Dick
Ebersol
Athlete Bio#
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Age
77
Hometown
Torrington, CT
Education
Yale University
Quick Facts
- Son of Mary and Charles Ebersol
- Father was a former chairman of the American Cancer Society
- Dropped out of Yale University to work as a researcher for ABC Sports at the Olympic Winter Games Grenoble 1968, later returned and earned his degree in history
- Worked as an executive assistant for fellow Hall of Fame inductee Roone Arledge
- Conceived and developed “Saturday Night Live” with Lorne Michaels
- Was NBC’s first-ever vice president under the age of 30
- Owned independent radio station in Litchfield, Conn
- Father of three children, William, Charlie and Edward.
Hall Of Fame Bio #
Dick Ebersol is an American television executive who served as chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics, producing 19 Olympic Games telecasts throughout his career. Born in Torrington, Connecticut, Ebersol first became involved in the Olympic Movement as an Olympic researcher at ABC Sports in 1972. Thus began his long and storied relationship with the Olympic Games. He became president of NBC Sports in 1989 and served as executive producer for the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992. During the 1995-96 television season, for the first and only time in history, Ebersol was able to secure rights for NBC to telecast the World Series, NBA Finals and Olympic Games, all in the same year. He also secured the rights for the Olympic Games Sydney 2000 and the Olympic Winter Games Salt Lake City, marking the first time that rights for consecutive Olympic Games were awarded at the same time. In 1996, The Sporting News named Ebersol the Most Powerful Person in Sports. He would go on to produce the Salt Lake City Games, for which NBC won a record 11 Sport Emmy Awards, as well as the Beijing 2008 Games, the most-watched event in U.S. television history.
