Biography of Bob Costas
With in-depth knowledge of the world of sports, rich vocabulary and sports commentary skills to his credit, it didn't take much time for Bob Costas to become a renowned name in the world of sports and entertainment.
Bob Costas is an American sportscaster, presently working with MLB Network. Bob's claim to fame was his professional stint with NBC network in the 1980s. He was nicknamed 'Rapping Roberto' by the New York Daily News columnist Bob Raissman.
Bob was born to John George Costas and Jayne Costas on March 22, 1952, in New York. He spent his early life in Commack, New York. After graduating from Commack High School South, Bob joined S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University, but later discontinued his studies to pursue a career as a commentator. In 1983, he married Carole Randall Krumenacher. They have two children; a son, Keith and a daughter, Taylor. After separating from Carole in 2001, Bob married Jill Sutton on March 12, 2004.
Before starting his professional career as a commentator, Bob used to be an announcer for the Syracuse Blazers, a minor league hockey team. His actual professional career began as an announcer for the 'Spirits of St. Louis' team of the American Basketball Association. In the 1979-1980 season, Bob did a play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls on WGN-TV. He then worked with the CBS Broadcasting Inc. for a short period, before joining the National Broadcasting Company (NBC Network) in 1980.
In the early 1980s, Costas did a play-by-play for the National Football League (NFL), with Bob Trumpy, for NBC. Later, in 1984, he started working as an in-studio host for the NFL and simultaneously did a play-by-play for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Major League Baseball (MLB) matches. In 1997, he was the co-host for horse racing events broadcast by NBC. During the 2002 Breeders Cup, Costas filled in for Tom Hammond, when the latter had to undergo an open-heart surgery.
Bob has been playing a lead role in the NBC's broadcast of the Olympics, since 1992. He covered Barcelona Olympics in 1992, Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Sydney Olympics in 2000, Athens Olympics in 2004 and Beijing Olympics in 2008. His comments about the possible drug abuse by Chinese Olympians caused a huge uproar among the Chinese fans.
The Sandberg Game, between Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, played on June 23, 1984, was one of the most memorable broadcasts for Bob Costas, in his career span of two decades. In 1999, Bob teamed up with Joe Morgan for a two-match telecast for ESPN.
Costas was awarded a three-year contract for play-by-play hosting of the NBA games on NBC. He also hosted the coverage of NFL matches in 2006, and National Hockey League Winter Classic 2008 and 2009 seasons for NBC network.
He also has some successful talk shows to his credit. He hosted a radio program 'Costas Coast to Coast', which aired from 1986 to 1996. This series has recently been revived as 'Costas on the Radio', and is being aired on 200 radio stations worldwide. 'Later with Bob Costas' was another talk show hosted by him, which was aired from 1988 to 1994, on NBC. Bob spent a brief time with HBO hosting shows like 'On the Record with Bob Costas' in 2001, 'Inside the NFL' in 2002 and 'Costas Now', the revamped version 'On the Record with Bob Costas', in 2005. In 2005, Costas was named the regular substitute for 'Larry King Live'.
In February 2009, Bob left HBO to join the MLB Network. He was the host of the 'All Time Games' premiere episode on January 1, 2009. A month later, in February 2009, he joined the channel as a full-time host. At present, he hosts 'MLB Network Studio 42 with Bob Costas'; an interview show, and also does play-by-play for regular season games.
Bob Costas won the Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism in 2004. He has also won 20 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports commentary. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Loyola College in Maryland in 2006, and is also the honorary trustee of Webster University. With all these accolades, Bob is surely one inspirational force for the next-gen sportscasters, in this competitive world today.
Bob was born to John George Costas and Jayne Costas on March 22, 1952, in New York. He spent his early life in Commack, New York. After graduating from Commack High School South, Bob joined S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University, but later discontinued his studies to pursue a career as a commentator. In 1983, he married Carole Randall Krumenacher. They have two children; a son, Keith and a daughter, Taylor. After separating from Carole in 2001, Bob married Jill Sutton on March 12, 2004.
Before starting his professional career as a commentator, Bob used to be an announcer for the Syracuse Blazers, a minor league hockey team. His actual professional career began as an announcer for the 'Spirits of St. Louis' team of the American Basketball Association. In the 1979-1980 season, Bob did a play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls on WGN-TV. He then worked with the CBS Broadcasting Inc. for a short period, before joining the National Broadcasting Company (NBC Network) in 1980.
In the early 1980s, Costas did a play-by-play for the National Football League (NFL), with Bob Trumpy, for NBC. Later, in 1984, he started working as an in-studio host for the NFL and simultaneously did a play-by-play for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Major League Baseball (MLB) matches. In 1997, he was the co-host for horse racing events broadcast by NBC. During the 2002 Breeders Cup, Costas filled in for Tom Hammond, when the latter had to undergo an open-heart surgery.
Bob has been playing a lead role in the NBC's broadcast of the Olympics, since 1992. He covered Barcelona Olympics in 1992, Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Sydney Olympics in 2000, Athens Olympics in 2004 and Beijing Olympics in 2008. His comments about the possible drug abuse by Chinese Olympians caused a huge uproar among the Chinese fans.
The Sandberg Game, between Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, played on June 23, 1984, was one of the most memorable broadcasts for Bob Costas, in his career span of two decades. In 1999, Bob teamed up with Joe Morgan for a two-match telecast for ESPN.
Costas was awarded a three-year contract for play-by-play hosting of the NBA games on NBC. He also hosted the coverage of NFL matches in 2006, and National Hockey League Winter Classic 2008 and 2009 seasons for NBC network.
He also has some successful talk shows to his credit. He hosted a radio program 'Costas Coast to Coast', which aired from 1986 to 1996. This series has recently been revived as 'Costas on the Radio', and is being aired on 200 radio stations worldwide. 'Later with Bob Costas' was another talk show hosted by him, which was aired from 1988 to 1994, on NBC. Bob spent a brief time with HBO hosting shows like 'On the Record with Bob Costas' in 2001, 'Inside the NFL' in 2002 and 'Costas Now', the revamped version 'On the Record with Bob Costas', in 2005. In 2005, Costas was named the regular substitute for 'Larry King Live'.
In February 2009, Bob left HBO to join the MLB Network. He was the host of the 'All Time Games' premiere episode on January 1, 2009. A month later, in February 2009, he joined the channel as a full-time host. At present, he hosts 'MLB Network Studio 42 with Bob Costas'; an interview show, and also does play-by-play for regular season games.
Bob Costas won the Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism in 2004. He has also won 20 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports commentary. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Loyola College in Maryland in 2006, and is also the honorary trustee of Webster University. With all these accolades, Bob is surely one inspirational force for the next-gen sportscasters, in this competitive world today.
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