New England Sports Network’s (NESN) Tom Caron is a Boston sports media exception. He is neither overbearing nor insulting. He does not consider himself the story, nor does he live for self-aggrandizement.
Instead, he has worked hard covering the minor leagues to the pros, and in doing so, has become the signature personality at NESN, New England’s most popular sports television network.
As he nears 30 years at NESN, Caron, known in the Hub as “TC”, has blazed a classy trail for the national media likes of Kathryn Tappen, Heidi Watney, Wendi Nix, Randy Scott, Gary Striewski, and a host of others to follow.
“I’d like to think I’ve helped some of our younger announcers develop, whether it’s answering questions or serving as a sounding board for them,” says Caron, a Lewiston, Maine native who attended St. Michael’s College in Vermont.
“I’ve been in this business a long time, so I’ve been able to pass some of that experience along to them. I think, on the whole, you’d have to say that NESN has built a pretty good track record with its stable of announcers.”
As NESN’s studio host for Red Sox baseball and lead on-air talent on a number of other programs, Tom Caron covers Boston athletes with an understated air, more akin to some bygone era.
He relates, “When I first started in television, a news director told me, ‘The worst thing you can be in this business is irrelevant.’ Has there been anything more relevant in sports than the Boston Red Sox over the past 20 years? I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the right beat at the right time.”
The seemingly buttoned-down, meat-and-potatoes sportscaster had some decidedly anti-establishment boyhood role models, including some charter members of the Red Sox famed 1970s Buffalo Heads.
Caron explains, “If I had to choose some idols, it would have to be Bill Lee, Bernie Carbo, and Luis Tiant. Like any New England kid at that time, you would have to throw Bobby Orr in there as well. My first ice skates were Rally Bobby Orr’s.”
Armed with his degree in Journalism from St. Michael’s (Class of 1986), Tom Caron began his television career at WPTZ-TV in Plattsburgh, NY as a weekend sports anchor in 1986 and 1987. A few years later, he hit his own personal career turning point.
“In 1993, I left local television to go work for the Portland Pirates of the AHL. My first year there, the team won the Calder Cup. My second year there was the NHL lockout, and we had games telecast on NESN and ESPN. At the end of the season, I was asked by NESN to call the team’s playoff series against the Providence Bruins. That summer, I was hired by NESN.”
Being in the right place at the right time has become a habit for Caron. He was NESN’s sideline reporter and first in the clubhouse after Aaron Boone’s home run ended Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. He was studio host for Boston’s comeback over the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS when a million people gathered outside NESN’s Kenmore Square studios, and he covered Red Sox World Series titles in 2007, 2013, and 2018.
Caron is clear in describing his own modus operandi. “I don’t really have a shtick. Doing pregame and postgame shows, I don’t need to script out a lot of catchphrases or clichés. My job is to bring the best out of our analysts and have fun with them in the ongoing conversation.”
Caron is on the money. His strength is bringing out the best in a varied group of studio mates, many of whom have been television neophytes. Can you say Ken Macha, Manny Delcarmen, and Lenny DiNardo?
The rise of Caron has mirrored that of NESN as a whole. He relates, “It’s been an incredible ride. When I came aboard, we were still primarily a pay cable channel with a limited potential audience. Now, we’re one of the largest regional sports networks in the country.
“The most important element in the ratings’ growth has been the Red Sox performance. In 2002, I was one of the first sideline reporters used by a regional network to cover baseball. Now, almost every network in the country has one.”
From play-by-play to hosting to anchoring, Tom Caron asks the right questions and puts his colleagues at ease. He is also an excellent writer, a unique talent to possess in this age of the one-liner sound bite. While many on-air personalities succumb to the temptation of vulgarity, Caron is a media craftsman. His gruff voice and command of information make him a solid performer.
Since breaking in at NESN, Caron has hosted numerous programs, done college hockey play-by-play, and is omnipresent on social media and with his TC & Co. podcast. On Twitter @TomCaron, he once dubbed himself ‘the guy in Watertown who does a show with three guys in Cooperstown.’ Referring to past and current anchor desk mates Dennis Eckersley, Peter Gammons, and Jim Rice.
Tom Caron has interviewed just about every Boston sports personality in his three decades of work, and he is somewhat diplomatic in pointing out Boston sports’ bad guys and good guys. “As for bad guys, I consider myself a very positive person, so I don’t think I want to spend a lot of time talking about guys I consider negative.
“The good guys are easy starting with David Ortiz. He’s as popular as anyone but is still the same Teddy Bear he’s always been. I once asked former Bruin defenseman Sean O’Donnell why hockey guys are such good guys.
“He made a great point – you can’t play the game as a kid without a strong, supportive family. Bottom line: if you’re from a strong family, you’re more likely to be a good person.”
An inductee into both the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame, Tom Caron has won multiple New England Emmy Awards and has been named New England’s Favorite Local TV Sports Personality by Channel Media Sports Research’s New England Sports Survey.
In 2022, he was named New England’s Favorite TV Sports Reporter. Caron is involved in many local and regional charities, serving on the Board of Directors of The Sports Museum, the Mass Mentoring Partnership, and the MetroWest YMCA.
While he has cemented himself as an icon in Boston sports television, Caron knows that in this business, nothing is etched in stone. “Who knows what the future will bring,” he asks.
“I’ve never spent a lot of time plotting out a long-term career plan. I’ve always loved doing this job, whether it was anchoring in Plattsburgh, NY, riding the minor-league bus with the Portland Pirates, or hosting a World Series pre-game show.
“I really love what I’m doing right now, and I can’t imagine a better city or network in which to do it. I’ve always kept my eye out for new challenges, and NESN has given me plenty of opportunities to remain versatile over the years.”
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
