Bob Costas

At the young age of 34, sportscaster Bob Costas was cited by his colleagues as the best in his profession. It was heady stuff for a guy who, just a decade earlier had doctored his radio audition tape so he would sound older. But Costas, combining a witty irreverance with top-notch reportage, mixing a deep affection for sports with an off-the-wall demeanor, was the hottest name in sports broadcasting by the mid-eighties. His style appealed to both old-timers and baby-boomers, earned him jobs broadcasting baseball and hosting football afternoons for NBC, and brought him a $550,000-a-year contract. "I would have been willing to pay my dues," he told Sports Illustrated. "But nobody ever made me."

Source: Contemporary Newsmakers 1986, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research, 1987.