Fred Hickman
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Fred Hickman
television sportscaster
Personal Information
Full name Frederick Douglass Hickman; born October 17, 1951, in Springfield, IL; son of George Henry and Louise Winifred Hickman; married second wife, Judith Tillman (an attorney), February 20, 1989; children: one.
Education: Attended Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA, 1974-77.
Career
KLWW Radio, Cedar Rapids, IA, news anchor, 1977; WFMB-FM Radio, Springfield, IL, news and sports anchor, 1977-78; WICS-TV, Springfield, sports director, 1978-80; CNN/Turner Broadcasting, Atlanta, GA, sportscaster/commentator, 1980-84; WDIV-TV, Detroit, MI, sportscaster, 1984-86; CNN/Turner Broadcasting, Atlanta, sportscaster and cohost of Sports Tonight, 1986--.
Life's Work
Fred Hickman's polished and urbane sportscasting for the Cable News Network (CNN) has helped to develop a sports identity for cable television. Teamed with Nick Charles as the co-host of Sports Tonight since 1980, Hickman has been part of the longest-running anchor team in the history of television--sports or otherwise. San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Fritz Quindt cites Sports Tonight as a "standout franchise," largely due to the "creamy-smooth delivery, witty personality, [and] free-formedness" that Hickman and Charles exhibit. Indeed, going head-to-head with sports highlight shows on other cable networks, Hickman and Charles have been able to sustain high ratings and a large fan base through more than 3,300 broadcasts. Hickman described Sports Tonight in the Baltimore Sun as "hard to find, but it's worth it when you get there." He added: "I think our viewers feel that way. We wouldn't have 3,000 shows if they didn't. There may not be a lot of viewers, but they are nice people who want something different. I hope we give them that."
Frederick Douglass Hickman was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. From an early age he was a good athlete and a "ham" who liked to clown in front of the camera. Ironically, one of his heroes was a local Springfield sportscaster named Nick Charles. The first time the two men occupied the same television screen was in 1970--Charles, 24 at the time, was reporting on a high school football game from the field; Hickman, a freshman at the school, was waving from the stands.
After graduating from Springfield Southeast High School in 1974, Hickman attended Coe College, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he studied broadcasting. Like many radio and television personalities, he did not stay to finish his degree because he was able to land a job without it. In 1977 he began his professional career at radio station KLWW in Cedar Rapids. Less than one year later he found a broadcasting job in his home town, with WFMB Radio. By 1978 he was on television at WICS-TV in Springfield, the same station that had employed Nick Charles. Although only 22 at the time, Hickman quickly established himself as a serious and dependable anchor person. Most days he was responsible for the sports report, but on some occasions he anchored the entire nightly news show including news, sports, and weather.
In 1980 Hickman accepted a job with fledgling cable television company Turner Broadcasting, based in Atlanta. There he joined his former hero, Nick Charles, as part of a four-person sports department working for the Cable News Network. On June 1, 1980, Hickman and Charles took to the air with Sports Tonight, an "unpromoted show on an unknown network," to quote Star Tribune reporter Rachel Blount. Even then the camaraderie between the two cohosts was evident. "We had to develop something consistent and something consistently different from ESPN," Hickman recalled in the Star Tribune. "We also catered to an audience that was interested in finance, world affairs, and the body politic. But all those people graduated from some school, and many of them were interested in sports. That gave us a chance to develop a show where we could bring in our personalities."
Sports Tonight developed as a nightly sports wrap-up show in which Hickman and Charles reported scores and events, selected a "play of the day," and showed highlights of college and pro games. "We had good chemistry," Charles remembered in Sports Illustrated of those early days in Atlanta. On the air, the two anchors projected an image of polish and wit with just a hint of playfulness, and sure enough theirs was a departure image for the sports television industry.
In 1984 Hickman was offered a job as the weekend sports anchor at WDIV-TV in Detroit, and he accepted it. He thought the move to Detroit would establish him in a major metropolitan market and thus enhance his career. Instead it proved a fiasco that almost sent him into early retirement.
Reflecting on his decision to leave CNN in 1984, Hickman told Sports Illustrated: "I wanted to go out by myself into the desert. But I picked the wrong desert." Lonely and unhappy in the Motor City, he began using cocaine and soon found himself overcome by a $400-a-week habit. His first marriage dissolved, and--although none of his viewers or coworkers ever detected it--he succumbed to a deep addiction. "It was one of those things where--I don't like to make excuses about it--but where I was a young kid, and I was in a city that I didn't particularly like," Hickman said in the Akron Beacon Journal. "It was a bad choice of career moves."
One early morning in 1985, Hickman found himself weeping uncontrollably at the wheel of his car. "The valley was incredibly low," he recalled in a Knight-Ridder wire story. "I knew I needed to go to a rehab center." He checked himself into a treatment facility and spent one month there overcoming his addiction and exploring the personal issues that had caused it to happen. Today he cites low self-esteem as the source of his troubles. "I didn't get into the [broadcasting] business to be any kind of star," he declared in the Akron Beacon-Journal. "All of a sudden people are asking for autographs, interviewing you.... I never knew whether people wanted to hang out with me because they liked Fred or because they were trying to get free tickets."
Hickman returned to his sports anchor duties at WDIV, but within a few weeks he quit and left Detroit. He thought he would have no trouble finding another television job, but the publicity surrounding his drug treatment made it impossible for him to get work. Finally, it was his old friend Nick Charles who convinced the executives at Turner Broadcasting to give Hickman another chance. Hickman and Charles were reunited at the Sports Tonight desk for CNN in November of 1986 and have been working together consistently ever since.
The Hickman-Charles duo has been described as everything from "the Lucy and Ricky Ricardo of sports broadcasting" to comedic team "Laurel and Hardy." Hickman himself joked in the Baltimore Sun of his relationship with Charles: "We're still on our honeymoon." That "honeymoon" has lasted through a decade of continuous broadcasting and close daily association. In addition to the nightly Sports Tonight shows, Hickman and Charles hosted the 1992 and 1994 Olympic Games for CNN and have worked the Goodwill Games as well. Their broadcast of the 1992 Olympics from Barcelona was the first time the Olympics had ever received major coverage on cable television.
Hickman has been nominated for the Cable ACE sportscasting award numerous times and has won it twice, in 1989 and 1993. Married again to an Atlanta attorney, he is the father of a young child. Reluctant to give interviews or discuss his past in the press, Hickman nonetheless told the Akron Beacon-Journal: "I'm a walking miracle. I came out of that [drug] thing a lot better human being than I was before I went in. So, thanks to God, things always happen for a reason."
Awards
Cable ACE Award nominee, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993; Cable ACE award winner, 1989 and 1993; named "sexiest sportscaster" by U.S. Television Fan Association, 1993.
Further Reading
Sources
- Akron Beacon-Journal, July 30, 1993, p. 1A.
- Baltimore Sun, November 10, 1994, p. 2C.
- Sports Illustrated, June 26, 1989, p. 74; November 21, 1994, p. 52.
- Star Tribune (Kansas City, MO), November 11, 1994, p. 8C.
- USA Today, June 10, 1988, p. 3C.
- Additional information supplied by Turner Broadcasting Company, Inc. and a Knight-Ridder wire story, February 9, 1992.
— Anne Janette Johnson
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Fred Hickman
| Fred Hickman | |
|---|---|
 Hickman in 2010 |
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| Born | Frederick Douglas Hickman[1] October 17, 1956 Springfield, Illinois |
| Residence | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Employer | Fox Sports |
| Spouse | Sheila Bowers Hickman |
| Website | |
| http://www.fredhickman.net/ | |
Fred Hickman (born October 17, 1956)[1] is an American sports broadcaster who has had stints with CNN, TBS, YES Network, and ESPN. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, he graduated Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1978, joining as an original co-host of the CNN show Sports Tonight in 1980.[1] He received CableACE awards in 1989 and 1993,[2] and was a New York Sports Emmy Award Winner in 2004.[3][4]
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Contents
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Early life, education
Hickman was born on October 17, 1956 in Springfield, Illinois to George Henry and Louise Winifred Hickman.[1] He graduated from Springfield Southeast High School in 1974,[5] then attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1974 to 1978, where he earned a B.S. in sociology.[1][6][7][8] While there he worked at the low power KCOE-FM radio station.[9]
Career
In 1977, Hickman began his professional radio broadcasting career as a news anchor at KLWW-AM in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[1][2] After leaving Coe College, Hickman moved back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois[9] to work at the radio station WFMB-AM, where he was responsible for playing country music.[5] In February 1978, at age 22,[10] Hickman became an anchor and sports director of the Springfield television station WICS-TV.[1][2] He stayed there until May 1980.[3][7]
CNN and TBS
In 1980 Hickman joined the young cable television company Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in Atlanta, Georgia,[10] working with Nick Charles as part of a four-person sports department for the company's Cable News Network CNN.[5] The duo took to the air on June 1, 1980, as hosts of CNN Sports Tonight, a nightly sports wrap-up show in which Hickman and Charles reported scores and events, showed highlights of college and professional games, and selected a "Play of the Day."[1] The show was a nightly rival to ESPN's SportsCenter, which Hickman later joined.[6][11][12]
In 1984, Hickman briefly left CNN to serve as a sports anchor for WDIV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit, Michigan. He served as an anchor, a "beat reporter" for the MLB's Detroit Tigers, and a boxing specialist from June 1984 to May 1985.[2][3][7]
In November 1986, he returned to the TBS to serve as a co-anchor with Nick Charles for CNN/Sports Illustrated.[2][7] He remained with CNN until September 2001, and while there served as host for both the NBA and NFL pre-game and post-game shows, a commentator on the Atlanta Hawks, and a co-host of the Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France in 1992, the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994, and the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.[3]
In 1999, Hickman was part of a news story when he reported on the millennium celebrations in New York during CNN's coverage of the event.[citation needed]
Hickman also served as a Master of Ceremonies, speaker and guest panelist at the Butkus award and the Eddie Robinson Award as well as narrator for TBS’s contribution to Bob Ballard’s National Geographic specials, including the recovery of the Titanic.
During this tenure, Hickman caused a minor controversy when he cast his first place vote for the 2000 NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Allen Iverson.[13] Hickman was the sole voter who did not cast his first place vote that year for Shaquille O'Neal, thus preventing O'Neal from claiming the honor of being the first unanimous MVP selection in the history of the award. Iverson finished seventh in the voting.[14]
YES Network
Hickman left Atlanta in October 2001 to join the New York City-based YES Network for its 2002 launch. He was their original anchor, hosting the pre-game and the post-game shows for New York Yankees telecasts.[1][6] While there he hosted pre-game and post-game shows for New Jersey Nets cablecasts, as well as the weekly Yankees Magazine. He remained at YES until November 2004.[3]
ESPN
In late 2004, after the completion of three baseball seasons and two NBA seasons with the YES network, Hickman left to join ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. During his tenure at ESPN, Hickman hosted ESPN's flagship shows including SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPN Classic, NBA Shoot Around, and NBA Coast to Coast. He also appeared as a fill-in host on ESPN radio and briefly hosted ESPNEWS.[6][15] Hickman left the network in May 2008.[16][unreliable source?]
Fox Sports
Hickman joined as host of the Braves Live pre & post game show for the 2009 and 2010 seasons on Fox Sports South, based in Atlanta, Georgia. He hosted the In My Own Words interview show.[3][17]
Other
In September 2010, Fred Hickman formed Fred Hickman Communications, Inc. The company provides broadcaster training for retired athletes and media training services for athletes, coaching staff and sports industry front office personnel. Hickman also currently works as a speaker, spokesperson, event host, voice over artist and narrator.[10]
WVUE
In August 2011, Fred Hickman resigned from Fox Sports South to become the new sports director for WVUE, a Fox affiliate in New Orleans.[18]
Honors
Hickman was nominated for CableACE awards (Award for Cable Excellence)[2] for best sports host every year from 1988 to 1993, winning in 1989 and 1993.[10] In 1993, he was named "sexiest sportscaster" by the U.S. Television Fan Association.[1] He was a New York Sports Emmy Award Winner in 2004, and was added to the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.[3][10]
Personal life
Hickman currently lives in New Orleans, Louisiana[citation needed] with his two children and wife Sheila Bowers Hickman,[5][6][7] who he married on July 1, 2007.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Biography of Fred Hickman". All American Speakers. http://www.allamericanspeakers.com/celebritytalentbios/Fred-Hickman. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ a b c d e f "Fred Hickman: Biography". Sports Illustrated. June 1999. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/thenetwork/bios/hickman.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Fred Hickman". LinkedIn. 2010. http://www.linkedin.com/in/fredhickman. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ "Fred Hickman News, Bio and Photos". TVGuide. May 12, 2008. http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/fred-hickman/214446. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ a b c d "Fred Hickman". LexisNexis. November 26, 2006. http://www.allbusiness.com/entertainment-arts/broadcasting-industry-television/14718247-1.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ a b c d e Beckham, Robin (January 18, 2009). "Beckham Media Goes One on One With Veteran Sportscaster Fred Hickman". BeckhamMedia. http://www.beckhammedia.com/news/BeckhamMedia-GoesOneOnOneWithVeteranSportscasterFredHickman.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ a b c d e Lidz, Franz (November 21, 1994). "Hickman and Charles". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1005973/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ "Fred Hickman". Los Angeles Times. November 11, 1994.
- ^ a b "Fred Hickman". The Washington Post. April 14, 1989.
- ^ a b c d e Hickman, Fred. "Story". Fred Hickman Communications. http://www.fredhickman.net/story.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ Walters, John (November 23, 1998). "The Zapper". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1014600/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ "Fred Hickman". Minneapolis Star Tribune. November 11, 1994.
- ^ "Spread Fred: Hickman Hears It From Colleagues Over MVP Vote". Sports Business Daily. May 10, 2000. http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/16878. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ Rushin, Steve (May 22, 2000). "You Can Win For Losing". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1019255/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ "Television Sportscasters (African-American)". Online Sports, Issue 44. http://www.onlinesports.com/sportstrust/sports44.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ "The Curious Case of Fred Hickman". Deadspin. December 27. http://deadspin.com/5100372/the-curious-case-of-fred-hickman. Retrieved 2010-12-23.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Shanks, Bill (April 9, 2009). "Fred Hickman Interview". The Braves Show Publisher. http://braves.scout.com/a.z?s=248&p=2&c=855265&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fbraves.scout.com%2f2%2f855265.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ Fred Hickman leaving FOX Sports South
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Contemporary Black Biography. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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