George Michael (sportscaster)

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For the musician, see George Michael.
George Michael
sportscaster
Years active1959–2008

George Michael (March 24, 1939 – December 24, 2009)

Sports Emmy
in 1985 for his work on The George Michael Sports Machine.

Early life and career

Michael was born George Michael Gimpel in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 24, 1939, the son of Margaret and Earl Herman Gimpel.[1][2] He grew up near Tower Grove Park in the city's south side, and graduated from St. Louis University High School.[3] While attending Saint Louis University, he worked as a Midwest promoter for several record labels such as Scepter and Motown. It was also during this time when he made his radio broadcasting debut on a one-hour Sunday night show at midnight on WIL, which invited individual SLU students to be the hosts every week. He earned a full-time job as a disc jockey at the station after he was judged to be the best of the group.[4]

His first radio appointment outside of his hometown was in 1962 at WRIT in Milwaukee, where he worked the 6-to-10 pm shift until he was reassigned to 5-to-9 morning drive time in early 1964.[5][6] His next stop was at KBTR in Denver later in 1964, working under the name "King" George Michael for the first time. He earned the nickname due to his success in "ruling" evening radio.[4][7]

He became one of the original

high school football and basketball games on the air. He also helped to start the career of Howard Eskin by hiring him to be his engineer.[9] Decades later, Eskin would be a contributor to The George Michael Sports Machine.[10]

On George's last WFIL show (on September 6, 1974) he played "When Will I See You Again" by

Leon Huff.[citation needed
]

Michael, noted for his energetic style, was hired by

WNBC.[13] Several incidents from Michael's radio stint there have been chronicled in Morrow's autobiography.[14] Even though he was reunited with Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy (colleagues from his WIL days in St. Louis), Michael's time at WABC, which ended on November 17, 1979, was mostly frustrating because he was no longer a music director who had any influence on a playlist which was much shorter than the ones with which he was more familiar.[11][15] One of the highlights during his time at the station occurred when he anchored its coverage of the New York City blackout of 1977 after the music format was temporarily suspended for the night.[16]

His first experience in sports broadcasting also came in 1974 when he was a television announcer for the

commentator, was on vacation or assignment.[1]

Television career

As the primary sports anchor at WRC-TV in Washington from 1980 to 2007, Michael was easily one of the most popular media personalities in the Washington area. Michael got significant latitude in his programming, employing a bevy of segments some viewers might consider old-fashioned, including his "Tuesday Replays" and "Wednesday Wrestling". He also had devoted extensive coverage to and was considered a significant influence in the popularity of NASCAR, broadcasting interviews with famous drivers such as Dale Earnhardt well before that sport became what it is today. An avid equestrian, Michael also broadcast segments on bull riding and rodeo. He was the play-by-play announcer for most of the Professional Bull Riders's Built Ford Tough Series NBC telecasts during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, including the final day of the PBR World Finals each year. Michael also covered the career of bull rider Lane Frost, who was killed at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1989 by the bull he rode. Michael covered the matchups between Frost and the undefeated bull Red Rock called the Challenge of the Champions. Michael was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in 2006 for his efforts.[17][18]

Michael's affable personality enabled him to land rare interviews with many aloof local and national sports personalities. For example, Michael's team at WRC-TV had been the only local sportscasters allowed to broadcast from inside the

FedExField during the season.[citation needed
]

Two movies, 8 Seconds and The Rookie, were inspired by stories featured on The Sports Machine.[4] Michael made a cameo appearance in the former, as well as in The Silence of the Lambs and Tin Cup.[19] The Sports Machine was also featured in There's Something About Mary.[20]

In November 2005, Michael was seriously injured in a horseback riding accident. He broke several ribs and injured his wrists during the mishap at his Comus farm in upper Montgomery County, Maryland. Michael resumed his duties in December 2005.

Later career

Michael left his role as WRC-TV's daily sports anchor on March 1, 2007, following a dispute with WRC-TV over layoffs of his staff imposed company-wide by

Redskins Park on Mondays with Jim Zorn and Joe Bugel through December 2008. He was completely dropped from WRC-TV owing to budget cuts despite the fact Redskins Report was consistently one of WRC's top sports shows. He indicated at the time of his layoff that he would like to work on a panel show again but not on a nightly newscast.[23]

Personal life

He and his wife, Pat, whom he married in 1978 and who produced the Sports Machine, had daughters Cindi and Michelle and son Brad.

Michael died at age 70 at

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia two years prior.[1][24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Bernstein, Adam (December 25, 2009). "George Michael, famed D.C. sportscaster, dies of cancer". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ "Ancestry of George Michael".
  3. ^ Caesar, Dan (December 25, 2007). "'Sports Machine' pioneer Michael dies". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  4. ^ a b c d e me. "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia".
  5. ^ warden, tim. "WRIT 1340 Milwaukee Survey 11/18/62".
  6. ^ warden, tim. "WRIT 1340 Milwaukee Survey 05/17/64".
  7. ^ "KBTR 710 Denvers All Americans".
  8. ^ "Famous 56.Com".
  9. ^ Ruderman, Wendy (December 26, 2009). "George Michael: A broadcasting giant". Philadelphia Daily News.
  10. ^ "Howard Eskin – Afternoons on Sportsradio 610 WIP (biography)". Sportsradio 610 WIP. www.610wip.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d "The Hiring of George Michael for WABC".
  12. ^ "WABC Schedule 1971-1975".
  13. ^ "Bruce Morrow WABC Farewell Tape".
  14. ISBN 0-688-06615-1
    .
  15. ^ "WABC Schedule 1976-1980".
  16. ^ "Musicradio WABC Airchecks".
  17. ^ "Michael's Midas Touch". The Team Roping Journal. www.teamropingjournal.com. 21 June 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  18. ^ "Hall of Fame 2006 - George Michael". Cheyenne Frontier Days. www.oldwestmuseum.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  19. IMDb
  20. ^ "There's Something About Mary". 15 July 1998 – via IMDb.
  21. ^ John Maynard (2006-11-17). "George Michael to drop anchor chores, continue weekend sports panel shows". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ Leonard Shapiro (2006-11-21). "Saying goodbye to George Michael". The Washington Post.
  23. ^ Shapiro, Leonard. "Loss of Michael Is a Truly Deep Cut", The Washington Post, Monday, December 29, 2008.
  24. ^ "George Michael of 'Sports Machine' dies from cancer at 70". USA Today. March 2, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.

External links

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