We found out about this last night and it becomes official today. Dick Enberg leaves CBS at the end of the season to become the lead TV announcer for the San Diego Padres.
We now have the official announcement from the Padres:
DICK ENBERG NAMED PADRES TELEVISION PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER
San Diego, CA – The San Diego Padres today announced they have named Dick Enberg as their television play-by-play announcer. Padres Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Jeff Moorad made the announcement.
Enberg is expected to join the Padres in Spring Training this February and will call action for the majority of regular-season games on Cox-owned Channel 4 San Diego while continuing his tennis coverage of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
“Dick is a legendary figure in sports and we’re honored to have him as the newest member of the Padres,” said Moorad. “He is also a long-time San Diegan and dedicated follower of Padres baseball, making this even more special for all Padres fans.”
Renowned as one of the great sports broadcasters of all-time, Enberg, who has worked for CBS Sports for the past 10 years, is currently serving as a play-by-play voice for their coverage of the NFL, college basketball and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships as well as ESPN’s coverage of Wimbledon. He has also contributed to coverage of the Masters® and PGA Championship broadcasts on CBS Sports.
“Over my many years behind the microphone, my love for baseball has never waned,” said Enberg. “As a San Diego resident for 26 years, I have followed the Padres with keen interest and sincerely thank Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel for the opportunity to broadcast for my hometown Major League team. I treasure the time I’ve spent calling baseball and find that it is the most demanding and yet most intimate sport to broadcast. Baseball is made for good story telling and I think that is what I’ve always done best.”
“We’re delighted to have Dick Enberg as part of our award-winning team at Channel 4 San Diego,” said Bill Geppert, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Cox Communications. “Dick is an iconic TV sports personality who will bring an exciting dimension to our high-definition Padres telecasts.”
Enberg began his full-time broadcasting career in 1965 in Los Angeles as the radio and television voice of the California Angels, UCLA basketball and the Los Angeles Rams and was named California Sportscaster of the Year on four occasions.
“Throughout his storied broadcasting career, including the past 10 years with CBS Sports, Dick Enberg has been the ultimate gentleman and consummate professional. He remains a true legend in every sense of the word,” said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. “It is with a touch of sadness from his family at CBS Sports, but mostly great joy for Dick that he will be returning to broadcasting one of his great passions, baseball, with the San Diego Padres. All of us realize that this truly is an opportunity that he could not pass up and look forward to finding ways to continue working with Dick.”
One of the most versatile play-by-play announcers in sports broadcasting history, his résumé includes coverage of 42 NFL seasons, 10 Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls, six Orange Bowls, four Olympic Games, six Australian Opens, 23 French Opens, 26 Wimbledons, 10 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, three Ryder Cups, three MLB playoffs, the World Series, three heavyweight boxing championships, 14 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships, the NBA playoffs and the NBA All-Star Game. In addition to football, baseball, tennis, golf, basketball and boxing, Enberg has all called the action for gymnastics, figure skating, Breeder’s Cup horse racing and track-and-field.
Among his numerous awards and honors, Enberg is the recipient of 14 Emmy Awards, nine Sportscaster of t
he Year Awards, the Ronald Reagan Media Award and the Victor Award, recognizing the top sportscaster of the past 40 years. He is the only person to win National Emmy Awards as a sportscaster, writer and producer. In February 1998, he became just the fourth sportscaster to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A native of Armada, Mich., and resident of San Diego, Enberg began his broadcasting career as a student at Central Michigan University, where he graduated in 1957. He earned a master’s degree (1958) and doctorate at Indiana University (1962) and has been named a Distinguished Alumnus by both institutions.
Dick has had a distinguished career having called Super Bowls, NCAA men’s basketball championships, Olympics, golf, tennis as well as the then-Los Angeles Rams and California Angels. He’ll still be seen on network TV every year during coverage of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open for ESPN2, but his days of calling the NFL and NCAA basketball for CBS are over. At least he left CBS on his own terms and will have a nice cap to his career in calling the Padres.
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