Chris Schenkel

Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster.

Christopher Eugene Schenkel
Chris Schenkel.jpg
Born(1923-08-21)August 21, 1923
DiedSeptember 11, 2005(2005-09-11) (aged 82)
OccupationSportscaster
Spouse(s)
Fran Paige (m. 1955–2005)
, his death
ChildrenChristina, Teddy, and Johnny

In 1947, he called the first American football game ever broadcast on television.[2] It was a Harvard-Army game. In 1952 he began calling New York Giants games. In 1956, he began to also call boxing, the Triple Crown horse racing, and The Masters golf tournament, and other events. Along with Chuck Thompson, Schenkel called the 1958 NFL Championship Game.

ABC Sports hired Schenkel in 1965. There he broadcast college football, Major League Baseball, NBA basketball, golf and tennis tournaments, boxing, auto racing, and the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. He also had a long-term assignment covering professional bowling, mainly for the Professional Bowlers Association.

Schenkel was named National Sportscaster of the Year four times. In 1992 he received a lifetime achievement Emmy. Also in 1992, the Pro Football Hall of Fame gave Schenkel its Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. In 1999, he received the Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1999, the Professional Bowlers Association named the Player of the Year award after Schenkel.

References

  1. Sandomir, Richard (12 September 2005). "Chris Schenkel, 82, Versatile and Ubiquitous Sportscaster, Dies". Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  2. Chris Schenkel