March 8, 2022

CHRIS BERMAN Guest Speaker for Friday, October 21st “Legends of the Game” Luncheon Speaker Series

CHRIS BERMAN
ESPN Legendary Sportscaster
Guest Speaker for Friday, October 21st “Legends of the Game” Luncheon Speaker Series

        Charlotte, N.C. – The Charlotte Touchdown Club is thrilled to announce ESPN legendary sportscaster, Chris Berman, as one of this year’s luncheon guest speakers. The 2022 “Legends of the Game” Speaker Series Luncheon will be hosted Friday, October 21st at the Sheraton Charlotte Hotel from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. (Silent Auction from 11:15am to 11:45am) An estimated sell-out crowd of more than 650 people is anticipated. (Silent Auction from 11:15am to 11:45am) PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE CHARLOTTE TOUCHDOWN CLUB SCHOLARSHIP FUND!      
In October 1979 – one month after its inception – ESPN hired a little known 24-year-old sports anchor named Chris Berman. For more than four decades, Berman has become one of America’s most respected, popular, and in many ways, most beloved sportscasters of his era. A legend in the industry, Berman has also been recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his peers and countless other organizations for his exceptional contributions to sports broadcasting. With his trademark combination of genuine enthusiasm, knowledge and wit, he has come to embody ESPN in its dedication to entertaining and informing sports fans across the country. He is best known for his signature delivery of highlights in every sport, most notably on NFL Sundays.
Six times the versatile Berman has been selected National Sportscaster of the Year (1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 2001) by the members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (now the National Sports Media Association). Berman, who in 1989 became the first cable sportscaster to win National Sportscaster of the Year, ranks second among sportscasters in winning this award. Berman and his various shows have won 10 Emmy Awards and 12 CableACEs.

          Berman received the distinguished Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 for his longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football, an unexpected and humbling honor which Berman cherishes most among a career of achievement.

His coverage of baseball for ESPN spans almost four decades, with Berman’s most significant contribution coming on Sept. 6, 1995. He handled play-by-play for the Emmy Award-winning telecast of Cal Ripken’s 2,131st consecutive game, which surpassed the record held by the immortal Lou Gehrig. President Bill Clinton was among the guests in the broadcast booth that night.
In 2001, Berman was named winner of the prestigious Reds Bagnell Award from the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia for “contributions to the game of football.” Previous recipients include Pete Rozelle, Don Shula, Joe Paterno, and Eddie Robinson, among others. In January 2009, Berman was honored with The Pat Summerall Award at the annual Legends for Charity dinner in recognition of his longtime excellence in football broadcasting. Berman also received the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Distinguished American award in January 2020.

In December 2017, Berman was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was honored with the Newseum Institute’s Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media – the first sportscaster ever honored. He was also inducted into the National Sports Media Association (formerly NSSA) Hall of Fame. In 2015, Berman was just the fifth on-air personality to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.

          It’s hard to imagine NFL Sundays before Berman. The 2016 season marked his 31st consecutive as studio host of Sunday NFL Countdown, having more than doubled Brent Musburger’s 15-year record as the longest-running host of a weekly pro football studio show. The weekly Sunday morning pre-game show has won seven Sports Emmy awards for Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly (1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2003 and 2007 seasons). Sunday NFL Countdown has also garnered five CableACEs (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995).
Berman – a veteran of 39 Super Bowls, beginning with the 49ers’ first NFL Championship in Super Bowl XVI – began working alongside Tom Jackson on Sunday NFL Countdown in 1987 when ESPN first acquired the rights to carry the NFL. The 2015 NFL season was their 29th year working together, which is unheard of in TV, just two years shy of the longest duo – 31 years – Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon.
Berman and Jackson teamed together every Sunday night in the fall from 1987-2005 to host the critically-acclaimed NFL PrimeTime, which still holds the record as cable television’s highest-rated sports studio show. From 2006-2015, they delivered all the NFL highlights to fans during both the 7 p.m. edition of the Sunday night SportsCenter (with the late John Saunders and Trent Dilfer) and on “The Blitz” on the 11 p.m. SportsCenter (as PrimeTime moved to Mondays). From 2018-19, Berman and Jackson reunited on Championship Game editions of NFL PrimeTime. Then, in September 2019, they shepherded a triumphant return of the iconic highlights show to ESPN+. Berman continues to host NFL PrimeTime on ESPN+, since 2020 with Booger McFarland.
When Monday Night Football moved to ESPN in 2006, so did Berman’s signature weekly halftime highlights trip through the NFL, “The Fastest Three Minutes in Television.” It was a staple on Sunday Night Football for all 19 years (1987-2005), and continued on Monday Night Football and Monday Night Countdown through 2016. Then, during the 2019 NFL season, Berman and the “The Fastest Three Minutes” returned to Monday Night Football halftimes and remain a fundamental part of ESPN’s NFL game presentation in 2020-21.

2022 LUNCHEON SPEAKER SERIES
Friday, April 22: ANTHONY MUNOZ
Wednesday, May 18: CHIPPER JONES
Thursday, June 23: MARSHALL FAULK
Friday, July 29: TIM TEBOW
Thursday, September 1: CAROLINA PANTHERS KICKOFF LUNCHEON
Friday, October 21: CHRIS BERMAN
Monday, December 5: BRONKO NAGURSKI AWARDS BANQUET

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