Dick Enberg said Wednesday he will retire as the San Diego Padres primary play-by-play television announcer following the 2016 season.
"In culminating 60 years of sports broadcasting, it has been a tremendous thrill to be the TV voice of my hometown San Diego Padres, and I'm tremendously excited that I will have a continuing TV role through the 2016 season, an All-Star Game year for San Diego," Enberg said during Wednesday's Fox Sports San Diego broadcast of the Padres-San Francisco Giants game.
"Our family is sincerely grateful to Padres ownership, Ron Fowler and Peter and Tom Seidler, and CEO Mike Dee for providing the opportunity for an extension through 2016. While I have decided that 2016 will be my last as the primary play-by-play announcer, I will always be a Padre, and look forward to a continuing role.
"Ultimately, with high hopes I'll be one of the many in line that will someday soon embrace a World Series championship in San Diego."
Enberg, 80, received the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 2015 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting. He had earlier received similar awards from the Basketball and Pro Football halls of fame.
"Inarguably, Dick is the greatest storyteller the sports world has ever known, and we have been fortunate to have heard his legendary voice and signature calls on our Padres telecasts since 2010," Dee said. "We look forward to his return in 2016, and know that after seven seasons in the booth at Petco Park, Dick will forever be part of the Padres family."
Enberg worked for CBS for 11 years prior to joining the Padres, most recently serving as a play-by-play voice for the network's coverage of the NFL, college basketball and tennis' U.S. Open . He also contributed to coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship.
Prior to CBS, Enberg spent 25 years at NBC Sports, including as the play- by-play announcer for Super Bowl and Rose Bowl games, and college basketball's Final Four. Enberg began his full-time broadcasting career in 1965 in Los Angeles, as the sportscaster on KTLA-TV Channel 5's newscasts.
He later would be a play- by-play announcer for California Angels, Los Angeles Rams and UCLA basketball games.
