Jimmy Roberts

Sportscaster and writer Jimmy Roberts enjoyed a storied career on television, earning more than a dozen Sports Emmys for coverage on ABC, ESPN and NBC over the course of three decades. Born in White Plains, New York in 1957, Roberts was active in both sports and journalism at White Plains High School, and worked as a reporter for Gannett newspapers in Westchester and Rockland, New York shortly after graduation in 1975. He earned his bachelors degree from the University of Maryland in 1979, and began his television career under Howard Cosell on the Emmy-winning "ABC SportsBeat" (1983-85). From there, he graduated to "ABC News" (1948- ), where he served as assignment editor and producer while also coordinating sports coverage for the network. In 1987, Roberts began writing and producing features for "ABC Sports" (1961-2006), covering such major events as the World Series, Super Bowl and the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics and winning 11 Sports Emmy Awards in the process. When ABC was merged into ESPN, Inc., Roberts helped to create the sports culture magazine series "Outside the Lines" (ESPN, 1990- ). After winning numerous awards for his work on ABC and ESPN, Roberts joined NBC Sports in 2000, where he oversaw a variety of assignments, from reporter and host on the Golf Channel's "In Play with Jimmy Roberts" (2013- ) and the halftime show for Notre Dame football to coverage on Wimbledon tennis, American League Baseball, and the Olympics. In 2009, Roberts penned "Breaking the Slump," which details how many top professional and amateur golfers broke through dry spells in their game.