Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Passes 100-Member Mark at 12th-Annual Induction By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - 1:22 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame expanded to 105 members last night, inducting 11 industry legends during its 12th-annual induction ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel. The evening was hosted by CBS Sports' Lesley Visser, marking the first time that a woman and a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame has hosted the ceremony. In addition, all table sales, totaling more than $215,000 this year, are once again being donated to the Sports Broadcasting Fund, which supports industry members in times of need.
The 12th-annual Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony was hosted by Lesley Visser at the Hilton Midtown New York Hotel.
This year's roster of honorees comprises famed on-air personalities Mary Carillo, Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, and Dick Vitale; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman; CBS Sports and ESPN production stalwart Bill Fitts; sports documentarian Bud Greenspan; BSI co-founder Peter Larsson; NBC Sports and Olympics technology guru David Mazza; video-control master Gene Mikell; and former CBS Sports President and master sports-rights negotiator Neal Pilson.
CLICK HERE to read each inductee's full profile and CLICK HERE to watch each member's acceptance speech (also embedded below).
JIM NANTZ, the Family Man Who Became Sports TV's Father
Hello, friends. That's far more than a calling card or a catch phrase. It's a daily reminder that, in the sports-broadcasting industry, we're family. For 35 years, Jim Nantz has been family to millions of U.S. television viewers who have welcomed the legendary broadcaster into their homes for some of sports TV's biggest events, including countless NFL and March Madness games and thrilling major golf tournaments.
BUD GREENSPAN, Olympic Storyteller
Bud Greenspan's legendary Olympic documentaries were less about the heroes than about the often heartbreaking, often exhilarating stories of athletes both in competition and away from it. Greenspan wrote, produced, and directed the documentaries through his production company, Cappy Productions, from the 1960s through Vancouver 2010 Stories of Olympic Glory, released after his death. Greenspan's longtime business partner and companion Nancy Beffa accepted on his behalf.
BILL FITTS, A Career of Firsts, a Lasting Legacy
When your broadcasting career includes producing the first Super Bowl, launching The NFL Today for CBS, and then jumping aboard ESPN in its formative years, it's easy to think that ego could take over. But that didn't happen to Bill Fitts, a long-time production professional who credits those around him and takes more pride in their success than in his own. Fitts took his time on stage to thank the executives that provided him opportunities to succeed during his five-plus decades in the business.
GARY BETTMAN, Father of the Modern NHL
In the modern media era, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman led the league's transformation from a media non-starter to a staple on NBC Sports' networks, growing the league's revenue from $400 million in 1993 (when he arrived) to $4.5 billion this year.
MARY CARILLO, Globetrotting Correspondent, Born Storyteller
There's no athlete-turned-broadcaster quite like Mary Carillo. After retiring from pro tennis, she became one of the most esteemed tennis analysts in the business, calling matches for a wide variety of networks. Although her tennis analysis earned her accolades from the industry, it was her unique storytelling at 14 Olympic Games that has made her a household name.
GENE MIKELL, Six Decades of Masterful Video Control
Gene Mikell enters the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame not just as an octogenarian but as an octogenarian who still spends a day or two a week working in a remote-production truck for Fox Sports. Odds are, you may not recognize his work, but you have seen it: he sets the course for the video-control and camera-shading department at Fox Sports and has worked in the industry for the better part of 60 years.
NEIL PILSON, Prodigious Leader and Sports-Rights Negotiator
During 19 years at CBS, including 13 as president of CBS Sports, Neil Pilson helped transform the Tiffany Network into a live-sports-programming goliath and earned a reputation as a tenacious but honest negotiator and cerebral tactician. Departing CBS in 1994, he launched consulting firm Pilson Communications Inc. (PCI) and has played an integral role in the negotiations for billions of dollars in sports-rights deals over the past 2 decades.
PETER LARSSON, Peter Larsson, Wireless-Camera Pioneer
Without the efforts of Peter Larsson, mind-blowing perspectives in live production - such as the driver's seat in NASCAR or on the putting green at major golf tournaments - would never have been available to viewers at home. The co-founder of Broadcast Sports Inc. (BSI) and the wireless-camera and -audio systems, he has brought sports fans inside the action in ways never thought possible over the past four decades. In addition to thanking his family, the entire BSI team, production teams he's worked with over the years, Larsson thanked the industry at large.
BOB COSTAS, Sports' Poetic Voice and Conscience
Bob Costas, a 28-time Emmy Award winner, has been the face of many of the largest sports events that U.S. television has ever produced. Whether it was the play-by-play call of the World Series or the NBA Finals or sitting behind the desk to welcome viewers to a big night in the NFL or to the Olympic Games, he became the benchmark of sportscasting.
DAVID MAZZA, NBC's Gold-Medal Tech Visionary
Few individuals have had a greater impact on the way the Olympic Games are produced for U.S. viewe
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Passes 100-Member Mark at 12th-Annual Induction By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
