Dick Enberg, the former NBC, CBS and ESPN play-by-play voice who most recently served as the local TV voice of the San Diego Padres, died of a suspected heart attack Thursday. He was 82. Enberg’s daughter confirmed the news to the Associated Press.
Known as much for his eloquence as for his signature call — “Oh My!” — Enberg spent 60 years broadcasting sporting events, his first assignment as an undergrad at Indiana in 1957 and his last this past summer. One of just two people honored by the baseball, pro football and basketball halls of fame (the other is Curt Gowdy), Enberg was part of a golden generation of broadcasters that included the likes of Al Michaels, Marv Albert, Pat Summerall and Brent Musburger. Though sometimes overlooked, Enberg compiled what is arguably the most impressive resume.
Yet he was most prolific on a lesser-watched sport, tennis. In what amounted to a labor of love, he worked at least one major every year from his Wimbledon debut in 1979 through his final U.S. Open in 2011 — approximately 70 total. He worked no tournament more often than Wimbledon, which he called 28 times between NBC and, later, ESPN.
Though primarily associated with the NFL, college basketball and tennis, Enberg had a remarkably diverse body of work. He was the original voice of NBC’s Notre Dame football coverage and called major bowl games, including the Rose Bowl from 1980-88 and a national championship Orange Bowl in 1994. He was second on NBC’s NBA depth chart in the early 1990s, most memorably calling Magic Johnson‘s first game after being diagnosed with HIV, the 1992 NBA All-Star Game. He also called playoff baseball, major golf, gymnastics, boxing, horse racing, figure skating and track and field — and that is an incomplete list.
The list would be even longer had Enberg not had marquee assignments pulled out from under him. He was scheduled to anchor the 1980 Summer Olympics for NBC until the U.S. decided to boycott. He called the 1982 World Series for NBC and was supposed to debut as its lead baseball voice in 1983, but the network at the last minute picked Vin Scully instead. When he got the NBA gig in 1990, he was originally supposed to alternate calling the NBA Finals with Marv Albert — an arrangement that was abandoned.
On a local level, Enberg called UCLA men’s basketball games from 1966-74, the John Wooden era of eight titles in nine years (his successor was Al Michaels). He was the voice of the Rams from 1966-76 and spent 11 total seasons calling Angels games — first from 1968-76 and then again in 1985. After decades in network TV, he returned to his local roots in 2010 as the voice of the Padres, a role that he continued until his retirement last year. Joining San Diego marked the formal end of his national career, as he relinquished his roles on CBS Sports’ NFL and college basketball coverage in 2010, and his tennis duties on CBS and ESPN in 2011.
This past year, he briefly came out of retirement to work a three-game Dodgers-Tigers series for Fox Sports Detroit and FS1, his final broadcasting assignments. He began a podcast just last month, taping 19 episodes according to a San Diego Union-Tribune profile published prior to his passing earlier this week. Even at his advanced age, all indications are that his passing was a complete shock. Enberg’s daughter told the AP that he had been busy with his podcast lately and “full of energy.” He was readying to leave for a cross-country flight when he died, and was found with his bags packed.
In a 1993 Chicago Tribune article lamenting his lack of a “defining moment” in broadcasting, Enberg offered an characteristically modest summation of his life’s work. “When it’s over, my moment will likely come from the fact people, when they turned on the TV and heard my voice, knew what they would get: I’d be prepared, offer some emotion, be quick and accurate in my call, and share some of the excitement.”
CORRECTIONS: Enberg did work the 1981 Super Bowl, but that was Raiders-Eagles (for the 1980 season), not 49ers-Bengals (which took place in 1982). Enberg called portions of the 1982 World Series, alternating play-by-play with Joe Garagiola, his only time working the event.
[News from Associated Press 12.22, additional info from San Diego Union-Tribune 12.19, 7.24.2015, Chicago Tribune 1.31.1993, Detroit Free Press 12.22]
