2009 NSSA Award Winners and Hall of Fame Inductees

To be announced Monday... will be posted at nssafame.com.

 

SALISBURY, NC (January 18, 2010) – Already Hall of Famers in their respective sports, baseball’s Peter Gammons and football’s John Madden have been inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. NSSA Executive Director Dave Goren made the announcement on Monday. Gammons and Madden will be inducted May 3rd at the NSSA’s Annual Awards Banquet in Salisbury.

Joining Gammons and Madden will be National Sportscaster of the Year Jim Nantz of CBS Sports and National Sportswriter of the Year Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe. Nantz and Ryan are repeat winners. They will also be honored at the NSSA Awards Banquet, along with 106 winners of State Sportscaster and Sportswriter of the Year Awards.

Like Ryan, Gammons cut his teeth at The Boston Globe. In fact, the two started work as interns at The Globe on the same day in 1968. Gammons went on to revolutionize the way baseball was covered. His Sunday Notes column often filled an entire page. After leaving The Globe, Gammons went on to a successful career at Sports Illustrated. He won three NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year Awards between 1989 and 1993. Since then, Gammons has become well-known as a baseball expert on television. He just ended a long stint at ESPN and can now be seen on the MLB Network (he also writes for mlb.com) and New England Sports Network (NESN).

Madden won a Super Bowl as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach, then embarked on a long television career that saw him become the preeminent pro football analyst of the last 30 years. Known for his colorful personality as a commentator, Madden worked for CBS, Fox, ABC and ESPN. He was the NSSA National Sportscaster of the Year in 1984. Madden parlayed his fame as an announcer into commercials and a best-selling video game. He retired in April 2009.

This is Nantz’s fifth National Sportscaster of the Year Award (other wins in 1998, 2005, 2007 and 2008). Only Bob Costas (eight) and Chris Berman (six) have won more National Sportscaster of the Year Awards. CBS’s lead play-by-play man for golf, college basketball and NFL football, Nantz started at CBS in 1985 after a short career in local TV sports.

Ryan has won three straight NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year Awards and four overall. He has spent his entire career at The Boston Globe, where he covered the Boston Celtics’ beat for 15 years. He has been a general columnist for more than 20 years and has branched out into radio and television during that time, making frequent appearances on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters.

2009 NSSA STATE AWARD WINNERS
STATE SPORTSCASTER SPORTSWRITER
AL Chris Stewart, Tuscaloosa Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham

AR Phil Elson, North Little Rock Bob Wisener, Hot Springs

CA Greg Papa, Oakland Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles

CO Drew Goodman, Denver Dave Krieger, Denver

CT Kevin Nathan, Hartford Jeff Jacobs, Hartford

DE Scott Klatzkin, New Castle Kevin Tresolini, Wilmington
John Sadak, Wilmington

FL David Steele, Orlando Gary Shelton, St. Petersburg

GA Wes Durham, Atlanta Furman Bisher, Atlanta

HI Bobby Curran, Honolulu T.V. Mott, Maui
Stephen Tsai, Honolulu

ID Dave Tester, Meridian Brian Murphy, Boise

IL Pat Hughes, Chicago Dave Reynolds, Peoria
Rick Telander, Chicago

IN Don Fischer, Indianapolis Terry Hutchens, Indianapolis

IA Larry Morgan, Des Moines Rick Brown, Des Moines

KS Bob Davis, Lawrence Kevin Haskin, Topeka

KY Mary Jo Perino, Lexington Larry Vaught, Danville

LA Dave Nitz, Ruston Randy Rosetta, Baton Rouge

ME Rich Kimball, Orono Peter Warner, Bangor
Clem LaBree, Bangor

MD Craig Heist, Baltimore Thom Loverro, Columbia

MA Mike Lynch, Needham Dan Shaughnessy, Boston

MI No Winner Bob Wojnowski, Detroit

MN Dave Lee, Minneapolis Charley Walters, St. Paul
Mike Grimm, Minneapolis

MO John Covington, Washington Craig Vonder Haar, Washington

MT Rocky Erickson, Billings Scott Mansch, Great Falls
Mick Holien, Polson

NE Kevin Kugler, Omaha Lee Barfknecht, Omaha
Mike Babcock, Lincoln


NV Russ Langer, Las Vegas Ed Graney, Las Vegas

NH Mike Murphy, Concord Allen Lessels, Manchester

NJ Mike Gill, Atlantic City Brian Cunniff, Wildwood
Tom Williams, Ocean City

NM Van Tate, Albuquerque Felix Chaves, Las Cruces

NY Bruce Beck, New York City Phil Mushnick, New York City


NC Woody Durham, Chapel Hill *Tom Berry, High Point
Mick Mixon, Charlotte

ND Rod Kleinjan, Dickinson Wayne Nelson, Grand Forks

OH Marty Brennaman, Cincinnati Hal McCoy, Dayton

OK Bob Barry, Jr., Oklahoma City Dave Sittler, Tulsa
Dean Blevins, Oklahoma City

OR Joe Becker, Portland Rachel Bachman, Portland
Katy Brown, Portland

PA Merrill Reese, Philadelphia Rich Hofman, Philadelphia

RI Steve Hyder, Pawtucket Joe McDonald, Providence
Steve McDonald, Providence

SC Tony Ciuffo, Charleston Ron Morris, Columbia
Mike Morgan, Columbia

SD Al Decker, Deadwood Mick Garry, Sioux Falls

TN Mike Keith, Nashville Brent Hubbs, Knoxville

TX Eric Nadel, Arlington Evan Grant, Dallas

UT Dana Greene, Salt Lake City Dirk Facer, Salt Lake City

VT George Commo, Waterbury Ted Ryan, Burlington

VA Lane Casadonte, Richmond David Teel, Newport News

WA Bill Krueger, Bellevue John Blanchette, Spokane

WV Steve Cotton, Huntington Jack Bogaczyk, Charleston

WI Matt LePay, Madison Gary D'Amato, Milwaukee

WY Reece Monaco, Cheyenne Eric Schmoldt, Casper



NATIONAL SPORTSCASTER NATIONAL SPORTSWRITER
Jim Nantz, CBS Sports Bob Ryan, The Boston Globe


HALL OF FAME SPORTSCASTER HALL OF FAME SPORTSWRITER

John Madden, ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN Peter Gammons, Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com

*deceased

About NSSA – The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association was founded in 1959 in Salisbury, NC by a local group interested in honoring sportscasters and sportswriters for their crafts. More than 700 NSSA members from several sports media fields vote annually for State and National Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year. An annual banquet is held in Salisbury each spring to present the winners with their awards. In 1962, a Hall of Fame was added. Starting with Grantland Rice, more than 80 sports media legends have been inducted into the NSSA Hall of Fame.

NSSA Mission Statement -- The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association & Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization, dedicated to honoring, preserving and celebrating the legacy of sportscasters and sportswriters in the United States – for their creativity in storytelling, their pursuit of truth and their conveyance of information – all of which helps American sports fans form lifelong connections to both participatory and spectator sports. NSSA also seeks to develop educational opportunities for those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports media, through networking, mentoring and scholarship programs.
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