This was during the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. He helped cover the speed skating competition. He saw Eric Heiden win five gold medals. Jimmy thought this was one of the greatest sports achievements ever.

However, he remembers another event even more. This was Dan Jansen winning the 1,000-meter speed skating race. It happened at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Starting at ABC and ESPN

Jimmy's first jobs as a sports TV writer were with ABC. He worked with Howard Cosell on a show called “SportsBeat.” This show looked into sports stories. His work there won him his first Emmy Award in 1984.

Later, he left ABC to join ESPN. He sent them a video of himself. John Walsh, who ran SportsCenter, hired him. The first big event he presented was a boxing match in 1988. It was between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks. For the next ten years, he was ESPN's main presenter for boxing and golf.

Joining NBC Sports

In 1999, NBC asked Jimmy to join them. They needed a presenter for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. During this time, he became known for telling great stories. People remember his Olympic reports on unique sports people, like Eric the Eel.

He has stayed with NBC ever since. He often hosts golf coverage on NBC and its Golf Channel. Jimmy has also done many other jobs for NBC. He hosted the halftime show for Notre Dame football. He was a main anchor for NBC's weekend sports news. He also anchored the network's coverage of the French Open tennis tournament.

Jimmy worked as a reporter for NBC's coverage of the 2000 American League Championship Series. He has also reported on horse racing for NBC. In 2005, he hosted a show about the Dakar Rally on the Outdoor Life Network.

When he presented the 2024 Summer Olympics from Paris, it was his 20th Olympic Games. Jimmy Roberts has won 15 Emmy Awards during his career. He also won the Lincoln Werden Award for golf writers in 2023.

Other Work

In 2009, Jimmy Roberts wrote his first book. It was called Breaking the Slump. The book talked about how famous golfers faced challenges. It showed how they worked through tough times in their game. Some golfers mentioned were Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

In 2022, Jimmy wrote another book. It was called “No One Wins Alone.” He wrote it with NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. This book was about Messier’s career. It focused on ideas about leadership.

Personal Life

Jimmy Roberts' father, Ralph, was a US soldier. He served in the army unit that helped free the French town of Farébersviller. Jimmy Roberts told this story in a special report for NBC. He said it was "the best thing I've done."

In 1994, Jimmy married Sandra Mayer. Sandra was a producer for TV shows like Today and Nightline. They have lived in Rye, New York, since then. They have three sons.

Jimmy's sister-in-law, Debbie Mayer, worked in the south tower of the World Trade Center. This was on the 56th floor. On September 11, 2001, a plane hit the north tower. Debbie immediately started to leave her building. She had reached the 29th floor when the second plane hit her building. Luckily, Debbie got out safely before the towers fell.

Jimmy Roberts shared the story with USA Today:

We had a couple of very anxious hours. My wife couldn't get through to Debbie. Finally, she went to her Manhattan apartment to wait for her. And she found her there. Turns out when the first explosion occurred in Building 1, Debbie started down the stairs. She had made it to the 29th floor when the building was shaken when the second plane hit. She was terrified but made it out.