Sandy Grossman's numbers as a live-sports director speak for themselves: 10 Super Bowls, 18 NBA Finals, five Stanley Cup Finals, and eight Emmy Awards. However, in order to grasp the indelible impact Grossman had on live sports television during his nearly five decades in the business, you have to go beyond the numbers.If you want to see Sandy's legacy, just watch any football game, says Fox Sports Founding Executive and Former President David Hill. He was not only a remarkable director, but one who had the ability to teach, and who cared about his pupils - always checking on them, and taking great pride in their achievements. Sandy Grossman embodied the very best of our business.
A Broadcaster From the Very Beginning
Born in Newark, NJ, in 1935, Grossman graduated from Weequahic High School before attending the University of Alabama, where he announced football games for the campus radio station, but soon learned that a life behind the mic was would not be his calling. His interest in broadcasting, however, only continued to grow after graduating in 1957 and serving in the Army for two years; he worked as an usher at the Ed Sullivan Theater before catching on in the public affairs department at WCBS-New York and eventually becoming a production assistant at CBS Sports in 1963.
He would soon work his way up to directing at CBS, where he oversaw a variety of sports productions; most notably, NBA basketball, for which he became CBS's lead director by the mid-1970s. An innovator from the very start, Grossman is credited with pioneering the use of popular music (after he played Van McCoy's The Hustle heading into commercial breaks), micing coaches during games, and deploying low-angle cameras at half-court and under the baskets.
My friend Sandy was one of the accomplished directors who inspired me, not just for his remarkable talent, but for his kindness and willingness to share his knowledge, says CBS Lead Director Bob Fishman. His technical crews would do anything for him. He was demanding, yet fair, and by getting the best from those who were fortunate to work with him, he has left us with some of the greatest televised moments in sports history. Many of the men and women who worked under his direction now work with me, and his legacy inspires us each and every week.
Breaking Into Football
In 1970, Grossman got his first big break directing football when he was paired with producer Bob Stenner for CBS's coverage of the Cotton Bowl. The profile of the assignment skyrocketed when the University of Notre Dame accepted its first bowl game appearance since the 1925 Rose Bowl to take on powerhouse University of Texas. Suddenly, Grossman was directing one of the biggest football games of the year.
When the Fighting Irish accepted the bid, Sandy and I were sure they were going to take us off that game and they never did, says Stenner, who spent more than three decades next to Grossman at the front bench. It turned out to be a huge game and I think everybody was beyond pleased with what we did with it. Although we didn't work side-by-side like right from that moment, that's where it started.
By the mid-'70s, Grossman had been elevated to CBS's lead NBA director and was also manning the truck with Stenner for CBS's NFL A-game featuring Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier in the booth.
'Produced by Bob Stenner and directed by Sandy Grossman' - I heard those words every week for years. Sandy set the standard back then and he set the standard until the day he retired, says NBC Sunday Night Football Director Drew Esocoff. Sandy understood the craft. He understood exactly what the viewer wanted to see and, when the moment was right, he was not afraid to give the viewer his option. And, by the way, one of the all-time good guys.
The Birth of the Madden-Summerall Era
In 1981, Summerall was paired with first-time broadcaster and former Super Bowl-winning Oakland Raiders Head Coach John Madden. An unproven commodity at the time, the foursome of Summerall, Madden, Grossman, and Stenner would go on to set the standard for NFL coverage over the next 21 seasons.
Sandy was always looking for ways to elevate a broadcast and he had a wonderful ability in delivering the right shot at the right moment, says Fox Sports Founding Executive and Former President Ed Goren. But maybe his greatest talent was working with his announcers and crew. John Madden is certainly a Hall of Famer, but it was Sandy who provided John with the unique video which allowed John to be John.
Grossman and Stenner worked to create a signature style for NFL football that included a unique blend of NFL Films-style tight shots and extra-wide and iso shots that allowed Madden to analyze formations on the field and player technique through his revolutionary use of a telestrator.
Sandy is as much a part of the great tradition and heritage of CBS Sports as anyone who has ever worked here, CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said after Grossman's passing in April 2014. His amazing directorial talents on the NFL truly distinguished him as one of the great directors in the history of sports television. For many years, Sandy Grossman's name was synonymous with excellence in NFL coverage.
With guidance from Madden, the foursome also began to study film each week and more intensely than any broadcast team before them, as well as conduct production meetings with coaches and players prior to the game.
Sandy became like a defensive coordinator, the way he looked at stuff, Madden told The New York Times last year. Sandy took the knowledge he got from the film and transferred it to the cameramen, who carried it over to the game.
The Fox Sports Years
Prior to the 1994 NFL season, when Fox Sports acquired the NFC rights package from CBS, Grossman and Stenner made the
