Dick Enberg, a Hall of Fame broadcaster known as much for his excited calls of 鈥淥h my!鈥� as the big events he covered during a 60-year career, has died. He was 82.
Enberg鈥檚 daughter, Nicole Enberg Vaz, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. She said the family became concerned when her father didn鈥檛 arrive Thursday on his flight to Boston, and he was found dead at his home in La Jolla, a San Diego neighbourhood, with his bags packed.
His daughter said the family believes Enberg died of a heart attack but was awaiting official word.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very, very shocking,鈥� said Vaz, who lives in Boston. 鈥淗e鈥檇 been busy with two podcasts and was full of energy.鈥�
Enberg鈥檚 wife, Barbara, already was in Boston and was expecting his arrival.
The family 鈥渋s grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers of all of Dick鈥檚 countless fans and dear friends,鈥� according to a statement released by Enberg鈥檚 attorney, Dennis Coleman. 鈥淎t this time we are all still processing the significant loss, and we ask for prayers and respectful privacy in the immediate aftermath of such untimely news.鈥�
Enberg got his big break with UCLA basketball and went on to call Super Bowls, Olympics, Final Fours and Angels and Padres baseball games as well as Rams football games.
He retired from his TV job with the Padres in October 2016, capping a six-decade career punctuated with countless calls of 鈥淥h my!鈥� in describing big plays. He also was well known for his baseball catchphrase of 鈥淭ouch 鈥榚m all!鈥� for home runs.
鈥淒ick was an institution in the industry for 60 years and we were lucky enough to have his iconic voice behind the microphone for Padres games for nearly a decade,鈥� Padres owners Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler said in a statement.
Raised in Armada, Michigan, Enberg鈥檚 first radio job was actually as a radio station custodian in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, when he was a junior at Central Michigan. He made $1 an hour. The owner also gave him weekend sports and disc jockey gigs, also at $1 an hour. From there he began doing high school and college football games.
During his nine years broadcasting UCLA basketball, the Bruins won eight NCAA titles. Enberg broadcast nine no-hitters, including two by San Francisco鈥檚 Tim Lincecum against the Padres in 2013 and 2014.
He said the most historically important event he covered was 鈥淭he Game of the Century,鈥� Houston鈥檚 victory over UCLA in 1968 that snapped the Bruins鈥� 47-game winning streak.
鈥淭hat was the platform from which college basketball鈥檚 popularity was sent into the stratosphere,鈥� Enberg said just before retiring from the Padres. 鈥淭he 鈥�79 game, the Magic-Bird game, everyone wants to credit that as the greatest game of all time. That was just the booster rocket that sent it even higher. 鈥� UCLA, unbeaten; Houston, unbeaten. And then the thing that had to happen, and Coach Wooden hated when I said this, but UCLA had to lose. That became a monumental event.鈥�
Enberg鈥檚 many former broadcast partners included Merlin Olsen, Al McGuire, Billy Packer, Don Drysdale and Tony Gwynn. He even worked a few games with Wooden, whom he called 鈥淭he greatest man I鈥檝e ever known other than my own father.鈥�
Enberg called Padres games for seven seasons and went into the broadcasters鈥� wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015 as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.
鈥淭here will never be another Dick Enberg,鈥� CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said. 鈥淎s the voice of generations of fans, Dick was a masterful storyteller, a consummate professional and a true gentleman. He was one of the true legends of our business.鈥�
John Ireland, the radio voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, tweeted : 鈥淚f there was a Mount Rushmore of LA Sports Announcers, Dick Enberg is on it with Chick Hearn, Vin Scully and Bob Miller. Rams, Angels, UCLA, NBC, and so much more. Was the first famous announcer I ever met, and he couldn鈥檛 have been nicer. Definition of a gentleman.鈥�
Enberg won 13 Sports Emmy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and UCLA named its Media Center in Pauley Pavilion after Enberg this year.
At halftime of a UCLA game in February, former Bruins stars Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes presented Enberg with a No. 8 jersey, signifying the number of championships he called.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not going to happen again,鈥� Enberg said before the game. 鈥淲ho was looking over me? To be able to come in and ride the Wooden Wave.鈥�
鈥淜indest, most proactive possible treatment of newcomers in this business, for the length of his career,鈥� broadcaster Keith Olbermann said of Enberg on Twitter . 鈥淲hat a terrible loss.鈥�
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said flowers will be placed Friday on Enberg鈥檚 star on the Walk of Fame.
Bernie Wilson, The Associated Press
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