New York, February 24, 1999 -- The American Sportscasters Association(ASA) announced today that Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, Jon Miller of ESPN and the voice of the San Francisco Giants, John Madden of Fox Sports, Joe Morgan of ESPN, and Jim Gray of NBC Sports and Showtime have been voted the 1998 Sportscasters of the Year in a nationwide ballot by its members.
For the first time, the Sportscaster of the Year Award is being presented in the following four categories: Studio Host, Jim Nantz; Play-by-Play, Jon Miller; Reporter, Jim Gray; and in the category of Color/Analyst, Joe Morgan and John Madden, having received equal votes, will both be honored with the award.
The members of the ASA have truly recognized the best of the best in voting Jim Nantz, Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, John Madden and Jim Gray as the 1998 Sportscasters of the Year, stated Dick Enberg, ASA Chairman.
Jim Nantz is currently the host of The NFL Today, the CBS Network’s pre-game, halftime and post-game studio show, and has been with the network since 1985. To his extensive credits, Nantz has served as prime time host of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games from Nagano, Japan; anchor of CBS’ golf coverage, and lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, including the Final Four and Championship games.
Jon Miller, an award-winning broadcast veteran for more than 20 years, was the play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles for 14 years before moving to San Francisco in 1997 as the voice of the Giants. Miller has also been the play- by-play commentator for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball since its inception in 1990. Miller, the recipient of two CableACE Award in the Sports Play-by- Play category for his baseball coverage, has also called hockey, soccer and basketball games.
Joe Morgan serves as color analyst for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball and has been teamed with Jon Miller since 1990. He also works Division Series games for the network and called the World Series for ESPN Radio. Morgan, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer, began his sportscasting career in 1985 covering the Reds for WLWT-TV. He won a CableACE Award during his first season with ESPN in 1990, and a Sports Emmy in 1997.
John Madden, lead football analyst for Fox Sports, has been partnered with play-by play veteran Pat Summerall for the last 18 years. Madden began his broadcasting career with CBS Sports in 1980, after a successful coaching career with the Oakland Raiders which produced seven division titles and a Super Bowl victory. His ability to explain the game’s finer points and his unique sense of humor has won him 11 Emmy awards.
Jim Gray, reporter for NBC Sports for 10 years, has received critical acclaim for his coverage of such major events as the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals and the Olympics. Gray also works as a reporter on Showtime network’s boxing coverage, and received an Emmy Award for his interview with Mike Tyson, following the heavyweight’s second loss to Evander Holyfield in 1997.
On December 20, 1998, the American Sportscasters Association announced that the late Ray Scott, longtime Green Bay Packers announcer and NFL commentator for CBS Sports, was selected by the ASA membership as the 1998 Hall of Fame Inductee. |