Steve Zabriskie facts for kids

Steven Kenneth Zabriskie, born on May 13, 1947, in Palo Alto, California, is a former American television sports announcer. He is most famous for his exciting play-by-play calls for Major League Baseball and college football games. He spent 30 years working in sports broadcasting.

What is a Sports Announcer?

A sports announcer, also called a play-by-play announcer, describes the action of a game as it happens. They tell viewers or listeners what is going on, who has the ball, who scored, and other important details. Steve Zabriskie was very good at this job, making games exciting for everyone watching. He even won three Television Sports Emmys for his work!

Steve Zabriskie's Career in Sports

Steve Zabriskie had a long and successful career in sports broadcasting. He worked for many different TV networks and sports teams.

Calling Baseball Games

Steve Zabriskie was the TV voice for the New York Mets baseball team from 1983 to 1989. While working for the Mets, he broadcast alongside famous announcers like Tim McCarver, Rusty Staub, and Ralph Kiner.

After his time with the Mets, he also called games for the Boston Red Sox in 1996 and 1997. He announced Major League Baseball games for ESPN for four seasons. He also covered games for the California Angels.

One memorable game he called was Game 3 of the 1995 American League Division Series. He worked with Tommy Hutton to announce the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. He also called a game for the USA Network in 1982 and for NBC in 1988.

Announcing College Football and More

Besides baseball, Zabriskie was a play-by-play announcer for college football games for ABC Sports. He did this from 1976 to 1997. He was also part of the TV team for the Georgia Bulldogs football network in the early 1980s.

In 1980, he was an on-field reporter for ABC during the 1980 National League Championship Series. Steve Zabriskie also announced NFL games and college basketball games for CBS Sports. He even covered track-and-field events for CBS and various Wide World of Sports events for ABC. From 1976 to 1978, he worked for WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, where people knew him as "The Big Z."

After Broadcasting

Steve Zabriskie stopped broadcasting after the 1997 Major League Baseball season. After his career in sports, he became a successful financial adviser.