Johnny Holliday facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johnny Holliday
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Johnny Holliday, left, and Ray Knight hosting Nats Xtra on June 23, 2007.
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| Born | October 15, 1937 Miami, Florida, U.S.
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| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Clare |
| Children | Kellie, Tracie, and Moira |
Johnny Holliday (born October 15, 1937) is a famous American sports announcer on radio and TV. He used to be a popular radio DJ. Johnny is well-known for his long work with the University of Maryland's football and basketball teams. He also hosted TV shows for the Washington Nationals baseball team from 2007 to 2018.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Johnny Holliday was born and grew up in Miami, Florida. He was part of the very first class to graduate from North Miami High School.
A Career in Broadcasting
Becoming a Top 40 DJ
Johnny Holliday began his radio journey in Perry, Georgia. He then worked at several radio stations, including WHK in Cleveland. He even worked closely with another famous DJ, Murray the K, at WINS in New York City. In 1965, he hosted the last music show for WINS.
After that, Johnny moved to San Francisco and worked at a big Top 40 radio station called KYA. In 1965, he was named America's number one disc jockey by the Bill Gavin Radio "Gavin Report." His radio work is so important that it's featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While at KYA, he hosted record hops and concerts. He even co-hosted the very last concert by The Beatles at Candlestick Park in 1966.
In 1969, Johnny Holliday moved to Washington, D.C.. He handled the morning radio show for WWDC until 1978. After that, he switched to sports broadcasting for WMAL from 1978 to 1991.
Exciting Sports Announcing
During his long career in sports, Johnny Holliday has worked with many famous teams. These include the San Francisco Warriors, Washington Bullets/Wizards, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco Giants, and Washington Nationals. He has also covered big events like the Olympics, championship boxing matches, and The Masters golf tournament for ABC Radio.
A notable moment in his career happened in November 1963. Johnny was the announcer for a Cleveland Browns game against the Dallas Cowboys. This game took place just two days after the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. The Browns' owner told Johnny to only call the opposing team the "Cowboys," without mentioning the city of Dallas.
While working at KYA from 1965 to 1969, Johnny showed how talented he was. He broadcast college sports on both radio and TV. He also worked as a public address announcer for the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco Warriors. After moving to Washington, he hosted pre-game shows for the Washington Senators baseball team with Ted Williams. He also covered the Washington Bullets and Wizards on radio and TV.
Johnny Holliday has been the main "voice" for the Maryland Terrapins football and men's basketball teams since 1979. He has broadcast over 1,200 University of Maryland games! This includes twelve bowl games for football and ten Sweet Sixteen and two Final Four appearances for the basketball team. He even called Maryland's exciting NCAA Championship basketball victory in 2002.
From 2007 to 2018, Johnny hosted the Washington Nationals baseball team's pre- and post-game shows. These shows, called Nats Xtra, were on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). He worked with analyst Ray Knight and sometimes filled in as a play-by-play announcer for the Nationals games.
Johnny also provides sports reports for the ABC Radio Network.
TV Show Announcer
On television, Johnny Holliday was the announcer for two musical variety shows on NBC in 1966: Hullabaloo and The Roger Miller Show. He was also the announcer for ABC's This Week, a news show with famous journalists like David Brinkley and Cokie Roberts.
Acting on Stage
Johnny Holliday has also shown his talent as an actor. He has appeared in more than thirty stage plays. He was even nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for best actor in a musical for his role in Me and My Girl in Washington, D.C.
Awards and Special Honors
In 2006, the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame honored Johnny Holliday with the Chris Schenkel award. This award recognized his long and excellent career broadcasting college football for the University of Maryland.
In 2010, The Maryland Daily Record newspaper named him one of its "60 Influential Marylanders." A sports writer from The Washington Post even called Johnny Holliday the best Washington sports radio broadcaster since 1970.
In 2014, Johnny Holliday was inducted into the Washington, D.C., Sports Hall of Fame.
Authoring Books
Johnny Holliday has also written books! In 2002, he published his autobiography (a book about his own life) called Johnny Holliday: From Rock to Jock, which he wrote with Stephen Moore. ISBN: 978-1582614618 In 2006, he wrote Hoop Tales ISBN: 0762739908, a book all about the University of Maryland men's basketball team.
Images for kids
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Johnny Holliday, left, and Ray Knight hosting Nats Xtra on June 23, 2007.
