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Perhaps the most famous – and shortest – sportscasting exclamation of the TV era didn’t start off by accident, haphazardly, or as a result of divine inspiration. It was borne of intent and purpose.
Fifty years in the sportscasting/broadcasting business later, the simple, two-word trademark utterance has become synonymous with announcer Dick Enberg. The Michigan native has enjoyed a career that has seen so many memorable moments, historic happenings, and fantastic feats, the only appropriate reaction would be: “Oh, my!”
It all started when Enberg was a graduate assistant at Indiana University back in 1957.
“My third or fourth day on campus, I saw a sign for open auditions and I ended up calling basketball and football games,” Enberg recalled. “I figured I needed a catch phrase and ‘holy cow’ had been taken along with ‘how about that?’, so I went with ‘oh, my!’ because it was a Midwestern expression of acknowledgement.
“I tried it on my first football broadcast and a couple days later, a couple guys said ‘Hey, Enberg… Oh, my!’ so I figured I had something. It’s been a good friend ever since.”
Enberg – who has called everything from pro and college football to tennis, summer and winter Olympic events, professional golf, college and pro basketball, boxing, and horse racing – still counts baseball as his favorite sport.
The former JV player at Central Michigan University had big league aspirations.
“My dream was to be the guy who announcers talked about. I used to practice baseball by batting rocks over telephone wires,” Enberg recalled.
Well the dream may not have been realized, but the CBS play-by-play announcer has certainly had a dream career.
“Fifty years of rubbing shoulders with greatness and what a privilege,” Enberg said with his trademark easy and comfortable delivery. “My friends in college said I always thought I was good, but I really only talked a good game.”
Fortunately for him, they were right. Enberg is one of only four sportscasters to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He has won 15 national (NSSA) sportscaster of the year awards in addition to the 1989 Tennis Play-by-Play Man of the Year, 1989 NFL Press Box Award, a 2000 Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award, thoroughbred racing’s Eclipse Award, the National Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Award, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Pete Rozelle Award. He is also the only person to win national Emmy Awards as a sportscaster, writer, and producer.
What’s the secret to a Hall of Fame broadcasting career?
“I hope what I do best is personalize the athlete,” said the man who was one of the main faces of NBC Sports for 25 years before taking a six-figure pay cut and joining CBS seven years ago to return to NFL football broadcasts. “When people say they hear my voice, they’re glad I’m doing the game because they know I’ll have new stories to tell and not overtake the game or try to be more important than the game.”
Enberg is a firm believer in the notion that less is more when it comes to theatrics.
“I hear people say now that they have to put their stamp on a game… Do you think for one minute any fan would tune in to, for example, the Super Bowl, to hear you? You’re just another spice on the food, so you should be trying to use your commentary to make it more palatable.”
Enberg, still going strong at age 71, isn’t ready to fade away.
“I still look forward to each assignment and even the homework and the studying,” he said, the truth of that statement evident in the genuine enthusiasm of his voice. “As soon as I’m not, the alarm will go off and I can go teach.”
That’s exactly what he plans to do whenever retirement comes calling.
“I think I have a lot to offer,” Enberg said. “And I’d like to give back in the area that has been so good to me.”
Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net
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