The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". In contrast to similar awards given by the other American professional sports leagues, the Rozelle Award has occasionally been granted to broadcast executives and production people in addition to on-air personalities. Also, some award winners have gone on to be inducted by the hall at a later date.
Year | Honoree | Primary affiliation(s) |
---|---|---|
1989 | Bill MacPhail | Executive: CBS |
1990 | Lindsey Nelson | Play-by-play: CBS |
1991 | Ed Sabol | Founder and executive: NFL Films |
1992 | Chris Schenkel | Play-by-play: DuMont, CBS, NBC |
1993 | Curt Gowdy | Play-by-play: NBC, CBS |
1994 | Pat Summerall | Color commentator and play-by-play: CBS, Fox |
1995 | Frank Gifford | Color commentator and play-by-play: CBS, ABC |
1996 | Jack Buck | Play-by-play: CBS, NBC, CBS Radio |
1997 | Charlie Jones | Play-by-play: ABC, NBC |
1998 | Val Pinchbeck | NFL broadcast official |
1999 | Dick Enberg | Play-by-play: NBC, CBS |
2000 | Ray Scott | Play-by-play: DuMont, CBS |
2001 | Roone Arledge | Executive: ABC |
2002 | John Madden | Color commentator: CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC |
2003 | Don Criqui | Play-by-play: CBS, NBC |
2004 | Van Miller | Play-by-play: Buffalo Bills |
2005 | Myron Cope | Color commentator: Pittsburgh Steelers |
2006 | Lesley Visser | Reporter: CBS, ABC |
2007 | Don Meredith | Color commentator: ABC, NBC |
2008 | Dan Dierdorf | Color commentator: CBS, ABC |
2009 | Irv Cross | Color commentator and studio analyst: CBS |
2010 | Chris Berman | Studio host: ESPN |
2011 | Jim Nantz | Studio host and play-by-play: CBS Radio, CBS |
2012 | Len Dawson | Studio host and color commentator: HBO, NBC, Kansas City Chiefs |
2013 | Al Michaels | Play-by-play: ABC, NBC, Amazon Prime |
2014 | Bob Trumpy | Color commentator: NBC, Westwood One |
2015 | Tom Jackson | Studio analyst: ESPN [1] |
2016 | James Brown | Studio host and play-by-play: CBS, Fox |
2017 | David Hill | Executive: Fox |
2018 | Andrea Kremer | Reporter: NFL Films, ESPN, NBC, NFL Network, Amazon Prime [2] |
2019 | Dick Ebersol | Executive: NBC [3] |
2020 | Joe Buck | Play-by-play: Fox, ESPN [4] |
2021 | John Facenda | Broadcaster and narrator: NFL Films [5] |
2022 | Howard Katz | Executive: ABC, ESPN, NFL Films [6] |
2023 | Fred Gaudelli | Producer: ABC, NBC, Amazon Prime [7] |
2024 | Merrill Reese | Play-by-play: Philadelphia Eagles [8] |
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, officials, franchise owners, and front-office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League (NFL).
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement in November 1989. He became the youngest commissioner in NFL history at just the age of 33. He is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". It is named for Ford C. Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Prior to his career as an executive, Frick was a baseball writer and occasional broadcaster; he gained fame as a ghostwriter for Babe Ruth in the 1920s. The award was created in 1978, and named in tribute to Frick following his death that year.
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his long career calling play-by-play of college football and New York Mets baseball.
Curtis Edward Gowdy was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the nickname "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the Rose Bowl Game, taking the moniker from the Cheyenne Frontier Days in his native Wyoming.
The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award is an annual accolade honoring ice hockey broadcasters in North America. It was named for the Canadian hockey radio broadcaster and newspaper journalist Foster Hewitt, and it has been presented every year at a media luncheon ceremony that occurs late in the year at the Hockey Hall of Fame in BCE Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada since 1984. The winner is chosen by a committee of members composed of radio and television figures that make up the NHL Broadcasters' Association. It is given "to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting." Each recipient receives a glass plaque, which is put on display in the Hall of Fame's media section. The ceremony associated with the award is staged separately to the induction of players into the Hockey Hall of Fame because media honorees are not considered full inductees.
Merrill Alan Reese is an American sports radio announcer best known for his role as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles on SportsRadio 94.1 WIP-FM. He has been the voice of the Eagles since 1977. He is the 2024 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.
Stephen Douglas Sabol was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist.
Thomas Louie Jackson, also referred to as "TJ" or "Tommy", is an American sports commentator and former professional football player. He played as a linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 to 1986. He was a member of Denver's "Orange Crush Defense" and helped lead the Broncos to the AFC Championship in 1977 and 1986. After his playing career ended, he enjoyed a successful 29-year run as an NFL analyst for ESPN. He was given the Pete Rozelle Award for excellence in broadcasting by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Christopher Eugene Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.
Lesley Candace Visser is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Figure Skating Championships and the U.S. Open network broadcasts. Visser, who was voted the No. 1 Female Sportscaster of all time in a poll taken by the American Sportscasters Association, was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Hall of Fame in 2015 and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
Don Criqui is an American sportscaster.
The Bill Nunn Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked for 22 years at the Pittsburgh Courier.
Andrea Kremer is a multi-Emmy Award-winning American television sports journalist. She previously called Thursday Night Football games for Amazon Prime Video making sports history, along with Hannah Storm, by becoming the first all-women booth to call any major men's team sport, not just football. Kremer is also Chief Correspondent for the NFL Network and previously led the network's coverage and in-depth reporting on health and safety. Her other current roles include correspondent for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel as well as co-host of We Need To Talk, the first ever all-female nationally televised weekly sports show on CBS. Until the 2011 season, she worked as a sideline reporter for NBC on the network's coverage of Sunday Night Football.
Irvin Acie Cross was an American professional football player and sportscaster. He played cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Philadelphia Eagles. Working with CBS, Cross was the first African-American sports analyst on national television. He was an initial co-host of The NFL Today, which became the pregame show standard for all television networks.
Charlie Jones was an American sportscaster for NBC and ABC.
William Curtis MacPhail was an American television sports executive.
Joseph Thomas Browne is an American former National Football League (NFL) executive. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-tenured employee in NFL history, with a career spanning over 50 years.
Howard Katz is an American sports executive, best known for his work as the Senior Vice President of Broadcasting & Media Operations for the NFL.