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Obit: George Michael (Sports Machine), at 70

E

easttxtv

The NYC radio (http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=159260.0) and Philadelphia radio (http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=159254.0) boards already brought the subject up, but also, Michael's Sports Machine show was notable for those watching late on Sundays who didn't yet have cable (for the ol' Nick/Fred banter on CNN, and later the up-and-coming SportsCenter) looking for a good wrap-up of all that went on in sports for that day/weekend. Michael covered sports for 28 years for DC's WRC-TV.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/12/24/long-time-dc-sportscaster-george-michael-passes/
 
George Michael was one of the best sports broadcasters of his time, but he was a lot more than that.

Top 40 radio listeners in St. Louis, Philadelphia and New York will remember him fondly as one of the best and highest energy nighttime radio personalities in the history of those markets from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. He ruled the nights at WIL in St. Louis, WFIL in Philadelphia and finally WABC in New York, before leaving hit radio at the end of 1979 to go fulltime into sports.

According to former WABC PD Glenn Morgan, who recruited him in 1974 to replace Bruce Morrow (who had left for a stint at WNBC), Michael was already thinking about moving from music to sports in the early 70s and had to be talked out of accepting the play by play job calling Baltimore Orioles games on WBAL for the 1974 season in order to take the WABC gig. He finally did get into the booth on the NHL New York Islanders broadcast team in the late 1970s and when WABC told him he had to make a choice between play by play and disk jockeying--we know what choice he made. But the fact that he did sports anchoring, sports play by play, and top 40 music and did them all brilliantly, shows he was one of the most talented and versatile broadcasters of our time. We could use more people like him in our business.

He will be much missed.
 
Here's a guy who always looked to be the picture of health, or atleast that is my memory of him. Then I saw he was 70, and the shock was lessoned. Just another example of how we all are aging. However, with figures like him he will always be 50, always rockin' and rollin' not only with top40 talkovers, but a high-energy presentation of the major sports stories of the day. A huge loss, and one of the iconic (albeit under-rated) broadcasters of the past 40 years.
 
I use to watch Sports Machine Sunday nights,George was the best on coming across with the details,I'm not a big sports fan,but his delivery it makes it easier to understand everything.He will be missed.
 
speaking of which does anyone here have any old episodes of the sports machine on vhs or dvd
 
Besides his occasional wrestling feature, I really used to look forward to his "Plays of the Month" and when he would mention an affiliate who carried his show when wrapping it up for the week.

R.I.P. George :(
 
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