It was October 1, 1979, about a month after the launch of ESPN when Chris Berman started at the network. Today marks the 45th anniversary for the man who has now become synonymous with the network. Berman is the only remaining SportsCenter anchor from the first year of the company. He is a six-time National Sportscaster of the Year.
In addition to SportsCenter, Berman provided coverage and content for many different sporting events. He famously hosted Sunday NFL Countdown from 1985 to 2016 and NFL Primetime from 1987 to 2005 before starting up again in 2019.
On SportsCenter this morning, Mike Greenberg was asked to give his perspective on 45 years of Chris Berman at ESPN. “How can you do it?” he said. “There’s no way in the world you could ever sum it up. If he does the fastest two minutes, it would take about two days at minimum to describe what Chris Berman has meant to this place. Every single one of us who sit where we sit today and are lucky enough to do so, do so in part because of the people who started this place, and none more so than Boomer, who has been nothing but welcoming to all of us from the day each of us got here.”
Former ESPN executive Norby Williamson said when Berman celebrated 30-years with the company, “He is our most important person. He is the face of ESPN.”
His famous catchphrases are what most people thing about when they first think of the man they call ‘Boomer.’ Whether it is his touchdown call of “He…could…go…all…the…way,” or the famous home run call of “Back, back, back, back, gone!” or one of his many nicknames he gave to players such as ‘Bert Be Home Blyleven’ or ‘Oddibe Young Again McDowell’ or simply the way he pronounces the word Raiders, Berman knows how to entertain an audience and have fun.
