Tom Hammond

Last updated

Tom Hammond
Born
Thomas Hammond

(1944-05-10) May 10, 1944 (age 80)
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Alma mater University of Kentucky
Occupation Sports commentator
Employers
Television NBC Sports (1984–2021)
SpouseSheleigh Hammond
Children3

Thomas Taylor Hammond (born May 10, 1944 [1] ) is a retired American sports commentator. Hammond began working with NBC Sports in 1984. Hammond covered Thoroughbred Racing on NBC and Notre Dame Football on NBC .

Contents

Hammond also served as the play-by-play announcer for NBC's coverage of track and field at the Summer Olympic Games and speed skating events during the 2018 Winter Olympics.

NBC Sports

While working at WLEX-TV in Lexington, Kentucky, Hammond's tenure at NBC began in 1984, when he was named as a co-host of the inaugural Breeders' Cup alongside Dick Enberg. It was supposed to be a one-shot deal for Hammond, but network execs were so impressed, he ended up getting a long-term contract. He was the main host of the network's thoroughbred racing coverage [2] until Mike Tirico took over in 2017. [3]

Hammond's duties at NBC expanded to covering many other sports. He was the network's play-by-play voice for its coverage of Notre Dame football alongside analyst Mike Mayock. He was also the lead play-by-play man for The AFL on NBC . Hammond also has been very much involved in NBC's Olympic Games coverage. At the Summer Olympics, Hammond served as the chief commentator for track and field, a position for which he debuted at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where his broadcast partner that year was O. J. Simpson. Hammond has since said that, prior to the O. J. Simpson murder case, he and Simpson were great friends and got along well. Hammond also commentates on other track and field events shown on NBC. At the Winter Olympics, Hammond is the main commentator for figure skating and ice dancing. [4]

Hammond was considered the leading play-by-play candidate when NBC won the bidding for Sunday night NFL coverage beginning with the 2006 season, but ended up losing out to former ABC announcer Al Michaels after the latter signed with NBC. Hammond teamed with Cris Collinsworth to call the secondary Saturday Wild Card playoff game for NBC each year, including Chiefs-Colts in January 2007, Redskins-Seahawks in 2008, and Falcons-Cardinals in 2009, but teamed with Joe Gibbs and Joe Theismann for the Jets-Bengals Wild Card playoff game in January 2010. [5]

Hammond and Collinsworth also serve as the announcing team on the Madden NFL 09 video game in 2008 and 2009, [6] Madden NFL 10 . [7]

Honors and awards

He was the first recipient of the annual Outstanding Kentuckian Award given by the A.B. Chandler Foundation, is a charter member of the Lafayette High School Hall of Fame and has been inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni and Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Inducted into the KY Pro Football HOF in 2006. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Costas</span> American sportscaster (born 1952)

Robert Quinlan Costas is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 1988 until 2016. He is currently employed by TNT Sports, where he does play-by-play and studio work for MLB on TBS and commentary on CNN. He is also employed by MLB Network, where he does play-by-play and once hosted an interview show called Studio 42 with Bob Costas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Michaels</span> American television sportscaster (born 1944)

Alan Richard Michaels is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television since 1971, with his most recent work being with NBC Sports after nearly three decades (1976–2006) with ABC Sports. Michaels is known for his many years calling play-by-play of National Football League (NFL) games, including ABC Monday Night Football from 1986 to 2005 and NBC Sunday Night Football from 2006 to 2021. He is also known for famous calls in other sports, including the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics and the earthquake-interrupted Game 3 of the 1989 World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Summerall</span> American football player and sportscaster (1930–2013)

George Allen "Pat" Summerall was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall announced 16 Super Bowls on network television, 26 Masters Tournaments, and 21 US Opens. He contributed to 10 Super Bowl broadcasts on CBS Radio as a pregame host or analyst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Theismann</span> American football player and broadcaster (born 1949)

Joseph Robert Theismann is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker, and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Theismann spent 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and helped the team to consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XVII over the Miami Dolphins and losing Super Bowl XVIII. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

John Daniel Hicks is an American sportscaster for NBC Sports since 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cris Collinsworth</span> American sports broadcaster (born 1959)

Anthony Cris Collinsworth is an American former professional football player and sports broadcaster. Collinsworth was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons (1981–1988), all with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football at the University of Florida, where he was recognized as an All-American. He is a television sportscaster for NBC, Showtime, and the NFL Network, and winner of 17 Sports Emmy Awards. He is also the majority owner of Pro Football Focus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports</span> Division of American broadcast network NBC

NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its dedicated national sports cable channels. Formerly operating as "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of sports events, including the Premier League, the IndyCar Series, NASCAR, the National Football League (NFL), the NBA, Notre Dame football, Big Ten football and basketball, the Olympic Games, professional golf, the Tour de France, Thoroughbred racing, and the WNBA among others. Other programming from outside producers – such as coverage of the Ironman Triathlon – is also presented on the network through NBC Sports. With Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, its own cable sports networks were aligned with NBC Sports into a part of the division known as the NBC Sports Group.

ESPN Sunday Night Football was the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League (NFL) games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006.

<i>NFL on NBC</i> National Football League telecasts in the United States by NBC

The NFL on NBC is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on the NBC television network and the Peacock streaming service in the United States.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) preseason exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part of the Hall of Fame Village and located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building. The first game was played in 1962, when ground was broken for the Hall of Fame, and it was used as a fundraiser for the Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Tirico</span> American sportscaster

Mike Tirico is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's Sunday Night Football, having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play announcer on ESPN's Monday Night Football. Tirico has called a multitude of sports in his career, including the NBA, NHL, college football and basketball, golf, tennis, and World Cup soccer.

<i>Football Night in America</i> 2006 American TV series or program

Football Night in America (FNIA), branded for sponsorship purposes as Football Night in America served by Applebee's, is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason National Football League (NFL) games. The program debuted on September 10, 2006, when the network inaugurated its Sunday prime time game package. The 80-minute program airs live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and is broadcast from Studio 1 at NBC Sports Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to 2012, Football Night in America originally broadcast from the GE Building in New York City, first out of Studio 8G from 2006 to 2012 and in 2013, from Studio 8H, where Saturday Night Live is also taped.

Thoroughbred Racing on NBC is the de facto title for a series of horse races events whose broadcasts are produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States. NBC's relationship with the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing dates back to 1949 when the NBC Red Network carried the first radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby.

The NBC television network's in-studio pre-game coverage for their National Football League game telecasts has been presented under various titles and formats throughout NBC's NFL coverage history.

<i>Thursday Night Football</i> Branding for NFL games usually broadcast on Thursdays

Thursday Night Football is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time.

The 28th Sports Emmy Awards honoring American sports coverage in 2006 were presented on April 30, 2007 at Frederick P. Rose Hall in the Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City. The nominees were announced on March 22.

Kenny Rice is an American sportscaster known nationally for his horse racing reporting with NBC and MMA coverage for HDNet.

NBC made history in the 1980s with an announcerless telecast, which was a one-shot experiment credited to Don Ohlmeyer, between the Jets and Dolphins in Miami on December 20, 1980), as well as a single-announcer telecast, coverage of the Canadian Football League during the 1982 players' strike, and even the first female play-by-play football announcer, Gayle Sierens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jac Collinsworth</span> American sportscaster

Jac Collinsworth is an American sportscaster working for NBC Sports since 2020. He also worked for ESPN on their NFL Live and Sunday NFL Countdown. At NBC, Collinsworth serves as a play-by-play announcer for Big Ten and Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball. Additionally, he co-hosts NBC's Football Night in America.

References

  1. ↑ "Thomas T. Hammond". ukalumni.net. University of Kentucky Alumni Association. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ "TOM HAMMOND". Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Tom Hammond hosts NBC's horse racing coverage, including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, as well as Summer at Saratoga and Autumn at Keeneland.
  3. ↑ "2017 Kentucky Derby: Mike Tirico succeeds Tom Hammond". NBC Sports. April 25, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ "NBC commentators surprised, shocked by judges". ESPN. February 11, 2002. Archived from the original on March 6, 2003. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ Raissman, Bob (January 12, 2010). "For NBC, Joe Gibbs, Joe Theismann and Tom Hammond are first & wrong during Jets-Bengals telecast". Articles.nydailynews.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Madden NFL 09 : Madden 2009 - EA Games". Ea.com. November 12, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  7. ↑ Alan, Scott (October 3, 2010). "Madden NFL 10 - Overview". allgame. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Alumni Choose Three Nominees to Board". News.uky.edu. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.