Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2019: Steve Anderson, ESPN's Versatile Leader and Production Powerhouse By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - 10:00 am
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SVG is profiling this year's 10 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductees in the weeks leading up to the ceremony on Dec. 17 at the New York Hilton. For more information, CLICK HERE.
During ESPN's first 35 years, few - if any - individuals had a greater hand in crafting the network's production philosophy and content strategy than Steve Anderson. From building SportsCenter into the gold standard of sports-news programs to launching new cable networks to overseeing thousands of ESPN's live game productions, Anderson's fingerprints can be seen today across ESPN's expansive programming portfolio.
Steve's place in ESPN's legacy is considerable and concrete, says legendary ESPN commentator and fellow Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee Bob Ley. From producing the epic #1 Georgetown vs. #2 St. John's college basketball game in 1985 to teaming with John A. Walsh to mold SportsCenter into its modern form and leading at the highest executive levels in connection with ESPN's most important properties and projects. But, more important, Steve is universally admired for how he led, the care he constantly demonstrated for his team members, and his forthright nature. No one, in my experience, has ever been more respected, and rightfully so.
The Early Days: From Hardcourt to Production Truck
Brooklyn-born Anderson grew up in Tenafly, NJ, in a sports-friendly household with his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson; his mother, Maureen; and three siblings. After graduating from Xavier High School in New York City, Anderson played basketball at College of the Holy Cross and envisioned a career as a college basketball coach. However, after a short stint as an assistant coach at Fordham University, his aspirations turned to sports television.
I was getting opportunities to be a runner for NBC for baseball games in New York but nothing concrete, says Anderson. Then I heard about this little cable company starting up in Connecticut, and I was fortunate enough to know [ESPN pioneers and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famers] Chet Simmons and Scotty Connal from NBC, and they hired me in April of 1980. I was taking a chance on a 24-hour sports cable network that very few, including myself, thought was going to make it, but I was absolutely thrilled.
Anderson's three-plus decades in Bristol began modestly as a PA on the SportsCenter night shift.
All I knew was, I was getting a chance to work in television sports and to learn a tremendous amount right away, he recounts. Every day, we were working so hard and just hoping the place was going to make it. You hear all the old ESPN stories about the one small building and people working in trailers, but I didn't even think twice about it. I was just excited to be there.
A year into his tenure at ESPN, Anderson snagged an associate-producer gig in the Remote Production Department under Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Bill Fitts. He quickly found his way to the front bench, producing an eclectic mix of events, including cross-country, senior tennis, horse show jumping, and boxing. Soon he moved to higher-profile properties, such as the NBA, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, college football, and the USFL.
Taking Over the Gridiron: Arrival of the NFL on ESPN
In 1986, when ESPN won the rights to the NFL's new Sunday Night Football package, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Steve Bornstein tapped Anderson as coordinating producer for the NFL. He would oversee the first two years of ESPN's NFL-game coverage, as well as production of the network's groundbreaking Sunday studio shows: NFL GameDay (which would become NFL Countdown) and NFL PrimeTime led by Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Chris Berman and Tom Jackson.
Our initial goal was to be considered just good as any other network doing NFL games, says Anderson. But what really set us apart early on were the studio shows, especially PrimeTime at night. Nobody had ever seen a one-hour show quite like Primetime with the expansive amount of highlights of every single game in an hour. The NFL clearly elevated ESPN, and I think that was when the industry understood that we were for real.
In addition to his NFL duties, Anderson also was responsible for all ESPN's college-basketball productions (including the NCAA Tournament). In 1988, he was elevated to director of production, leading the Remote Production Department (including NFL, MLB, college sports, and NASCAR) and overseeing ESPN's inaugural season of MLB games and studio shows.
Steve was one of a handful who helped put ESPN's flag in the ground in 1979, says Berman of his colleague, and his contributions at all levels were second to none. His energy, dedication, creativity, and kindness will long be remembered. There wasn't anyone who didn't like Steve Anderson.
Rise of SportsCenter: More Than Just a Highlights Show
Anderson left perhaps his most indelible stamp on ESPN in his next role, teaming with Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer John A. Walsh to manage the day-to-day production operations for SportsCenter. Although SportsCenter had already served as ESPN's flagship program for more than a decade by the time Walsh and Anderson came aboard in 1990, they envisioned making the program more than just a highlights show. In the ensuing years, SportsCenter would redefine what it was to be a sports-news show and open up its format to include breaking news and deeper long-form stories.
Steve, for 35 years, was the heart and soul of ESPN, says Walsh. Every significant decision in my time with Sport
