Rest In Peace to one of the all-time great voices.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/12/22/us/ap-obit-dick-enberg.html
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/12/22/us/ap-obit-dick-enberg.html
Oh My...Dick Enberg Has Passed
- Thread starter CarolinaBeerGuy
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Enberg was certainly one of the giants of my childhood...and yet, he seems to hold a curious place in the pantheon of great broadcasters. Among similar titans of the airwaves in his era, you'd probably have to rank Jim McKay (ABC), Al Michaels (ABC), Pat Summerall (CBS) and Vin Scully (NBC) ahead of him, right? He was always solid, always pleasant to listen to, very much worth of his exalted status - and yet he lacked any epochal moments or signature calls apart from the "Oh My!" catchphrase, which may have actually contributed to the lack of signature moments. Some of that is down to circumstance: he never had the Miracle on Ice, the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorism, Buckner in 1986 or Gibson in 1988. But his style wasn't distinctive (like Summerall), and if you go back and listen to his call of the Montana-to-Taylor touchdown at the end of Super Bowl XXIII - the first moment of his that came to mind for me - there's really not that in much in his call of the moment to give you goosebumps. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I'd be interested to hear if others' thoughts mirror mine in this regard.
Dick Enberg brought an infectious energy to a game. (Like Gus Johnson does now, and Charlie Jones did back in the day.) There was a brief period when the Super Bowl was either called by Summerall and Madden or Enberg and Merlin Olsen, which meant regardless of whether CBS or NBC had the game, you were assured of a great broadcast. Enberg did it all, and few did any as well, and none better. Rest In Peace.
Glen MacnowVerified account @RealGlenMacnow 2h2 hours ago
Dick Enberg called so many sports so well, you likely forget he was the PxP voice in the '75 movie "Rollerball." Improvised all the dialog calling a sport no one had ever played before. RIP.
Dick Enberg called so many sports so well, you likely forget he was the PxP voice in the '75 movie "Rollerball." Improvised all the dialog calling a sport no one had ever played before. RIP.
Just watched a bunch of that. From the five minutes of calm, thoughtful analysis from Olsen and Enberg at the start of the second half to the ballhawking of Raymond Claiborne (during a day when there wasn’t a flag on every play), what a great trip down memory lane. Thanks for sharing.
I always think of Jim McKay as a studio host (Olympics and Wide World of Sports). And I think of Pat Summerall almost exclusively with football, although I'm sure he did other things. And of course Scully was just baseball. So in my mind I remember Enberg as one of the true great Sports Announcers of my youth, along with Al Michaels, and probably Brent Musberger. He was so good because he stayed in the background and never became the story. His signature call seemed so organic.
Nobody is better at calling Tennis. Cliff Drysdale is good but he can be a touch to snide. Enberg was rarely not joyful in his calls. Since the US open ends the first week of September, tennis season and NFL dovetail nocely, and he got to call them both for a long time.
Agreed that he was particularly good at tennis, and as a teenager he was my favorite NFL announcer.
I even enjoyed listening to him call random Padre games over the last few years, even though he'd clearly lost his fastball.
I even enjoyed listening to him call random Padre games over the last few years, even though he'd clearly lost his fastball.
Best tennis pbp guy for sure, and had a soothing yet enthusiastic voice for football. A tremendous loss. I'd probably pay 4 figures if we can replace him for Nantz right now.
RIP Mr. Enberg. Find Bud up there.
RIP Mr. Enberg. Find Bud up there.
As a horse racing honk I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the instant cachet having Enberg as host of the first handful of Breeders' Cups gave the event.
On a personal level he called three of my all-time favorite events, the Cowboys Super Bowl 27 romp over Buffalo, Payne Stewart's US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and UNC's unlikely run to the Final Four in 2000, and I always enjoyed listening to him no matter what else he was calling.
On a personal level he called three of my all-time favorite events, the Cowboys Super Bowl 27 romp over Buffalo, Payne Stewart's US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and UNC's unlikely run to the Final Four in 2000, and I always enjoyed listening to him no matter what else he was calling.
Yeah, Enberg was great at tennis - I'll give him that.
Scully was not just baseball - he did football (Montana to Dwight Clark, anyone?) and golf quite prominently. And McKay was ABC's golf anchor for many years, among other things. But yeah, Enberg was more generally an all-rounder than a single-sport specialist.
Versatility?
He won major broadcasting awards from the HOFs of three different sports (not including his work in tennis or college football). Emmys for writing, broadcasting, AND producing. Dude was a monster. Maybe not a top 3-5 guy ever, but certainly top 10 type.
Also, I didn’t mention his best work.
I was listening to a podcast today and they played an ad for HIS new podcast. Obviously prerecorded, but still creepy. RIP
I'm just trying to rank where Enberg fits in the pantheon of great sports announcers - he's one of the greats, I'm just wondering where he fits among them.
My childhood memories of Merlin & Dick calling football forever etched in my database. He was classical smooth at everything he did. Great career, great life. Thanks for the memories.
Yeah. As can be seen in the Dolphins AFCCG linked upthread, Enberg and Olsen had a really easy rapport and lacked the forced excitement that even the best commentators today are prone to. Some of that is simply the production style, of course. But it’s also because we just talk about and analyze the game differently now. Instead of simply reacting to the action on the field, the color guy is really expected to know the schemes, strategy and game plan going into each game and the PBP guy is supposed to be able to converse with him about it. I’m not saying it’s better or worse but it truly was a simpler time.
This was the first time I ever heard of him. What I didn't know until years later he was the UCLA broadcaster during their first great run with Alcindor (Jabbar), et all.
The game was one of the first to be syndicated and sold to local stations. A great success which most likely was the precursor of the explosion of college basketball telecasts which started in the early 70s.
The game was one of the first to be syndicated and sold to local stations. A great success which most likely was the precursor of the explosion of college basketball telecasts which started in the early 70s.
A terrific watch, thanks for posting that, second time I've seen that game.
First time was in person at the shithole known as the Orange Bowl, about 20 of us traveled down there to see the game, we had the time of our lives.
Great memories; RIP Dick.
Mad Dog reminded today that he can still put on some of the best talk radio around. He and Mike were the best when someone passed, getting great guests and sharing great stories. Dog had in packer, McEnroe, Sean McManus, Brent, and mike Weismann to begin with to talk about enberg. It was fantastic.
Really nice piece by @Chad Finn in the Globe on Enberg’s passing:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2017/12/22/any-event-with-dick-enberg-call-had-big-game-feel/1656czSQzHlFSeB8DKcBtJ/story.html
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2017/12/22/any-event-with-dick-enberg-call-had-big-game-feel/1656czSQzHlFSeB8DKcBtJ/story.html
I think McKay’s biggest play by play job was the Indianapolis 500. They used to run that in prime time and get a share over 30.
The funny thing about Enberg was baseball was his favourite sport by far, yet he only got to call one World Series for NBC. They got Scully and Enberg was stuck in the studio.
Good shout. He was more of studio guy and was justly famous for his Olympics work (and also Wide World of Sports), but I always got the sense that was by circumstance more than skill - McKay had the chops of a play-by-play guy as well.
And yeah, re: Enberg and baseball, I never really knew he was a baseball guy at heart until he returned to the Padres job in the last few years of his career. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to complain or make a scene, which is of course very much to his credit and at the heart of his appeal as a personality.
I will miss Enberg and the giants who were his contemporaries so, so much.
Just as there was a golden age in Boston sports print journalism marked by the Globe’s Mt Rushmore, so too broadcast sports journalism enjoyed a several decades long golden era. Highly professional, classy, learned and decent people provided a national voice smooth as velvet. Dick was a key member of the chorus.
Unless and until someone sticks a dagger in hot takes, we will never see the like of it again.
Just as there was a golden age in Boston sports print journalism marked by the Globe’s Mt Rushmore, so too broadcast sports journalism enjoyed a several decades long golden era. Highly professional, classy, learned and decent people provided a national voice smooth as velvet. Dick was a key member of the chorus.
Unless and until someone sticks a dagger in hot takes, we will never see the like of it again.
I read this post earlier and it was interesting to watch the Bob Costas special on Enberg. He seemed to paint Enberg as the ultimate accompanimental broadcaster IMO. I was too young for his football and baseball broadcasting, but I, like many remember his tennis broadcasting. Costas, once again, made it seem that Enberg was second fiddle to the likes of Bud Collins. I remember Enberg for his insight and pacing, but do find it interesting to wonder what it was that made him great.
CBS Sports Cable Network has a Jim Nantz-hosted panel show on the 1968 Houston-UCLA game I posted about a couple weeks ago. It was filmed a month or so before Enberg's death and has him on the panel.
Enberg was the local play-by-play guy for UCLA....when Eddie Einhorn put together the syndication deal between Houston and UCLA to televise the game, UCLA made having him do the broadcast a condition of the agreement. He was early 30s and no one outside of LA had heard of him.
Enberg was the local play-by-play guy for UCLA....when Eddie Einhorn put together the syndication deal between Houston and UCLA to televise the game, UCLA made having him do the broadcast a condition of the agreement. He was early 30s and no one outside of LA had heard of him.