NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the only Hall of Fame honoring both those in front of and behind the camera who have made sports broadcasting a cultural force, has announced its 2009 inductee class. This year's class of legends includes sportscasters Dick Enberg and Keith Jackson, former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman, network TV executives Barry Frank and Chuck Howard, and technical innovators Garrett Brown, Steve Laxton, and John Porter.
The nine inductees will be officially inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame on December 15, 2009, at New York City's Hilton Hotel in a ceremony hosted by CBS Sports lead play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz.
The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame is produced by the Sports Video Group (SVG), an industry association dedicated to advancing the creation, production, and distribution of sports content. For more information about SVG, visit www.sportsvideo.org.
The 2009 class of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame:
Deane Beman: During his 20 year tenure as PGA Tour Commissioner, Beman was the first to envision a golf course that would accommodate large galleries and make viewing golf a user-friendly experience, resulting in the construction of TPC Sawgrass and its famed Players Stadium Course.
Garrett Brown: Garrett Brown is the sports business's premier inventor. As if inventing the Steadicam wasn't enough, Garrett is credited for creating the Skycam, Divecams, and railcams which pursue athletes worldwide.
Dick Enberg: Dick Enberg is one of the most versatile play-by-play announcers ever to take the microphone, from his 25 years with NBC Sports to nearly 10 years with CBS Sports where he still covers the NFL, college basketball, and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
Barry Frank: Frank has been the leading sports rights agent and packager in the U.S., having represented the International Olympic Committee, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the International Skating Union, and the United States Tennis Association, in their television negotiations.
Chuck Howard: As vice president of ABC Sports, Howard covered nine Olympics, the Super Bowl, World Series, British Open, Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, and NCAA football. He teamed with Roone Arledge and Jim McKay to create ABC's Wide World of Sports.
Keith Jackson: During his 40 years with ABC Sports, Keith Jackson was on air for the first Monday Night Football game in 1970, made a name for himself announcing college sports, and was in the announce booth on football Saturdays for more than 30 years before retiring after the 1998-1999 season.
Steve Laxton: Steve Laxton is best known as the technical director of the Olympic Games and worked freelance with all of the major networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and HBO. He was the primary designer of the Sony MVS switcher series.
John Porter: John Porter was the first to put in-car cameras into NASCAR auto racing, which changed the way the sport is viewed today. He pioneered wireless applications for every sport, including the America's Cup, and continues to develop new wireless technology to this day.
For biographies and tribute videos for last year's inductees, visit: www.sportsvideo.org/hof.
For information about sponsoring this year's Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, please contact Rob Payne at rob@sportsvideo.org or 212-481-8131.
For tickets and tables, please contact Carrie Bowden at carrie@sportsvideo.org or 917-446-4412.