Mary Carillo inducted into Sports Broadcasting Hall Of Fame

Mary Carillo on the 2018 Fed Cup final:

It was a big day for one of Tennis Channel’s own on Tuesday, as Mary Carillo, one of the most accomplished broadcasters in tennis, was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall Of Fame.

Held at the New York Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, the Sports Broadcasting Hall Of Fame induction ceremony honored 11 professionals from a wide range of sports as part of the Class of 2018, all of whom have helped transform and revolutionize the business of sports broadcasting.

Carillo has been a sports broadcaster for some of the biggest neworks in television: NBC, CBS, ESPN, HBO, PBS, USA Network, TNT, MSG and Turner. And in addition to being one of the most recognized commentators in tennis, she’s also become known for her coverage of the Olympics. She even won a Sports Emmy Award for her work on HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.

“The true blessing in getting this is that there are so many people to thank for it,” Carillo said in her speech on Tuesday. “I certainly need to mention Dick Ebersol for all the Olympics work, and Matt Allen, whose feature unit I’ve gotten to be a part of all these years. Ross Greenburg at HBO, for Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel and all the documentary work he gave me. My agent, Sandy Montag, who has said to me so many times, ‘I’m not sure you’d be interested in this.’ I’m always interested.

“Calling tennis matches through the years, for USA, ESPN, TNT, CBS, NBC and Tennis Channel has brought me great joy.”

Carillo also had some kind words for tennis legend Billie Jean King, who was seated at her table.

“It was Billie who taught me how to behave at work,” she declared. “The first time I was with her at HBO for Wimbledon, 1996, we would finish a show late at night and she’d thank the camera crew, then walk downstairs to the control room and thank them. Then she’d go back to the tape room, introduce herself, ask everybody how it’s going, compliment them on the footage they’d found. ‘Relationships are everything,’ she always says. That’s the best television lesson I’ve ever learned.”

The other 10 members of the Class of 2018 include 28-time Emmy Award-winning journalist Bob Costas; longtime ESPN basketball commentator Dick Vitale; the NHL’s first commissioner, Gary Bettman; as well as three-time Emmy Award-winning CBS Sports commentator Jim Nantz.

“This year’s class continues our strong tradition of honoring those in our industry who have made a difference both in front of and behind the camera and even in the executive boardrooms,” Ken Aagaard, the chairman of the Sports Broadcasting Hall Of Fame, said of the Class of 2018.

For more on Tuesday night’s event, please visit sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org.