Anatomy of a Broadcaster: Bob Costas

During his 40-year career at NBC, Bob Costas became the network’s face and voice of sports. His career at NBC began in 1979 and ran until last year. Costas was the prime time host of 11 Olympics, which is a record. He anchored other major sporting events like, Super Bowls, World Series’, Triple Crown horse races, US Open Golf, and the NBA Finals. Not only did he cover many of those events, he was the play-by-play announcer for the NBA Finals and a few World Series along the way.  Costas is one of the few “top broadcasters” to actually host his own non-sports network talk show.  In recent years, you’ve seen him on HBO, CNN and MLB Network, where he still calls games. 

Costas got his first job in broadcasting working for the St. Louis Spirits of the old ABA in 1974, calling games on KMOX, the same station he’d listen to baseball games on as a kid growing up on Long Island. He even got the chance to learn from a childhood idol, Jack Buck while in his adopted home town of St. Louis. That would lead to regional work of NBA and NFL broadcasts for CBS. He worked one year in Chicago as the play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls on WGN-TV and then he got the big break. 

At age 28, he was hired by NBC as one of the network’s top anchors. Don Ohlmeyer hired him and made it known to Costas that he looked like he was half that age.

“I didn’t, by appearance, fit the mold of national sportscasters people were used to seeing at that time,” Costas recalled to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. “I thought that I would have a credibility problem just because of my actual youth and my even younger appearance. I think, almost unconsciously, I tried to sound more serious, more authoritative, more buttoned-up and completely prepared and completely professional than was necessary. Of course you want to be professional. But part of what makes a good broadcaster is spontaneity and, if you have it, a sense of humor.”

Costas recalled how that sense of humor emerged in himself in a strange place. David Letterman’s NBC show would have him on doing comedy bits, making him announce elevator races in 30 Rockefeller Plaza in his serious, network style. He really feels like those appearances helped break him in.

“When [those] went over well and I was well-accepted, more and more of that began to make its way into the broadcasts themselves, which I think humanizes you,” said Costas to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

It’s so true. He realized as most broadcasters eventually do, people need to be able to relate with you. They did for Costas. 

It’s probably baseball that Costas is most identified with. After all he’s a Hall of Famer, having won the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted during ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York on July 28, 2018. Costas in an avid baseball fan and has been fairly outspoken in opposition of both the “Wild Card” and the “DH” in the sport. 

BEST KNOWN FOR

One of his earliest “breakthrough” games happened in June of 1984. Costas calling the NBC Game of the Week with Tony Kubek, witnessed what’s now commonly referred to as “The Sandberg Game.” The Cubs’ now Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg hit a pair of late game-tying home runs off of Cardinals Hall of Famer reliever Bruce Sutter. A game the Cubs eventually won.  The call of that first home run was pretty simple but effective, “Into left center field, and deep. This is a tie ball game!”. He laid out for nearly 20 seconds as the cameras showed Sandberg running the bases and Sutter angrily snapping at the new ball thrown to him. Home run number 2 was a little more unbelievable, “And he hits it to deep left center! Look out! Do you believe it, it’s gone! We will go to the 11th, tied at 11,” said Costas. Another nearly 20 seconds of silence from the booth.

It was impressive to me, considering that Costas is a Cardinals fan, how neutral the calls were, how professional each call was, showing the correct amount of excitement, considering Wrigley Field was pretty much up for grabs after each long ball. 

Sticking with baseball, in October 1997, Costas called the improbable World Series Game 7 between the Marlins and Indians. With one swing of the bat Edgar Renteria hit a walk-off single to give the Marlins their first ever title.

“The 0-1 pitch. A liner, off of Nagy’s glove, into center field. The Florida Marlins have won the World Series,” Costas said with the energy of the moment.

Again, the talented Costas laid out. This time 1 minute and 19 seconds. The pictures show during the NBC broadcast were poignant. They were emotional and very telling, more so than any words could have explained. If you haven’t called a big moment like that, you can’t imagine how much restraint and understanding it takes to not say a word. 

One of the strangest and wildest day/nights in sports took place on June 17, 1994. These include Arnold Palmer playing his last round at a U.S. Open and the start of the FIFA World Cup in Chicago. In Manhattan there was a parade in honor of the Rangers’ Stanley Cup victory, Ken Griffey Jr.’s pursuit of a single season home run record, and Game 5 of the NBA finals between the Knicks against the Rockets took place at Madison Square Garden. That’s where Costas was, when all of the sudden the eyes of America were focused on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles and the O.J. Simpson slow chase of his Bronco. 

NBC had a decision to make, stick with the NBA Finals or cover the O.J. chase. Cut to Costas on camera, “This is Bob Costas. It is our professional obligation to cover the ballgame tonight in what we hope is an appropriate fashion. We are, of course, mindful of the O.J. Simpson situation and we will apprise you of any developments.”

Costas was hosting NBC’s coverage of the Finals and recalled, “Fans and media both were crowding around me and looking over my shoulder at the monitor which sometimes had the game in its entirety, sometimes was following the Bronco chase and other times, strangely, had a split screen of the two,” Costas said.

Pretty impressive to be able to pivot like that, from a championship series in basketball to some hardcore news, it’s not easy to do. Costas and Tom Brokaw traded coverage back and forth trying to keep those interested in the game informed and those that wanted to see the “chase” informed as well. Difficult to please everyone. The amazing part is Costas did not seem out of his element. Maybe it was like that because he knew Simpson, but he couldn’t possibly have prepared for what took place. 

WHY IS HE SO GOOD

Costas never shies away from speaking his mind and delivers eloquently written essays on various subjects. His writing is right up there with his broadcasting ability. The language that he uses seems high-brow, but there’s something in the way he delivers the words that make them understandable and relatable. 

I appreciate Costas and his sense of sarcasm. There is something in his delivery when it comes to certain things that screams “you see what I’m actually saying here?”. How about after Michael Jordan made the final shot of his Bulls career, many feeling like MJ pushed off on Bryon Russell, Costas some many years later simply states, “That hand on his backside was the equivalent of a maître d’ showing someone to their table.” Point made. 

He also has a sense of the moment. They never seen too big for him or his calls. Going back to Jordan’s game and series clinching shot against the Utah Jazz in 1998, which put that the exclamation point on the Bulls’ repeat threepeat run. With all that was circulating back in those days, Costas described the final few seconds leading up to the MJ shot, “Jordan with 43. Malone is doubled. They swat at him and steal it! Here comes Chicago. 17 seconds. 17 seconds, from Game 7, or from championship #6. Jordan, open, CHICAGO WITH THE LEAD! Timeout Utah, 5.2 seconds left. Michael Jordan, running on fumes, with 45 points.”

He covered everything in a few poignant words. Even while the replays were being shown, he put the proper spin on the shot, “That may have been, who knows what will unfold over the next several months, but that may have been the last shot Michael Jordan will ever take in the NBA.”

No moment is ever too big for Costas. 

Simply stated, intelligent and relatable. Bob Costas is truly one of the best ever.