NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Last month, the Matador family lost one of their own with the passing of Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg. Over a 60-year career, Enberg provided play-by-play across a diverse group of sports on radio and television and left his mark was one of the best to ever step into a broadcast booth.

Along with his legendary broadcasting career, Enberg served as a CSUN professor and assistant coach to the Matadors in the 1960’s and provided post-graduate scholarships to CSUN student-athletes over the last four years. Known for his signature “Oh my!” and “Touch ’em all” phrases, Enberg was inducted into the Matador Hall of Fame in 1981.

During his early broadcasting career, Enberg instructed health education at CSUN (then known as San Fernando Valley State College) from 1961-65, and worked as an assistant baseball coach from 1962-64 under Matador Hall of Famer Stan Charnofsky. He also served as a special assistant of then-President Ralph Prator during the mid-1960’s.

With the baseball program, Enberg helped coach an array of talented Matadors including shortstop Bob Hiegert, who later became the team’s head coach from 1967-84 and the school’s Athletic Director, third baseman Tony Davila, whose son Terry is the head coach of the CSUN men’s soccer team, and pitcher Paul Edmondson, the first CSUN player to compete in the major leagues.

Enberg was a CSUN assistant coach from 1962-64

Enberg stayed connected to CSUN in his later years and returned to CSUN in 2015 for a reunion of the 1965 baseball team, the program’s first conference championship squad.

In 2013, Enberg committed to a six-year post-graduate scholarship pledge to CSUN student-athletes. Former CSUN student-athletes Missy Doll (2014), Kiernan Davis (2015), Madalyne Handy (2016) and Julie Haake (2017) were among the recipients of the Dick Enberg Post-Graduate Scholarship for Academic Excellence since its inception.

Over his six decades behind the microphone, Enberg’s resume included calling NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball, Wimbledon, the World Series, Super Bowl, four Olympic Games, the Masters, U.S. Open golf, boxing, figure skating, horse racing and track & field.

In the 1960’s and 70’s Enberg became a prominent voice in the Southern California sports scene, broadcasting UCLA basketball along with Los Angeles Rams and California Angels games. Most recently, Enberg spent seven seasons as the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres from 2010-16.

A 13-time Emmy Award winner, Enberg earned a host of accolades in his career including the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Gowdy Award and the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Rozelle Award. He also was named National Sportscaster of the Year nine times.

Enberg awarded Julie Haake with a post-grad scholarship in 2017

Throughout his time behind the mic, Enberg never strayed too far away from giving back to academics. For nearly three decades, Enberg was a spokesman for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America program, and he received an award of recognition in 1997 for his longtime support. The Dick Enberg Award has been given on an annual basis to individuals whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America program and/or the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics.

Photos courtesy of GoMatadors.com