Gary Bender
Gary Bender | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gary Nedrow Bender September 1, 1940 Play-by-play |
| Sports | |
Gary Nedrow Bender (born September 1, 1940)
Biography
Early career
Bender, who was born in Norton, Kansas, and raised in Ulysses, Kansas,[4] graduated from Ulysses High School in 1958. He then attended Wichita State University (then known as the University of Wichita), graduating with a journalism degree in 1962 and a master's degree from the University of Kansas in 1964. Bender then began his broadcasting career calling games at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas. He then went on to do the same at the University of Kansas' football and basketball programs in the 1960s. He also spent years as a broadcaster in Wisconsin and called all of the Wisconsin Athletic Association championship games, as well as Green Bay Packers radio and Milwaukee Brewers television in the early 1970s.
CBS Sports (1975-1987)
He did play-by-play for the
He was CBS' first play-by-play announcer for the
ABC Sports (1987-1992)
On October 26, 1987, Bender (along with Lynn Swann) called the Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings. That game had been scheduled for October 25, but when the Minnesota Twins (who at the time, shared the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome with the Vikings) played Game 7 of the World Series that day, the football game was moved to Monday and shown to a regional audience.
In
He also announced college football games for ABC Sports, where he formerly worked alongside Dick Vermeil.
Major League Baseball on ABC
As previously mentioned, Bender did play-by-play for the 1988 American League Championship Series[5] between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox. Bender spent two years (1987-1988) as the #2 baseball play-by-play man for ABC behind Al Michaels. Bender worked the backup Monday Night Baseball broadcasts (with Tim McCarver in 1987 and Joe Morgan in 1988) as well as serving as a field reporter/post-game interviewer for ABC's 1987 World Series coverage.
Gary Bender would ultimately be taken off ABC's baseball team in favor of Gary Thorne in 1989.
TNT Sports
Bender also called
FSN-Arizona and Versus
As previously mentioned, for 18 years, Bender was the television play-by-play announcer on
Personal life
Bender is also co-author with Michael Johnson of the biography Call of the Game, in which he shares his life story, tips on how to become a better broadcaster, and his Christian testimony.
Bender did a series of Kendall Motor Oil commercials in mid-1980s.
In the first five months of 2001, Bender presided as host of the nationally syndicated Focus on the Family radio show after the resignation of previous host Mike Trout (1985–2000) because of an extramarital affair. Bender was replaced on a full-time basis by Focus vice president of broadcasting John Fuller.
Gary Bender is an alumnus of the Kansas Delta chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Wichita State where he received his bachelor's degree. He received his master's degree in radio and TV from the University of Kansas.
His son, Trey, is also a sportscaster and played Pop Warner Little Scholars. He portrayed his father in season 2 of the HBO series, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. His granddaughter Landry Bender is an actress who is best known in Crash & Bernstein and Fuller House.
Career timeline
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1975 | WKOW-TV |
Sports Director | ABC |
| 1975–1976 | Milwaukee Brewers | Play-by-play | |
| 1975–1981, 1986 | NFL on CBS | Play-by-play | CBS |
1986 |
NBA on CBS | Play-by-Play (Lead Play-by-Play from 1980—1981 )
| |
| 1981–1987 | College Basketball on CBS | Play-by-Play (Lead Play-by-Play from 1981–1984) | |
| 1982–1986 | College Football on CBS | Play-by-Play (Lead Play-by-play in 1982 and 1983) | |
| 1987–1988 | MLB on ABC | #2 Play-by-Play | ABC |
| 1987 | World Series | Reporter | |
| 1987–1992 | College Football on ABC | Play-by-Play | |
| 1988–1991 | Phoenix Cardinals | Play-by-Play[8] | |
| 1992–1994 | NFL on TNT | Play-by-Play[8] | TNT |
| 1992–1995 2004 2009 |
NBA on TNT | Play-by-play | |
| 1992–2011 | Phoenix Suns | Play-by-Play[8] | FSN Arizona |
| 2003–2005 | College Football on ESPN |
Play-by-Play | ESPN/ABC |
| 2006 | College Football on Versus | Play-by-Play | Versus |
Radio
- 1970–1974: Green Bay Packers Play-by-play (radio)
- 1995–1998: St. Louis Rams Play-by-play (radio)
- 1999–2000: Chicago Bears Play-by-play (radio)
References
- ^ "Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (KSHOF)". Archived from the original on 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
- ^ Young, Bob (28 March 2011). "Suns broadcaster Gary Bender announces retirement". azcentral.com. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ Dougherty, Pete (29 March 2011). "Longtime network announcer Bender retires from broadcasting". timesunion.com. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (KSHOF)
- ^ Sarni, Jim (7 October 1988). "Abc Is Good Or Bad, Depending On Series". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
- ^ "Gary Bender".
- ^ "Suns have bad luck with TNT, losing 16 in row". 17 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Sandomir, Richard (27 March 1992). "SPORTS MEDIA: TV SPORTS; Specter of Strike Scrambles Cable Schedules". The New York Times.
External links
- http://www.phideltatheta.org/ at the Wayback Machine (archived April 30, 2003)
- Hall-of-Fame sportscaster calls life as he sees it Archived 2009-10-09 at the Wayback Machine