The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association has announced that Bill Raftery, Dick Schaap, Hal McCoy and Lesley Visser are part of the largest class of inductees in the organization’s 56-year history. They will be enshrined during the NSSA’s annual awards banquet, June 8, 2015 in Salisbury, NC.
Joining the Hall of Fame quartet as honorees at the banquet will be 2014 National Sportscaster of the Year Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick and 2014 National Sportswriter of the Year Tom Verducci, along with more than 100 state sportscasters and sportswriters of the year from 48 states and the District of Columbia (see list below).
Raftery has followed a long college basketball coaching career with a second career as a basketball analyst on television. He joined CBS Sports in 1983 and currently calls games for CBS, including his 33rd NCAA Tournament this year, as well as Fox Sports 1 and Westwood One radio network. Raftery had a long career at ESPN and also called New Jersey Nets and Big East Network games.
The late Dick Schaap is being recognized for his ground-breaking work as the first host of ESPN’s acclaimed Sunday morning show, The Sports Reporters, as well as for his five Emmy Awards. Schaap also co-hosted The Sporting Life on ESPN Radio (with his son Jeremy) and had a long print career, ranging from his job as editor of Sport magazine to authoring or co-authoring 33 books. Schaap died in 2002.
McCoy is a writer and columnist who spent most of his career as the Cincinnati Reds beat writer for the Dayton Daily News. In 2002, the Baseball Writers Association of America honored him with the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, presented at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite being legally blind, McCoy continues to cover the Reds for FoxSportsOhio.com.
After a career of firsts in both print and broadcast, Visser becomes the third woman elected to the NSSA Hall of Fame. She was the first female beat writer covering an NFL team, when the Boston Globe put her on the New England Patriots beat. Visser then embarked on a long television career with CBS, HBO, ABC and ESPN. Among her roles, Visser was the first female sideline reporter for a Super Bowl (1995), first woman assigned to Monday Night Football (1998) and first female color commentator for an NFL game (2001). She was recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, when she was presented with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. In 2007 she returned to writing as a columnist for CBSSports.com and in September 2014 she again made television history with the debut of the first all female national weekly sports show WE NEED TO TALK on CBS Sports Network.
Emrick wins the National Sportscaster of the Year for the second straight year. The “voice” of the National Hockey League on NBC and the NBC Sports Network, Emrick’s hockey play-by-play career stretches back more than 40 years. He has called more than 3,000 NHL games, including the last 25 Stanley Cup playoffs. A two-time Sports Emmy Award winner, he was the first broadcaster inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame and was recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2008.
This is Verducci’s first election as National Sportswriter of the Year. Sports Illustrated’s lead baseball writer for more than a decade, Verducci started his SI career in 1993. Before SI, Verducci was a sports reporter and lead baseball columnist for Newsday and a sportswriter for Florida Today. Verducci added
tv duty to his resumé in 2008. He won a Sports Emmy in 2012 for his work on MLB Network and TBS. He has served as a game analyst for FOX Sports since 2011.
[About the voting: From mid-October through mid-November, NSSA members in each state nominate up to three state and national sportscasters and sportswriters of the year. For state categories, the top two, plus ties, are placed on the final ballot. For national categories, the top ten, plus ties, are placed on the final ballot. NSSA national board members provide nominations for the Hall of Fame categories, and ten names are placed on the ballot for each of those categories. Final balloting takes place during the month of December.]
HALL OF FAME SPORTSCASTERS
Bill Raftery, Big East Network, ESPN, CBS, FOX Sports
*Dick Schaap, The Sports Reporters, ESPN
HALL OF FAME SPORTSWRITERS
Hal McCoy, Dayton Daily News, Fox Sports Ohio
Lesley Visser, Boston Globe, HBO, ABC, ESPN, CBS, CBSSports.com
NATIONAL SPORTSCASTER
Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, NBC
NATIONAL SPORTSWRITER
Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated
ALABAMA SPORTSCASTER
Eli Gold, Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network/Learfield, Tuscaloosa
ALABAMA SPORTSWRITER
Brandon Marcello, AL.com, Auburn
ARIZONA SPORTSCASTER
Dave Pasch, Cardinals Radio Network/98.7 FM, Phoenix
ARIZONA SPORTSWRITER
Kent Somers, Arizona Republic, Phoenix
ARKANSAS SPORTSCASTER
Steve Sullivan, KATV-TV, Little Rock
ARKANSAS SPORTSWRITER
Harry King, Stephens Media, Little Rock
CALIFORNIA SPORTSCASTER
Vin Scully, Dodgers TV Network/Sportsnet LA, Los Angeles
CALIFORNIA SPORTSWRITER
Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco
COLORADO SPORTSCASTER
Drew Goodman, 104.3 The Fan, ROOT Sports/Rockies, Denver
COLORADO SPORTSWRITER
Mark Kizsla, Denver Post, Denver
CONNECTICUT SPORTSCASTER
Joe D’Ambrosio, WTIC /UConn Radio Network, Hartford
CONNECTICUT SPORTSWRITER
Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant, Hartford
DELAWARE SPORTSCASTER
Matt Janus, WDSD/Blue Rocks Radio, Wilmington
DELAWARE SPORTSWRITER
Brad Myers, News Journal, Wilmington
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTSCASTER
Joe Beninati, Capitals/CSN Washington, Washington
Bob Carpenter, Nationals/MASN, Washington
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTSWRITER
Thom Loverro, Washington Times, Washington
FLORIDA SPORTSCASTER
Gene Deckerhoff, FSU/IMG & Bucs Radio Networks, Tallahassee/Tampa
FLORIDA SPORTSWRITER
Gary Shelton, Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg
GEORGIA SPORTSCASTER
Steve Holman, Hawks Radio Network/92.9 The Game, Atlanta
GEORGIA SPORTSWRITER
Steve Hummer, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta
IDAHO SPORTSCASTER
Tom Morris, Idaho Vandals Sports Properties/Learfield, Moscow
IDAHO SPORTSWRITER
Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman, Boise
ILLINOIS SPORTSCASTER
Pat Hughes, Cubs Radio Network/WGN, Chicago
ILLINOIS SPORTSWRITER
Marcus Jackson, News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana
Rick Telander, Sun-Times, Chicago
INDIANA SPORTSCASTER
Mark Boyle, Pacers Radio Network/107.5/1070 The Fan, Indianapolis
INDIANA SPORTSWRITER
Mike Chappell, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis
IOWA SPORTSCASTER
Andy Garman, KCCI-TV, Des Moines
IOWA SPORTSWRITER
Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Cedar Rapids
KANSAS SPORTSCASTER
Mike Kennedy, Shocker Sports Properties/KEYN, Wichita
KANSAS SPORTSWRITER
Gary Bedore, Journal World, Lawrence
KENTUCKY SPORTSCASTER
Kent Spencer, WHAS-TV, Louisville
KENTUCKY SPORTSCASTER
Eric Crawford, WDRB.com, Louisville
LOUISIANA SPORTSCASTER
Ed Daniels, WGNO-TV, New Orleans
LOUISIANA SPORTSWRITER
Glenn Guilbeau, Gannett, Baton Rouge
MAINE SPORTSCASTER
Don Shields, Black Bear Sports Network/Learfield, Orono
MAINE SPORTSWRITER
Mark Emmert, Press-Herald, Portland
MARYLAND SPORTSCASTER
Johnny Holliday, Terrapin Sports Network,MASN, College Park
MARYLAND SPORTSWRITER
Jeff Zrebiec, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore
MASSACHUSETTS SPORTSCASTER
Dave Goucher, WBZ-FM/Bruins Network, Boston
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV, Boston
MASSACHUSETTS SPORTSWRITER
Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe, Boston
Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe, Boston
MICHIGAN SPORTSCASTER
Dan Dickerson, Tigers Radio Network, Detroit
MICHIGAN SPORTSWRITER
Jeff Seidel, Free Press, Detroit
MINNESOTA SPORTSCASTER
Dawn Mitchell, KMSP-TV, Minneapolis
MINNESOTA SPORTSWRITER
Joe Christensen, Star Tribune, Minneapolis
MISSISSIPPI SPORTSCASTER
Jim Ellis, Mississippi State Bulldog Sports Network/Learfield, Starkville
MISSISSIPPI SPORTSWRITER
Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Jackson
MISSOURI SPORTSCASTER
Mike Shannon, KMOX Radio/Cardinals, St. Louis
MISSOURI SPORTSWRITER
Andy McCullough, Kansas City Star, Kansas City
MONTANA SPORTSCASTER
Ron Bruschi, KOJM Radio, Havre
MONTANA SPORTSWRITER
Greg Rachac, Billings Gazette, Billings
NEBRASKA SPORTSCASTER
Andy Kendeigh, KETV, Omaha
NEBRASKA SPORTSWRITER
Sam McKewon, World-Herald, Omaha
NEVADA SPORTSCASTER
Chris Maathuis, KLAS-TV, Las Vegas
NEVADA SPORTSWRITER
Ed Graney, Review-Journal, Las Vegas
NEW HAMPSHIRE SPORTSCASTER
Bob Lipman, UNH Sports Network/Learfield, Manchester
NEW HAMPSHIRE SPORTSWRITER
Tim O’Sullivan, Concord Monitor, Concord
NEW JERSEY SPORTSCASTER
Matt Loughlin, Devils Radio Network/WFAN, Newark
NEW JERSEY SPORTSWRITER
Greg Tufaro, Gannett New Jersey, East Brunswick
NEW MEXICO SPORTSCASTER
Bob Brown, 101.7 The Team, Albuquerque
NEW MEXICO SPORTSWRITER
Mark Smith, Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque
NEW YORK SPORTSCASTER
Bruce Beck, WNBC-TV, New York
Ian Eagle, YES Network, New York
NEW YORK SPORTSWRITER
Frank Isola, New York Daily News, New York
NORTH CAROLINA SPORTSCASTER
Stan Cotten, Wake Forest/IMG Sports Network, Winston-Salem
Jeff Gravley, WRAL-TV, Raleigh
NORTH CAROLINA SPORTSWRITER
Ed Hardin, News & Record, Greensboro
NORTH DAKOTA SPORTSCASTER
Rod Kleinjan, KDIX Radio, Dickinson
NORTH DAKOTA SPORTSWRITER
Chris Aarhus, Jamestown Sun, Jamestown
OHIO SPORTSCASTER
Dan Hoard, Bengals Radio Network, Bearcats/IMG Sports Network, Cincinnati
OHIO SPORTSWRITER
Hal McCoy, Dayton Daily News, Dayton
OKLAHOMA SPORTSCASTER
Bruce Howard, Golden Hurricane Sports Network/Learfield, Tulsa
OKLAHOMA SPORTSWRITER
Berry Tramel, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City
OREGON SPORTSCASTER
Joe Becker, KGW-TV, Portland
OREGON SPORTSWRITER
John Canzano, The Oregonian, Portland
PENNSYLVANIA SPORTSCASTER
Tom McGinnis, Sixers Radio Network/97.5 The Fanatic, Philadelphia
PENNSYLVANIA SPORTSWRITER
Bob Ford, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia
RHODE ISLAND SPORTSCASTER
Ken Bell, WLNE-TV, Providence
RHODE ISLAND SPORTSWRITER
Brendan McGair, Pawtucket Times, Pawtucket
SOUTH CAROLINA SPORTSCASTER
Kevin McCrarey, South Carolina Radio Network, Columbia
SOUTH CAROLINA SPORTSWRITER
Lou Bezjak, Florence Morning News, Florence
SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTSCASTER
Jeff Duffy, KOKK Radio, Huron
SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTSWRITER
John Papendick, American News, Aberdeen
TENNESSEE SPORTSCASTER
Pete Weber, Nashville Predators TV/Fox Sports Tennessee, Nashville
TENNESSEE SPORTSWRITER
David Climer, The Tennessean, Nashville
Geoff Calkins, Commercial Appeal, Memphis
TEXAS SPORTSCASTER
Bill Schoening, Spurs Radio Network/WOAI, San Antonio
TEXAS SPORTSWRITER
Kirk Bohls, American Statesman, Austin
UTAH SPORTSCASTER
Steve Klauke, Salt Lake Bees/1280 KZNS, Salt Lake City
UTAH SPORTSWRITER
Kurt Kragthorpe, Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City
VERMONT SPORTSCASTER
Rich Haskell, WCPV-FM 101.3, Colchester
VERMONT SPORTSWRITER
Alex Abrami, Burlington Free Press, Burlington
Anna Grearson, Times Argus, Barre
VIRGINIA SPORTSCASTER
Wes McElroy, WRNL-AM, Richmond
VIRGINIA SPORTSWRITER
David Teel, Daily Press, Newport News
WASHINGTON SPORTSCASTER
Larry Weir, EWU Eagle Radio Network/700 ESPN, Cheney
WASHINGTON SPORTSCASTER
Dave Boling, Tacoma News Tribune, Tacoma
WEST VIRGINIA SPORTSCASTER
Steve Cotton, Thundering Herd IMG Sports Network, Huntington
WEST VIRGINIA SPORTSWRITER
Chuck McGill, Daily Mail, Charleston
WISCONSIN SPORTSCASTER
Brian Anderson, Brewers/Fox Sports Wisconsin, Milwaukee
WISCONSIN SPORTSWRITER
*Tom Mulhern, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
WYOMING SPORTSCASTER
Trevor Jackson, Sheridan Media, Sheridan
Reece Monaco, KFBC Radio, Cheyenne
WYOMING SPORTSWRITER
Mike Vorel, Casper Star Tribune, Casper
*-posthumous