Dick Enberg, Legendary Sportscaster, Dies at 82

Legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg, whose career spanned nearly 60 years, died on Thursday of an apparent heart attack. He was 82.

Enberg’s daughter, Nicole Enberg Vaz, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. She said his family became concerned when he didn’t arrive Thursday on his flight to Boston, and he was found dead at his home in La Jolla, a San Diego neighborhood, with his bags packed.

His daughter said the family believes Enberg died of a heart attack but was awaiting official word.

Enberg, who was known for his signature call of “Oh my!”, covered 28 Wimbledon Tournaments, 10 Super Bowls and nine Rose Bowls and eight NCAA championship games as the play-by-play announcer for the UCLA Bruins.

His last full-time role came as the TV voice of the San Diego Padres for seven years before he retired in 2016.

“We are immensely saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg,” the Padres said in a statement released late Thursday night. “Dick was an institution in the industry for 60 years and we were lucky enough to have his iconic voice behind the microphone for Padres games for nearly a decade. On behalf of our entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Barbara, and the entire Enberg family.”

“I’m heartbroken,” former Padres broadcast booth partner Mark Grant said Thursday night. “It’s so sad. I thought Dick was the type of guy who was going to live until he was 100, going on the circuit, talking to everybody about baseball and football and tennis.”

Enberg’s latest venture was channeling his passion for sports and the people behind them into his podcast called Sound of Success, interviewing stars like Billie Jean King, Bill Walton, Johnny Bench and Steve Kerr.

He told the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this week that he hoped to lure NBA legend Magic Johnson, controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz and actor Jack Nicholson to his online world.

“At the very top of the list,” he said, “is Serena Williams.”

Enberg was the recipient of 13 Sports Emmy awards and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Additional honors included the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Rozelle Award and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Gowdy Award.

He’s the only sportscaster to win Emmys in three categories: broadcasting, writing, and producing.