{"id":1636,"date":"2022-07-28T12:27:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T16:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/?post_type=inductees&p=1636"},"modified":"2023-01-03T15:00:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T20:00:25","slug":"ross-greenburg","status":"publish","type":"inductees","link":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/inductees\/ross-greenburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Greenburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

The iconic HBO Sports brand is built on superior storytelling. With compelling historical documentaries, groundbreaking behind-the-scenes docuseries, first-rate broadcast journalism, and the biggest fights in boxing, HBO Sports \u2014 echoing the network\u2019s slogan \u2014 has made a name for itself based on one philosophy: \u201cIt\u2019s not sports. It\u2019s HBO Sports.\u201d And perhaps no one has played a larger role in creating that culture of excellence than Ross Greenburg.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer and on-air talent\u00a0Bob Costas<\/strong>\u00a0sums it up: \u201cThe depth and quality of the programming Ross Greenburg created and oversaw at HBO Sports remains the gold standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a 33-year career at HBO, Greenburg redefined and reinvigorated the genre of sports documentaries, while also maintaining HBO Sports\u2019 status as boxing\u2019s preeminent destination for high-profile fights. During his time at HBO Sports \u2014 where he served as VP and executive producer (1985-90), SVP and EP (1990-2000), and president (2000-11) \u2014 he helped create HBO\u2019s sprawling library of unforgettable sports documentaries, the trailblazing NFL Hard Knocks<\/em>\u00a0and the 24\/7 all-access docuseries, hard-hitting broadcast-journalism shows like\u00a0Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0On the Record With Bob Costas<\/em>, and beloved feature films\u00a061<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Miracle<\/em>\u00a0(released on HBO and in theaters, respectively).<\/p>\n

Since departing HBO in 2011, he has continued to solidify that storytelling legacy through the production of dozens of award-winning sports documentaries at his production company, Ross Greenburg Productions (RGP). Among his 100 major television-sports honors, Greenburg has earned eight Peabodys, 56 Sports Emmys, one Primetime Emmy, 21 Cable ACE awards, 12 Cine Golden Eagle awards, and five Video Tape Production Association Monitor awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always respected Ross\u2019s judgment, the team approach he fostered throughout our department, and the empathy he had for his entire staff,\u201d says former HBO Sports SVP\/Executive Producer\u00a0Rick Bernstein<\/strong>, who worked alongside Greenburg for more than 30 years. \u201cI don\u2019t believe there has ever been a department at HBO that was as close and collaborative as the men and women at HBO Sports, which is reflective of Ross, one of the most genuine and innovative executives in sports television.\u201d<\/p>\n

Die-Hard Sports Fan \u2014 With a Sentimental Streak<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Greenburg grew up in Scarsdale, NY, constantly playing sports and watching as many games on television as he could. He attended Jets games with his father (at 13, Greenburg was on hand for Joe Namath\u2019s legendary performance in Super Bowl III) and played football through high school. Meanwhile, his mother instilled a unique sense of humanity in him.<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenburg\u2019s first sports production was as a PA for ABC Sports at the 1974 U.S. Open, colloquially known as \u2018The Massacre at Winged Foot\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s why I\u2019m a crier to this day,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel a deep sense of connection to people in an emotional way, and that came from my mom, who was just an amazing human being. I was the type of kid who would hear Jim McKay delivering his flowery monologues [during] those Olympics [broadcasts] and start getting tears in my eyes. Even then, I knew that I had a special appreciation for the drama of sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

His start in the business came courtesy of childhood friend and classmate Kyle Gifford, son of former NFL star and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer\u00a0Frank Gifford<\/strong>. After Kyle and Ross graduated from high school, the ABC announcer got them gigs as production assistants at the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club (Greenburg\u2019s childhood home looked out at the 15th hole).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like Disneyland for me,\u201d he recounts. \u201cThat\u2019s when I caught the bug.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing Up at ABC Sports<\/strong><\/h3>\n

He attended Brown University but never strayed far from sports production, working as an assistant writer for the sports news director at WPRI-TV Providence. Following his junior year, he and Kyle spent the summer traversing the Northeast working as PAs on a variety of ABC Sports productions \u2014 including\u00a0Monday Night Baseball<\/em>, preseason\u00a0Monday Night Football<\/em>, and\u00a0Wide World of Sports<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 and golf tournaments for CBS Sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to see so many of the greats in action:\u00a0Chuck Howard<\/strong>,\u00a0Chet Forte<\/strong>,\u00a0Dennis Lewin<\/strong>, and that great group of legendary production executives,\u201d says Greenburg. \u201cThat summer is when I knew for sure that I wanted to do this as a career.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Before starting his illustrious career at HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg broke into the business as a PA with ABC Sports<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Graduating with a degree in political science in 1977, Greenburg became a full-time freelancer for ABC Sports. After working baseball and golf throughout the summer and college football in the fall, he found himself running graphics for the 1977 World Series, which included Reggie Jackson\u2019s legendary three\u2013home-run Game 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was having the time of my life,\u201d Greenburg recalls. \u201cBut, when the time came for [ABC to make hires], I didn\u2019t get the staff job I was hoping for. So I went to the library searching for a source book on television networks with sports, which, at the time, was just ABC, CBS, and NBC; after that you were out of luck. But I found this cable source book, and in it was a network called Home Box Office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catching On at a Fledgling HBO<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Greenburg had known of HBO, which carried Knicks and Rangers games from Madison Square Garden beginning in the early \u201970s, but it was still a fledgling premium cable network in a world where cable was far from ubiquitous. Nonetheless, Greenburg saw an opportunity to break into sports television and submitted his r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time,\u201d he says, \u201cthere was only one person in the sports department, and he hired me as a PA. There were only two people in the sports-production department, and we were doing boxing, gymnastics, track and field,\u00a0Inside the NFL<\/em>, and all kinds of other programming. Suddenly, at the age of 23, I was thrown into producing live sports. It was like getting your advanced degree in television on the fly, and I just fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenburg on hand for an interview to promote one of the legendary Ali-Frazier fights that aired on the early days of HBO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In the early \u201980s, HBO\u2019s reach across U.S. households was growing rapidly, and head of programming (and eventual CEO)\u00a0Michael Fuchs<\/strong>\u00a0emphasized boosting the network\u2019s sports programming. Although HBO carried weekday matches from Wimbledon (in the era of John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Jimmy Connors) and\u00a0Inside the NFL<\/em>\u00a0throughout football season, it was boxing that put HBO Sports on the map on a national scale.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Sugar Ray\u00a0Leonard<\/em>\u00a0vs. Thomas\u00a0Hearns]<\/em>\u00a0was really the launch pad for HBO Sports in terms of boxing,\u201d says Greenburg. \u201cIt was September 16, 1981, and I was producing. Michael Fuchs came in the truck just before the fight, folded his arms, smiled, and said, \u2018Gentlemen, we have arrived.\u2019 I knew exactly what he meant. That was the one that launched us as the [preeminent] broadcaster of boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenburg (top center) with longtime HBO World Championship Boxing Commentators (from left) Larry Merchant, Jim Lampley, and George Foreman<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Although HBO carried plenty of marquee fights in the 1970s, the growth of cable in the \u201980s made HBO World Championship Boxing the sport\u2019s home for three decades, spotlighting such fighters as Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather.<\/p>\n

The Golden Age of HBO Sports Documentaries<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 1985, Greenburg became VP\/executive producer and, five years later, was elevated to SVP\/EP. During this period, he began to imprint his own vision on HBO Sports, a vision that greatly resembled another Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears later,\u201d he says, \u201cI told\u00a0Roone Arledge<\/strong>, \u2018All I did was take your [ABC Sports] philosophy and change the letters to HBO.\u2019 Just like Roone, we were looking to seek out the human drama of sports and get as up close and personal as possible, while still taking a journalistic view of what we were covering. That and Michael Fuchs\u2019s \u2018It\u2019s Not TV, It\u2019s HBO\u2019 mentality of always looking for programming that you couldn\u2019t see anywhere else served as my guide.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenburg (center during one of HBO\u2019s Wimbledon productions) aimed to model his management style at HBO Sports after one of his key idols and role models Roone Arledge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Although HBO Sports had dabbled in documentaries for years, its efforts hit a new level in 1990 with the launch of\u00a0When It Was a Game<\/em>. For the three-part series on the history of baseball, Greenburg worked closely with director\u00a0George Roy<\/strong>\u00a0and producer\u00a0Dave Harmon<\/strong>\u00a0to develop what has become the signature style of HBO documentaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to that,\u201d Greenburg says, \u201c[sports documentaries] were mostly just simple interviews with athletes mixed with historic footage, but no one had developed a genuine style. Then I watched Ken Burns\u2019s\u00a0The Civil War<\/em>, and I saw what was possible. We started dabbling with actors reading excerpts from magazines or books of the period, putting Foley sound onto B-roll footage from the \u201930s and \u201940s with the guys\u2019 cleats hitting the dirt fields, and concentrating on music and narration. We developed what would become the style for our documentaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Derek Jeter 3K was among the final documentaries in a long line of masterpieces Ross Greenburg oversaw at HBO Sports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

HBO would go on to transform the sports documentary over the next two decades with films like\u00a0Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World, Babe Ruth, Do You Believe in Miracles, Mantle, Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals, Lombardi, McEnroe\/Borg: Fire & Ice<\/em>,\u00a0Derek Jeter 3K<\/em>, and dozens of others.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoss Greenburg popularized sports documentaries and reshaped an entire genre with his unique approach and vision,\u201d says\u00a0NBA Commissioner Adam Silver<\/strong>, a friend since Greenburg pitched\u00a0The History of the NBA<\/em>\u00a0documentary in the mid \u201980s. \u201cHe\u2019s a master storyteller and one of the industry\u2019s most influential producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting \u2018Real\u2019 With Sports Journalism<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the mid \u201990s, Greenburg and his team began toying with the idea of a \u201chard news\u201d program dedicated to sports. The concept was simple: a one-hour sports magazine show modeled loosely on CBS News\u2019\u00a060 Minutes<\/em>. He assembled a murder\u2019s row of talent that could take sports broadcast journalism to the next echelon, and thus\u00a0Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel<\/em>\u00a0was born.<\/p>\n

Besides Gumbel as host, the show has featured as correspondents Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famers\u00a0James Brown<\/strong>,\u00a0Mary Carillo<\/strong>, and\u00a0Lesley Visser<\/strong>\u00a0and other industry giants like\u00a0Frank Deford<\/strong>,\u00a0Bernie Goldberg<\/strong>, and\u00a0Jim Lampley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenburg (right center) Played a vital role in the HBO Sports\u2019 coverage of Wimbledon, which at one time featues (from left) Arthur Ashe, Jim Lampley, and Billie Jean King.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cRoss is a superb teacher who welcomed a collaborative approach in shaping a story, sharpening journalistic skills, insight, and presentation,\u201d says Brown, whom Greenburg hired for HBO World Championship Boxing before adding him to the\u00a0Real Sports<\/em>\u00a0roster. \u201cHe was effective because he is, himself, a journalist at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since premiering on April 2, 1995,\u00a0Real Sports<\/em>\u00a0With Bryant Gumbel<\/em>\u00a0has received 35 Sports Emmy Awards, including 20 for Outstanding Sports Journalism. It led to the launch of\u00a0On the Record With Bob Costas\u00a0<\/em>six years later and inspired numerous other newsmagazine shows around the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been at HBO Sports for more than 25 years, and it has been the finest work experience of my life,\u201d says Carillo, whom Greenburg initially tapped for HBO\u2019s Wimbledon coverage. \u201cRoss\u2019s sense of story, his understanding of the athletic heart, and his commitment to inclusion are only some of the reasons he\u2019s a Hall of Famer, but they\u2019re certainly my favorite reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birthing a Genre of Sports Reality TV<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 2000, Greenburg was named president of HBO Sports, and one of his first major programming moves proved to be one of the most important in the network\u2019s history. With HBO\u2019s documentary factory churning out gold, he set his sights on bringing that same elite storytelling to the burgeoning genre of reality TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking to get into reality because I knew sports was the perfect place to go behind the scenes and capture, not manufactured reality, but\u00a0real<\/em>\u00a0reality,\u201d he says. \u201cI got together with [Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer]\u00a0Steve Sabol<\/strong>\u00a0at NFL Films, who had been miking coaches and players for years and was the real genius in terms of how to get it done. We came up with\u00a0Hard Knocks<\/em>, and that opened a whole new door for reality television.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hard Knocks and 24\/7 are among the programs that have helped earn Ross Greenburg earn 56 Sports Emmys during his career.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Premiering in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens,\u00a0Hard Knocks<\/em>\u00a0created a genre that is now omnipresent across the sports-programming spectrum, although few programs have matched the quality of the standard bearer.<\/p>\n

Greenburg and his team brought the\u00a0Hard Knocks<\/em>\u00a0all-access concept into the ring with\u00a024\/7:<\/em>\u00a0De La Hoya<\/em>\/Mayweather\u00a0<\/em>in 2007 and\u00a024\/7: Road to the Winter Classic<\/em>\u00a0in 2011. Since then, more than two dozen seasons of\u00a024\/7<\/em>\u00a0have been produced across HBO, Showtime, and EPIX.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early days, HBO Sports was somewhat of an unheralded sports division in broadcast television,\u201d says Bernstein. \u201cUnder Ross\u2019s leadership, HBO Sports became the gold standard in sports television, [with] groundbreaking, smart, thought-provoking programming \u2014 a by-product of the value Ross put on journalism and storytelling with an emphasis on high-quality productions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sports Stories Go Hollywood<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While creating a sports-documentary dynasty, lifting sports journalism to new heights, and booking blockbuster fights, Greenburg somehow found time to serve as executive producer on multiple feature films at HBO \u2014 most notably\u00a061*,\u00a0<\/em>which chronicled Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle\u2019s race to break Babe Ruth\u2019s single-season home-run record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had attempted a few years earlier to get the rights to Mickey Mantle\u2019s life story in order to do a film, but it didn\u2019t work out,\u201d says Greenburg. \u201cThen this treatment hits my desk, and I instantly fall in love with it. [Director]\u00a0Billy Crystal<\/strong>, [screenwriter]\u00a0Hank Steinberg<\/strong>, and I took a year developing the script. Once we started shooting, being able to be on set for almost the entire process was like living a dream. Most important, I think we produced a hell of a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenberg on the set of 61* with Yogi Berra<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Three years later, Greenburg pitched another feature film, this time focused on the Cinderella story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Although HBO passed on the project, Greenburg took it to Disney, which greenlighted the movie, and it became one of the most iconic sports movies in Hollywood history:\u00a0Miracle<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an unbelievable experience working with director\u00a0Gavin O\u2019Connor<\/strong>,\u201d says Greenburg. \u201cI think we nailed that film. There was something magical about it, and the love for it has only grown since [it was released in 2004]. Between the documentaries and those two movies, I feel like we\u2019ve left something behind that people will enjoy for a long, long time. There\u2019s just something about a great sports movie or sports doc that lives forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Embarking on a New Journey<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By 2010, HBO Sports was hitting its stride in original programming, but Greenburg says the never-ending grind of negotiating with boxing promoters for the next big fight was starting to wear on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to the front lines with some very tough people on a daily basis began to take up more and more of my time and took me away from some of the other things that I loved so much,\u201d he says. \u201cBoxing is just a different beast, and it\u2019s a brutal business. So, in 2011, I knew it was time to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Since launching in 2012, Ross Greenburg Productions has produced more than 40 original documentaries and docuseries for CBS, EPIX, ESPN, NBC, NHL, Showtime, USGA, and others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Far from ready to ride off into the sunset, he launched Ross Greenburg Productions with the aim of bringing the level of documentary and reality programming he had pioneered at HBO Sports to others in the industry.<\/p>\n

RGP was quickly enlisted to produce the next edition of\u00a024\/7: The Road to Winter Classic<\/em>, this time for Showtime. In addition, NBC Sports Group tapped Greenburg and his team to create original programming for NBC Sports Network, including a reunion with Greenburg\u2019s old friend Bob Costas on\u00a0Costas Tonight<\/em>. Since launching in 2012, RGP has produced more than 40 original documentaries and docuseries for CBS, EPIX, ESPN, NBC, NHL, Showtime, USGA, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than 40 years, Ross has proved his abilities from both a creative and a management standpoint,\u201d says Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer and CBS Sports Chairman\u00a0Sean McManus<\/strong>, who started out alongside Greenburg as a PA for ABC Sports in the \u201970s and remains a close friend. \u201cThe high quality of his work has been clearly evident, and his impact on the industry is enormous. His legacy will be pure excellence both personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far From Finished<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Today, Greenburg operates RGP out of his office in Rye, NY, and resides in Greenwich, CT, with his wife of 38 years, Michele, whom he calls \u201cmy rock and the person who has most shaped who I am today. She has been with me every step of the way and has always given me reality checks. She hasn\u2019t just provided support; she also has a great journalistic eye and has shown me to not always see such a rosy picture of sports. I think that enabled me to do some great work over the years that might not have happened otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ross Greenburg remains hard at work telling great stories, including the upcoming documentary on Bill Russell (pictured here with Greenburg prior to his death earlier this year) for Netflix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The couple have a twin son and daughter, Brad and Rachel, and welcomed a pair of grandchildren into the world in 2021. Although Greenburg says he can\u2019t wait to spend more time with his family and new grandchildren, he acknowledges that the pull of telling a great story is likely to keep him in the sports-broadcasting business for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very lucky that I\u2019ve been able to take so many passion projects and turn them into something special,\u201d says Greenburg. \u201cAt this point, I probably should be thinking about hanging up the gloves, but it\u2019s just too much fun. To this day, a great story still grabs me \u2014 just like that emotional little kid in Scarsdale who used to cry in front of the television set during a dramatic moment in the game. I think, in a lot of ways, I\u2019m still that kid at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1637,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[58],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees\/1636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/inductees"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}