James Webster Hill (born October 21, 1946) is an American sportscaster and former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who is the lead sports anchor and sports director at

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...

in Los Angeles. He played as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Football career

Hill played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University–Kingsville) for the

Javelinas Peccaries (also javelinas or skunk pigs) are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. Peccarie ...

. He played in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Broadcasting career

Hill started his broadcasting career in college, after a professor referred him to the general manager at

KINE Kine or KINE may refer to: Radio and TV stations * KINE-FM, a radio station (105.1 FM) licensed to Honolulu, Hawaii, United States * KINE (AM), a radio station (1330 AM) licensed to Kingsville, Texas, United States * KINE-LP, a defunct low-po ...

in Kingsville, Texas following a prank to get out of biology class. There, he was a disc jockey and talk show host. When he was selected by the Chargers, the station which carried them, KCST (now

KNSD KNSD (channel 39, cable channel 7), branded on air as NBC 7 San Diego, is a television station in San Diego, California, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations d ...

), wanted to be closer to Hill. Thus, his football number with the Chargers was 39, a reference to the channel number, and he hosted the music show ''Mr. 39's Talent Night'', a program similar to ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'', as well as sports reporting. He later moved on to

KGTV KGTV (channel 10) is a television station in San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Air Way in the Riverview-Webster section of San Diego, and its ...

, before moving to Green Bay. During his first season as a

player in 1972, Hill contributed to the Monday and Tuesday evening newscasts of Green Bay station

WBAY-TV WBAY-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by Gray Media. The station's studios are located on South Jefferson Street in downtown Green Bay (a ...

;TV Guide magazine, Wisconsin Edition dated September 23–29, 1972, WBAY-TV ad on page A-40 as the primary affiliate of the CBS-TV Network in Green Bay at the time, WBAY-TV carried most Packers games during the 1970s. After retiring from the NFL, Hill started in 1976 at

(then KNXT) in Los Angeles, where he was a sports anchor for 11 years. Hill began on the ''

NFL on CBS ''NFL on CBS'' is an American television sports presentation show broadcast by CBS. It aired from September 30, 1956 to January 23, 1994. The show returned since September 6, 1998. The branding is used for the presentation of the National Foot ...

'' in 1980 as an analyst. But in 1984, 1985, and 1992–93, he was the play-by-play announcer on selected games. He also served as Sideline Reporter for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

's coverage of

Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion 1983 Washington Redskins season, Washington Redskins and t ...

(1984). He left KCBS in 1987, and spent a near five-year stint at rival

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station mai ...

, where he anchored the sports segments on its 5, 6, and 11 p.m. editions of ''

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action videos, instead of the older ,"man-on-camera" style of newscast, and is most prominently featured in the New York City metropolitan area. Hi ...

''. He also worked for

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial America ...

's coverage of the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

as a Correspondent in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

and as Sideline Reporter for the

Super Bowl XXII Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

(1988). He returned to KCBS in March 1992, and has remained there since. In addition to KCBS-TV duties, Hill files sports reports for sister station

KCAL-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). The two stations share studios at the ...

. Hill is also one of the hosts for

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

boxing telecasts produced by the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

cable network. A popular broadcast personality in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

for years, Hill has been active in community activities. He is a member of the Los Angeles

Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

's board of directors, as well as serving on the board of directors of the Grossman Burn Center in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

. He is a spokesman for the

City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and is involved in developing youth outreach and fitness programs.

Personal life

Hill is an avid golfer who often plays at Wilson & Harding Golf Courses at

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Amer ...

in Los Angeles. He also plays golf with

Ernie Camacho Ernest Carlos Camacho (born February 1, 1955) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1981 and 1983 to 1990. His best season came with the 1984 Cleveland Indians, when he led the team ...

. He was formerly married to Erma White (1965–1973). Hill has one son, Walter J. Hill. He is divorced from actress

Denise Nicholas Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress. Nicholas played high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the NBC/ CBS drama series '' In the He ...

. His younger brother is former

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

tight end David Hill. He has appeared as himself in movies and television shows such as ''

Rocky III ''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written and directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film is the sequel to ''Rocky II'' (1979) and the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt You ...

'' and ''

Arli$$ ''Arliss'' (rendered in its logo as ''Arli$$'') is an American dark comedy series, created by and starring Robert Wuhl (who was also the series' showrunner), about the glitzy, big-money world of professional sports, with Wuhl playing the etern ...

''.

Partial filmography

*''

Polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

'' (1981) - Picket Reporter *''

'' (1982) - Sportscaster

References

External links

Jim Hill's bio on CBSLosAngeles.com
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Jim 1946 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American people African-American sports announcers American football defensive backs American television sports anchors American television sports announcers American boxing commentators Green Bay Packers players NFL announcers NBA broadcasters Olympic Games broadcasters Players of American football from San Antonio San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from San Antonio Television anchors from Los Angeles Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football players