EPISODE 365: NBC Sports Broadcaster Tom Hammond
Legendary sports broadcaster Tom Hammond ("Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams: A Sportscaster's Life") joins host Tim Hanlon for a myriad of career memories from his nearly 35-year journey calling top-tier league packages and prime events for NBC Sports.
Plucked from regional sportscasting obscurity in 1984 for a one-time stall reporting gig as part of the network's telecast of the inaugural Breeders' Cup, Hammond performed so well that an NBC executive offered him a chance to call Sunday NFL/AFC football games on the spot.
The broadcast launched Hammond's multi-decade career with NBC Sports and a pathway to the top levels of American television sportscasting -including other major properties like the NBA, Notre Dame football, horse racing's Triple Crown, and perhaps most memorably, an astounding 13 different Olympic Games (summer and winter) calling marquee events such as gymnastics, track and field, and figure skating.
But of course, we can't let Hammond forget his time as the lead voice for the network's curious, but ultimately ill-fated AFL on NBC arena football adventure from 2003-06!