Referred to as \u201cThe Godfather\u201d by his Fox Sports colleagues, Jerry Steinberg is an icon of remote sports production.<\/p>\n
Logging stints at ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and Fox during his 35-plus\u2013year career, he was an original member of two startup teams: the ones responsible for launching ESPN in 1979 and Fox Sports in 1994.<\/p>\n
From humble beginnings as an NBC page, Steinberg became a field-operations specialist, working on four Olympic Games, more than a dozen World Series, and a half dozen Super Bowls. During his time at Fox Sports, he was a team leader, no matter what initiative he was developing.<\/p>\n
\u201cJerry loves people, sports, and television,\u201d says Ed Goren, former vice chairman, Fox Sports Media Group. \u201cHe has a perfect combination to be a success in this business, and he was always looking to bring the next big thing to Fox Sports to elevate our productions.\u201d<\/p>\n
A native of the Bronx, NY, Steinberg got his start in the business as a page at NBC in Burbank, CA, where he served as a runner for\u00a0The Dean Martin Show<\/i> before a friend started a video-sales company in New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to send people to go out with the rentals, and that ended up being me,\u201d Steinberg recalls. \u201cI traveled all over the place, and that was the beginnings of my life in this business.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Start of an Era for Steinberg and Sports TV<\/b>
\nHe officially joined the sports-television industry in 1979, when he heard of a little company in Bristol, CT, that was forming a dedicated sports-programming network. He sought out ESPN and was hired as a production-truck engineer-in-charge in 1979, becoming a member of the network\u2019s original technical crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been part of two startups in my life, ESPN and Fox,\u201d he says. \u201cThe most exciting thing to do is to be part of a launch.\u201d<\/p>\n
He spent several years at ESPN as a truck EIC, maintaining technical standards and equipment during live broadcasts. During that time, he formed a close relationship with Chet Simmons, then president of ESPN. \u201cChet Simmons was a dear friend and a mentor,\u201d Steinberg says.<\/p>\n
In 1984, he left ESPN for the lure of freelancing. Over the next decade, he served as a technician and video operator for World Cup soccer, US Open tennis, four Olympic Games, the World Series, the NCAA Final Four, the Super Bowl, and even Operation Desert Storm. In 1994, he was working for CBS on the Lillehammer Winter Olympics when Fox Sports acquired the rights to broadcast the NFL. Soon thereafter, he joined the original Fox Sports launch team as a technical manager.<\/p>\n
It was in those early days at Fox Sports that Steinberg met Game Creek Video founder and President (and fellow 2015 Hall of Fame inductee) Pat Sullivan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legacy he leaves,\u201d says Sullivan, \u201cis participating in the formation of a really important player in the broadcasting business, one that changed the way sports events were televised and, in particular, audio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, Steinberg would manage operations for all of Fox\u2019s live broadcasts (upwards of 300 a year), including facilities, personnel, and new technologies. Besides the World Series and Super Bowls, he has overseen eight Daytona 500 races, BCS and National Championship games, and Stanley Cup Finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key is the people,\u201d he points out. \u201cIt\u2019s not about what I do; it\u2019s all about this team that we put together. The challenge is to keep those people in sync with each other and keep the parts moving smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given the vision that Chairman David Hill and others at the top of the Fox Sports pyramid had in those early days, Steinberg\u2019s can-do spirit was a perfect match.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t matter what I\u2019d throw at\u00a0Steiny, the answer would be a grin and a \u2018why not?,\u2019\u201d recalls Hill, who worked with Steinberg for nearly two decades. \u201cAnd guess what? It would always happen. I never know what comes first: the technical ability and understanding of how and why everything happens or the big grin and the can-do attitude. Add in the mind of a producer, the fact that he knows everyone on the planet and, more important, everyone on the planet knows and likes him, and you see why he\u2019s so remarkable.\u00a0Plus that he seems like he\u2019s modeled himself on one of Damon Runyon\u2019s characters!\u201d<\/p>\n
Still Looking to the Next Big Thing<\/b>
\nSteinberg officially retired from Fox Sports last year, but he still has a desire to tackle the next big thing as a consultant on a variety of next-generation technologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people listen to what he has to say,\u201d says Sullivan, adding that manufacturers still tap into Steinberg\u2019s knowledge and ability to cut right to the core of an issue.<\/p>\n
Sullivan should know. Probably no one else in the business has spent as much time listening to what Steinberg has to say, and, over the years, the two formed a strong friendship and partnership.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Fox trucks we built in 2006 are still doing NASCAR today,\u201d says Sullivan. \u201cWe have upgraded certain parts, but the basic philosophy Steinberg tasked us to deliver is still very viable today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Probably the biggest challenge that both Fox Sports and Game Creek Video faced together was Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013 at Metlife Stadium. Instead of building a massive pregame set in the swamps of New Jersey, the Fox team headed for the crossroads of America: Times Square.<\/p>\n
For Steinberg, it meant making sure that production teams on both sides of the Hudson worked in sync and that the massive number of permitting and construction issues for building a set in Times Square were addressed early and often. Steinberg\u2019s tendency to say what is on his mind served him well when dealing with New York City officials and also made it easier for the Game Creek Video team to know (as in all the work they did together) what needed to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got things done, and he brought an interesting touch to the role he played,\u201d says Sullivan. \u201cHe was a real worker bee because he used to be a freelance guy who had to scratch it out a bit. He brought a sensitivity to his role because he knew what it is like to be in those shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up eight blocks from Yankee Stadium, Steinberg didn\u2019t set out to build a career in sports, but it was a happy coincidence that he has spent his life working in sports television. \u201cFor a guy like me, this is the greatest blessing in the world,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m very fortunate to be able to make my living and love my job.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":763,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[29],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees\/523"}],"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\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}