ESPN United States Football League NBC Sports ABC Sports Sports Programs Inc. Dancer Fitzgerald
Chester Robert Simmons (July 11, 1928 – March 25, 2010) was a television executive. He worked at ABC Sports, NBC Sports and ESPN, and was the first Commissioner of the USFL. From 1957 to 1964, he helped build ABC Sports into a leader in sports programming and was a key part of the development of Wide World of Sports. He joined NBC Sports in 1964, where he stayed for 15 years becoming the first President in 1977. At NBC, he pioneered instant replay and coverage of the Olympics and NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four. In 1979, he left NBC to join the soon to launch ESPN becoming its second President.[1] At ESPN, he oversaw the launch of the network, the development of SportsCenter, the first broadcasts of the NFL Draft, coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and the development of Chris Berman, Bob Ley, George Grande, Greg Gumbel and Dick Vitale. In 1982, he became the first Commissioner of the United States Football League and led it through three championships and players including Herschel Walker, Jim Kelly, Reggie White, Steve Young and Anthony Carter.
He is the 2005 recipient of the Sports Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award and a member of the University of Alabama College of Communications and Information Sciences Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.
^""Chet Simmons, long-time president of NBC Sports had become ESPN's president." ESPNFounder.com". Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
"ChetSimmons, a Founding Force of ESPN, Dies at 81," The New York Times, Saturday, March 27, 2010. Sarkissian II, Arek. "Broadcast pioneer Simmons dies...
2018. SportsCenter was conceived in 1979 and created by ESPN executives ChetSimmons and Scotty Connal. The program was originally anchored by Chris Berman...
than five weeks prior to ESPN's official launch on September 7, 1979, ChetSimmons joined as President bringing along fellow NBC Sports executive and long...
New York City on May 11, 1982, to begin play in 1983. ESPN president ChetSimmons was named the league's first commissioner in June 1982. According to...
to refer to the last overall player selected in the draft. In 1980, ChetSimmons, president of the year-old ESPN, asked Pete Rozelle if the fledgling...
him to be traded to the Nets, Simmons is the most-fined player in NBA history, in terms of total financial loss. Simmons attended Box Hill Senior Secondary...
Chet Thomas Holmgren (/ˈtʃɛt ˈhoʊmɡrən/ CHET HOHM-grən; born May 1, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of...
from his home in Connecticut. His superior, NBC Sports vice president ChetSimmons, who alternated weekends with Connal as on-call in the event of difficulties...
Silverman Sigma Deuteron Producer; former president of NBC Television ChetSimmons Iota Deuteron Founding president of ESPN Paul Simon Kappa Chi Singer...
Corey Robinson Premier League – Kyle Martino Andrés Cantor Ana Jurka ChetSimmons (1977–1979) Arthur Watson (1979–1989) Dick Ebersol (1989–2011) Ken Schanzer...
WITH GRACE". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2023-09-10. 1984 USFL - ESPN: Tom Mees interviews Commissioner ChetSimmons via YouTube Tom Mees at Find a Grave...
1979, several months after the founding of ESPN, then ESPN President ChetSimmons asked the NFL if ESPN could air the NFL Draft. NFL commissioner Pete...
popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio ChetSimmons (COM '52) – first ESPN president, ABC Sports executive, NBC Sports president...
known as SportsDesk (original title; 1984–2001) Based on SportsCenter by ChetSimmons and ESPN Presented by See below Opening theme "Pulstar" (1984–1990) "SportsCenter...
January 1979, but Evey had little interest in doing so. Ebersol suggested ChetSimmons, who at the time was running NBC Sports but had become increasingly frustrated...
SportsCenter Philippines Genre Sports news Created by ChetSimmons† Directed by Raffy Romano Country of origin Philippines Original languages English Filipino...
Creative Artists Agency. Robert Sandager, 95, American Olympic shooter. ChetSimmons, 81, American sports broadcasting executive, first president of ESPN...
exclusivity", said NBC Sports head Carl Lindemann, who added that "[Colleague] ChetSimmons and liked him [Gowdy] with the Sox and football" also, getting two network...
Federation Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the World Series of Poker ChetSimmons, 1st Commissioner of the United States Football League Joel Segal ('86)...
College of Communication building is near Kenmore Square and Fenway Park. ChetSimmons (COM '52) – first ESPN president, ABC Sports executive, NBC Sports president...
teamed up with singer, guitarist, and songwriter Patrick Simmons and bassist Dave Shogren. Simmons had belonged to several area groups (among them "Scratch"...
of the United States Football League on January 15, 1985, succeeding ChetSimmons who had resigned the previous day. After signing a three-year contract...
Herb Granath 2002: Roone Arledge 2003: Ed Sabol and Steve Sabol 2004: ChetSimmons 2005: Bud Greenspan 2006: Don Ohlmeyer 2007: Frank Chirkinian 2008: Dick...
2005, and Monday Night Football from 2006 to the present). In 1980, ChetSimmons, president of the year-old ESPN, asked Pete Rozelle if the fledgling...
second vocalist Patrick Simmons, bassist Dave Shogren and drummer John Hartman. The current lineup features Johnston and Simmons alongside vocalist and...
exclusivity", said NBC Sports head Carl Lindemann, who added that "[Colleague] ChetSimmons and liked him [Gowdy] with the Sox and football" also, getting two network...
2010. Retrieved January 23, 2010. "British-born Hollywood actress Jean Simmons dies at 80". BBC. January 23, 2010. Archived from the original on January...
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