Jimmy Roberts facts for kids
Jimmy Roberts (born in 1957) is a well-known sportscaster who works for NBC Sports. He joined NBC in May 2000. Before that, he spent almost 12 years as a sports reporter at ESPN and ABC Sports. He has won many Emmy Awards for his excellent work.
Growing Up and Starting Out
Jimmy Roberts grew up in White Plains, New York. His father, Ralph, worked in investments. His mother, Betty, was a first-grade teacher.
When he was in White Plains High School, Roberts was the captain of the lacrosse team. He also announced the morning news for the school. Sometimes, he wrote articles for his high school newspaper, The Orange.
Roberts later went to the University of Maryland, College Park. While in college, he worked at a popular spot called R.J. Bentley's. One of his Emmy Awards is now displayed there. Even before finishing college, he started working at ABC Sports. He was a production runner, helping the TV crew cover the lacrosse national championship. This event was part of a show called “Wide World of Sports.”
Working in Sports Television
Roberts has spent most of his career as a sports presenter with NBC. He first worked briefly for the network 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, which he thought was an amazing sports achievement. However, Roberts considers Dan Jansen's 1,000-meter win at the 1994 Winter Olympics to be the most memorable event he has ever televised.
His first jobs as a sports TV writer and producer were with ABC. He worked with Howard Cosell on a show called “SportsBeat.” This was a 30-minute show that investigated sports topics. His work on this show earned him his first Emmy Award in 1984.
After ABC, he joined ESPN. He sent them an audition tape and was hired by John Walsh, who was in charge of SportsCenter. The first big sports event he presented for ESPN was a boxing match. It was the heavyweight championship fight between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks in 1988. For the next ten years, he became the main presenter for boxing and golf on the cable channel.
In 1999, NBC asked Roberts to join them. They needed a presenter for the upcoming 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. During this time, he became known for his storytelling. People remembered his Olympic reports, like the one about Eric the Eel. He also covered other unique sports personalities.
Roberts has stayed with NBC ever since. He hosts golf coverage on NBC and its Golf Channel. Over the years, he has had many other roles at NBC. He hosted the halftime show for Notre Dame football. He was also a main anchor for NBC's weekend sports updates. He anchored the network's coverage of the French Open tennis tournament. He also worked as a field reporter for NBC's coverage of the 2000 American League Championship Series. He has also reported on horse racing for NBC. In 2005, Roberts hosted and narrated the Outdoor Life Network's coverage of the Dakar Rally.
By the time of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Roberts had covered 20 Olympic Games in his career. He has been honored with 15 Emmy Awards for his broadcasting work. In 2023, he also received the Lincoln Werden Award for golf writers.
Other Projects
In April 2009, Roberts released his first book, Breaking the Slump. This book talked about the challenges many famous golfers faced. It included stories from Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. The book showed how they overcame difficulties in the game. In 2022, Roberts wrote another book called “No One Wins Alone.” He wrote it with Mark Messier, a famous hockey player. This book was about Messier’s career and focused on leadership.
Family Life
Roberts's father, Ralph, was a US soldier. He served in the regiment that helped free the French town of Farébersviller during a war. Jimmy Roberts narrated the story of this battle in a special feature for NBC. He said it was "the best thing I've done."
In 1994, Roberts married Sandra Mayer. She was a producer for TV shows like Today and Nightline at NBC. Since then, the couple has lived in Rye in Westchester County, New York. They have three sons.
Roberts's sister-in-law, Debbie Mayer, worked in the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. This was on the 56th floor. On September 11, 2001, after the first plane hit the north tower, Debbie started to leave her building. She had reached the 29th floor when the second plane hit her building. Luckily, Debbie escaped safely before the towers fell.
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.
