Peter Gammons

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Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons gives his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech for excellence in sportswriting on Jul 31, 2005.
Born	April 9, 1945 Groton, Massachusetts
Occupation	sportswriter; baseball analyst
Spouse	Gloria

Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945)^[1][2]is a sportswriter, media personality and a National Baseball Hall of Fame honoree.

Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 2.1 Music 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Career

Gammons attended the University of North Carolina. He worked for the university's student-run newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. After graduating in 1969, he began his journalism career at The Boston Globe.

Gammons was a featured writer at The Boston Globe for many years as the main journalist covering the Boston Red Sox. (1969-1976, 1978-1986), or as a national baseball columnist. Between his two stints as a baseball columnist with the Globe, he was lead baseball columnist for Sports Illustrated (1976-78, 1986-90), where he covered baseball, hockey, and college basketball. Since 1990, he has worked at ESPN, primarily as an in-studio analyst.^[1] During the baseball season, he appears nightly on Baseball Tonight and has regular spots on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio. He writes an Insider column for ESPN.com and also writes for ESPN The Magazine. The Globe reprinted some of his ESPN columns well into the 1990s. In 2006, Gammons was named as one of two field-level reporters for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, joining Bonnie Bernstein.

Gammons is regarded as one of the top reporters in sports and is known for his high-profile interviews and his network of sources which allow him to report on major events (such as trades) days before they are official. His knowledge has earned him the nickname "The Commissioner." He is regularly interviewed on radio and television programs. Gammons has also authored numerous baseball books, including Beyond the Sixth Game. Many sportswriters argue that Gammons has redefined the job.

He was voted the National Sportswriter of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 1993. He has also been awarded an honorary Pointer Fellow from Yale University. In 2004, Gammons was selected as the 56th recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA, and was honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 31, 2005.^[1]

[edit] Personal life

Gammons was born in Boston and raised in Groton, Massachusetts, where he graduated from the Groton School. He lives on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, with his wife Gloria.

On June 27, 2006, Gammons was stricken with the rupture of a brain aneurysm in the morning near his home on Cape Cod, Mass.^[1] and was initially taken to Falmouth Hospital before being airlifted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to undergo surgery. Sportswriter Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe reported that Gammons was expected to be in intensive care for 10 to 12 days. He was resting in intensive care following the operation, and doctors listed him in "good" condition the following day.^[2]

On July 17, he was released from the hospital and entered a rehab facility at an undisclosed location.^[3]

On August 19th, Peter made his first public appearance since the aneurysm rupture at Fenway Park when the Red Sox played the Yankees.^[4]

Peter returned to ESPN on Wednesday, September 20, 2006. He reported from Fenway Park on the 6 P.M. edition of Sportscenter and the 7 P.M. edition of Baseball Tonight. His return is part-time, and future appearances will be scheduled as his recovery progresses.^[5]

In an appearance on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning on March 2, 2007, Peter revealed that his great-great-great-great-grandfather was Ethan Allen, one of the founders of his native state of Vermont.^[6]

Peter also resembles Andrew Jackson's picture on the U.S. $20 bill and so the currency is sometimes referred to as "Gammons" or "Gammy's" by the urban community^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Music

Gammons is also a noted fan of indie rock and the blues, and is active in the Boston indie rock scene when his other commitments allow him the time; he has been sighted at several Midnight Oil shows, and has mentioned the band in several columns. He is also a fan of Pearl Jam, as he has talked about experiences at concerts as well as previous albums (as heard on various ESPN Radio shows.) With the assistance of a band of Boston musicians and Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, Gammons plays a Fender Stratocaster and sings at the annual Hot Stove, Cool Music concert event to benefit Theo and Paul Epstein's Foundation To Be Named Later, a charity that raises funds and awareness for non-profit agencies serving disadvantaged youth in the Greater Boston area.

Gammons debut album, Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old, was released on July 4, 2006. Gammons sang and played guitar on this collection of originals and covers that includes The Clash's Death or Glory and Warren Zevon's Model Citizen. Proceeds again went to Epstein's charity.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Gammons in ICU after surgery for brain aneurysm", ESPN.com, 2006-06-28. Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
2. ^ ^{a b} Ryan, Bob. "Gammons stricken, undergoes surgery", The Boston Globe, 2006-06-27. Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
3. ^ "Gammons out of hospital, heads to rehab center", 2006-07-18. Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
4. ^ "Gammons Watches Game at Fenway Park", Washington Post, 2006-08-20. Retrieved on August 21, 2006.
5. ^ "Gammons returning to ESPN air", ESPN, 2006-09-19. Retrieved on September 19, 2006.
6. ^ Gammons, Peter. Interview with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic. Mike and Mike in the Morning. ESPN Radio. 2007-03-02.

[edit] External links

• Gammons' blog at ESPN.com
• Baseball Hall of Fame - Spink Award recipient
• Hot Stove, Cool Music
• Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old
• Foundation To Be Named Later
• Gammons visits Fenway Park