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Charley Steiner (born ) is an American sportscaster and
broadcast journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the Major League Baseball's
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookl ...
, paired with
Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...
.


Early career

Steiner grew up a
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califor ...
fan in a Jewish family in
Malverne, New York Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area ...
. He attended
Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The ...
in
Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Centr ...
, and began his career as a newscaster for
WIRL WIRL (1290 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a conservative talk format. Licensed to Peoria, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Peoria area and broadcasts in AM stereo. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communication ...
radio in Peoria, in 1969. After graduating from Bradley in 1971, he hosted his first sports show on KSTT radio in Davenport, Iowa. A year later, Steiner moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and worked for WAVZ radio as its news director, before moving north to Hartford and WPOP radio in a similar capacity. In 1977, Steiner relocated to WERE (1300 AM) in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, where he served as a sportscaster and later news director. While in Cleveland, he received his first television exposure when
WKYC-TV WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's longti ...
hired him as a sports commentator. Steiner entered the New York market in 1978 at WXLO-FM where he did newscasts for, among others, then-morning host and future actor
Jay Thomas Jay Thomas (born Jon Thomas Terrell; July 12, 1948 – August 24, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976–1979 on top-40 station 99X, and later on rhythmic CHR station 92KTU, and in ...
. He later moved over to sister station WOR for several years as its
morning drive Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
sportscaster, while working simultaneously as the
sports director The title of sports director can refer to the director of a live sports broadcast. It can also refer to an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. Director Director may refer to: Literature * ...
for the
RKO Radio Network The RKO Radio Network, a subsidiary of RKO General, was the first commercial radio network to distribute programming entirely by satellite. When it began operations on October 1, 1979, the initial RKO network was the first new full-service Ameri ...
. He was also the play-by-play voice for the
USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
's New Jersey Generals entire existence from 1983 to 1985, and for the NFL's New York Jets in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...
and
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
. It was during his time with RKO Radio that he was involved in a fracas at the conclusion of a press conference after John McEnroe had won his semifinals match at Wimbledon in 1981. Throughout the tournament, McEnroe had consistently requested not to discuss the status of his relationship with then-girlfriend
Stacy Margolin Stacy Margolin (born April 5, 1959) is a former American professional tennis player in the WTA tour and the ITF world tour from 1979 to 1987 whose career-high world singles ranking is No. 18 (career-high end of season ranking of No. 25 in 1979 ...
. When James Whittaker, a gossip columnist from the '' Daily Star'' persisted in broaching the subject, McEnroe cursed at him and the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
media and prematurely ended the press conference by storming out of the room. Steiner confronted Whittaker to say, "C'mon, man, you are just messing it up for everybody else. We want to get our quotes." Right at that point, Nigel Clarke, another British reporter who then worked for the '' Daily Mirror'', stuck his index finger in Steiner's face. Clarke then got up on a chair and attempted to rain punches down on Steiner, who successfully wrestled his adversary to the floor. Surprisingly, Steiner later was personally thanked by the head of the
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...
, who also had a disdain for the British
tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid an ...
s.


Career at ESPN

Steiner joined
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The co ...
in 1988, primarily as an anchor on ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of American cable and satellite television network ESPN. The show covers various sports teams and athletes from around the world and ...
''. In addition to those duties, he served as the network's lead boxing analyst. Steiner was involved in many comical situations during his tenure on ''SportsCenter'', including one broadcast in 1993 when
Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...
sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...
" prior to a New Jersey Nets game. Amused by hearing Lewis' terrible rendition of the song, Steiner began chortling during the ''SportsCenter'' show that night, unable to stop until the show ended. His famous comment on the event was that the song had apparently been written by "Francis Scott Off-Key", a pun on the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner",
Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...
. Steiner was featured in a series of well-known television promos from ESPN's ''
This is SportsCenter This is ''SportsCenter'' is a series of comical television commercials run by ESPN to promote their ''SportsCenter'' sports news show that debuted in 1995, based on the show's opening tagline. The ads are presented in a deadpan mockumentary styl ...
'' comical promo campaign. In 1999, amid fears of the Y2K situation, Steiner starred in a promo where the ''SportsCenter'' cast spoke about a "contingency plan" at ESPN's studios ''after'' Y2K, and Steiner was featured wearing a tie as a head band (along with ''
Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence a ...
''-style face paint) and screaming the phrase "Follow me to freedom!" A second promo featured Steiner being traded from ESPN to '' Melrose Place'' in exchange for actor
Andrew Shue Andrew Eppley Shue (born February 20, 1967) is an American actor, known for his role as Billy Campbell on the television series ''Melrose Place'' (1992–1999). Shue played soccer professionally for several years. He co-founded and served on the ...
. While Shue delivers a straight-up report on a meeting with Paul Tagliabue, Steiner is then seen wearing shorts and introduces himself to
Laura Leighton Laura Diane Leighton is an American actress. She played Sydney Andrews on the television series ''Melrose Place'' (1993–1997) and its continuation (2009–2010), and Ashley Marin on Freeform's series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017). C ...
(in character as "Sidney Andrews") as the new "pool boy" in the show's apartment complex. Steiner starred in a third promo with boxer Evander Holyfield. In the opening shot, Evander questions Stuart Scott about Steiner's assessment that Holyfield is only the "50th best heavyweight of all-time"; Stuart then deadpans that he meant "the 50th best heavyweight — in Georgia". In the final scene, an angry Holyfield is seen roaming the halls of ESPN screaming, "Charley! Come on out and get your whoopin'! Charley, come on out! Steiner!" Steiner is seen cowering under a desk. In another promo for the campaign, Steiner talks about how at ESPN the personalities can cover the sports that they enjoy and he says that his is boxing. During the promo several personalities try to pick a fight with him and he walks away from them all until the end when Steiner is getting into his car and Otto the Orange comes up to him and Steiner takes out all of his frustrations out on Otto by punching him square in the face. On August 9, 2004, Steiner returned to ESPN to co-host an "old school" version of ''SportsCenter'' with
Bob Ley Robert A. Ley ( ; born March 16, 1955) is an American sports anchor and reporter, best known for his work at ESPN. A multiple Emmy Award-winner, he was the longest-tenured on-air employee of the network, having joined ESPN just three days after ...
. Steiner also hosted a program on the NFL Network called '' Football America'', which ran from 2003 to 2005. He has also been shown in frequent cuts of interviews for the network's
NFL Top 10 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
series, discussing such subjects as former Jets defensive end
Mark Gastineau Marcus Dell Gastineau (born November 20, 1956) is an American former football player who was a defensive end for the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the quickest and most feared pass rushers of his generatio ...
. Cuts of his play-by-play of the Jets' September 1986 overtime victory (51-45) over the Dolphins are used in retrospectives on that game. Steiner was also interviewed on the 1986 New York Jets
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
playoff game in which he proclaimed the Jets would win following a fourth-quarter touchdown only to see the Browns tie the game and win in double overtime.


Baseball broadcasting


ESPN Radio

When ESPN Radio gained broadcast rights for Major League Baseball's national radio package from
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in 1998, Steiner became its lead announcer, working Sunday night games, the
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
, and
postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
games. (Steiner never worked the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Wor ...
while he was calling games for ESPN Radio, however, as those were covered by then-lead TV voice
Jon Miller Jon Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997 he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball annou ...
.) Steiner's most controversial home run call came in the 2001 All-Star Game at
Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the wes ...
on July 10. His utterance of "Who wrote this script?" to punctuate
Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...
's third- inning homer off
Chan-Ho Park Chan Ho Park (; ; born June 30, 1973) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. Park was the first South Korea-born player in MLB history. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, ...
fueled speculation about whether the achievement was legitimate or that the pitch was grooved to enable a legendary sendoff.


New York Yankees (2002-2004)

Steiner left ESPN in 2002 and joined the New York Yankees' radio booth, replacing Michael Kay as John Sterling's play-by-play partner. Steiner was at the microphone when
Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
third baseman
Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player ...
won Game 7 of the
2003 American League Championship Series The 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was played between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees from October 8 to 16, 2003. The Yankees won the series four games to three to advance to the World Series, where they lost in six g ...
with a home run in the eleventh inning to defeat the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's ei ...
. After Steiner completed his call, he joined Sterling in his famous "Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!" call, saying he "had always wanted to do that". Steiner and Sterling reportedly had a contentious relationship during their three years together.


Los Angeles Dodgers (2005-present)

Steiner left the Yankees after the following season, his last game being the infamous Game 7 of the
2004 American League Championship Series The 2004 American League Championship Series was the Major League Baseball playoff series to decide the American League champion for the 2004 season, and the right to play in the 2004 World Series. A rematch of the 2003 American League Champion ...
in which the Red Sox completed its historic series victory over its rivals after trailing 3 games to 0. He was originally slated to move to the YES Network as a studio host, but after Ross Porter, longtime radio voice of the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookl ...
(Steiner's favorite team growing up, with the team still based in Brooklyn) was let go by the team, Steiner was hired to take his place. For four years covering the 2005 through 2008 seasons, the Dodgers' unique broadcasting arrangement had Steiner teamed with analyst
Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...
and working play-by-play on radio during all home and intra-divisional road games. However, Steiner's duties during these games would begin with the fourth inning and cover the remainder of the game, as the first three innings were a radio/television simulcast voiced by
Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located i ...
. Steiner handled television play-by-play on all other games (with analyst Steve Lyons), primarily road contests east of the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. For the 2009 season, the Dodgers had Steiner and Monday as their radio team for all 162 games, though the Scully simulcast of the first three innings would remain. Starting in 2014, Steiner was paired with
Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
on the television broadcast for all games Scully did not call, and broadcast on the radio with Monday the other games. Steiner also used to host ''Baseball Beat'' on XM Satellite Radio's MLB Home Plate channel, where he talked exclusively to writers, authors, columnists, broadcasters, or celebrities on their thoughts and analysis of the current state of baseball. Steiner's last episode of ''Baseball Beat'' aired on January 16, 2009. Following Vin Scully's retirement from the Dodgers after the 2016 season, the team split its radio-TV duties between Steiner and Joe Davis, with Steiner remaining on the radio side but switching to television on those occasions Davis has a Fox Sports assignment.


Awards and accomplishments

Steiner, an Emmy Award recipient, was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame on November 9, 2013, becoming the 17th sportscaster admitted into the Hall. In December 2010 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from his alma mater
Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The ...
, where he gave the commencement address. Steiner received the
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
award for "Best Sportscaster for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut" in 1981, 1983, and 1985. His football play-by-play work earned him the New York State Broadcasters Association Award for "Best Radio Play-by-Play" in 1983, 1984, and 1987. During his fourteen years at ESPN, Steiner won a
CableACE The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Ame ...
award for a documentary on
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
and a
Clarion award Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave above unison pitch * "Clarion" (song), a 2 ...
for his coverage of the Mike Tyson rape trial.
Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...
named its school of sports communication for Steiner at a ceremony in March, 2015.


References


External links


Los Angeles Dodgers biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Charley Living people People from Malverne, New York American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Bradley University alumni College football announcers Los Angeles Dodgers announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters National Football League announcers New York Jets announcers New York Yankees announcers Radio personalities from Cleveland Radio personalities from Illinois Radio personalities from New York City Television anchors from Cleveland United States Football League announcers Jewish American sportspeople Cleveland Barons broadcasters 21st-century American Jews Year of birth missing (living people)