Another local Los Angeles television icon is leaving their network. Fred Roggin, the longtime sports anchor at NBC4/KNBC, will be in the studio for his last day on Thursday, Jan. 26, the station announced Tuesday. Roggin joined NBC4 in 1980 and covered dozens of memorable Los Angeles sports moments throughout his four decades there. Roggin, 65, plans to leave daily sports journalism segments to focus on other creative endeavors, like his radio show.
The Detroit native began at NBC4 as a weekend sports anchor and helped launch Sunday Night Sports. He quickly rose through the ranks and became the main sports anchor and reporter in 1986. Roggin was beloved for his humorous and satirical segments, like the Hall of Shame and Roggin’s Heroes. He continues to feature extraordinary plays under the Roggin’s Heroes banner to this day. Sports fans from outside Los Angeles may recognize him from NBC’s Olympics coverage since he has covered every Olympics since 1984.
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During his career, he picked up dozens of awards, including 35 Los Angeles Emmy Awards, 30 Golden Mike Awards, five Associated Press Awards, and several Los Angeles Press Club honors for his work. He also hosted the Going Rogan sports commentary show. Roggin is a member of the Southern California Sports Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame and the California Sports Hall of Fame. He has also received lifetime achievement honors from the Los Angeles Press Club and the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California.
Before he worked at NBC4, Roggin started his broadcasting career in 1976 as a play-by-play announcer for KIKO radio in Globe, Arizona. In 1977, he led sports coverage for KBLU Radio and KYEL-TV in Yuma, Arizona. He also worked in Austin and Phoenix. He studied broadcasting at Phoenix College.
NBC4 has seen several changes in recent months. In December, evening news co-anchor Chuck Henry and reporters Beverly White, Vikki Vargas, Angie Crouch, and Kim Baldonado all accepted buyouts as NBCUniversal sought to cut costs. Vargas retired after 40 years in Los Angeles journalism. Henry joined NBC4 in 1994, while White began working at NBC4 in 1992. Crouch joined NBC4 in 2004. In December 2021, Patrick Healy retired after 37 years of covering Southern California for the network.
