Peter Gammons
Encyclopedia
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA
.
, an elite prep school in his hometown, Groton, MA. After graduating from Groton in 1965, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall
. 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
.
Print
Gammons was a featured writer at The Boston Globe
for many years as the main journalist covering the Boston Red Sox
. (1969–1975, 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. Gammons also wrote a column for The Sporting News
in the 1980s.
Gammons has also authored numerous baseball books, including Beyond the Sixth Game.
and had regular spots on SportsCenter
, ESPNEWS
and ESPN Radio
. He wrote an Insider column for ESPN.com
and also wrote 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. He held that position through the 2008 season, when he moved exclusively to baseball.
After 20 years with ESPN, on December 8, 2009, Gammons announced that he would leave ESPN to pursue "new challenges" and a "less demanding schedule". Gammons joined the MLB Network
and MLB.com
as on-air and online analyst. He also works for NESN.
in Major League Baseball
.
January 9, 2009 was proclaimed Peter Gammons day in the City of Boston. The proclamation was made by Michael Ross, president of the Boston City Council at the Hot Stove Cool Music Sports Roundtable at Fenway Park. 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of Hot Stove Cool Music, a charitable concert benefiting the Foundation To Be Named Later. At this event, Theo Epstein, Vice President and General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, announced a new scholarship in Gammons' name. The "Peter Gammons - Foundation To Be Named Later Scholarship presented by RISO
" enables select Boston Public Schools
students to attend college who otherwise might not have the chance.
, where he graduated from Groton School
. He lives in Boston
and Cape Cod
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. 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.
On July 17, he was released from the hospital and entered the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands.
On August 19, Gammons made his first public appearance since the aneurysm rupture at Fenway Park
when the Red Sox
played the Yankees
.
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.Gammons resumed his regular reporting coverage during the 2007 baseball season.
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.
The Boston Baseball Band wrote a song about Gammons called "Jammin' With Peter Gammons." Gammons founded the Hot Stove Cool Music benefit concert series with sportswriter Jeff Horrigan, Casey Riddles, Debbi Wrobleski
, Mindy d'Arbeloff and singer Kay Hanley in December 2000. The fundraiser now takes place twice each year, with one show in January and another in July or August.
Gammons is tightly connected to the Boston rock scene. He even served as minister at the November 2007 marriage of bassist Ed Valauskas (Gravel Pit, the Gentlemen) and singer Jennifer D'Angora (Downbeat 5, the Dents, Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents).
Baseball Writers Association of America
The Baseball Writers' Association of America is a professional association for baseball journalists writing for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying Web sites. The BBWAA was founded on October 14, 1908, to improve working conditions for sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century...
.
Education
Gammons went to Groton SchoolGroton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
, an elite prep school in his hometown, Groton, MA. After graduating from Groton in 1965, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
. He worked for the university's student-run newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel
The Daily Tar Heel
The Daily Tar Heel is the independent student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded on February 23, 1893, and became a daily newspaper in 1929. The paper places a focus on university news and sports, but it also includes heavy coverage of Orange County and...
. After graduating in 1969, he began his journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
career at The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
.
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
for many years as the main journalist covering the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. (1969–1975, 1978–1986), or as a national baseball columnist. Between his two stints as a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
columnist with the Globe, he was lead baseball columnist for Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
(1976–78, 1986–90), where he covered baseball, hockey, and college basketball. Gammons also wrote a column for The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
in the 1980s.
Gammons has also authored numerous baseball books, including Beyond the Sixth Game.
TV work
In 1988, he joined ESPN, where he served primarily as an in-studio analyst. During the baseball season, he appeared nightly on Baseball TonightBaseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
and had regular spots on SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
, ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
and ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
. He wrote an Insider column for ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
and also wrote for ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
. 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
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
, joining Bonnie Bernstein. He held that position through the 2008 season, when he moved exclusively to baseball.
After 20 years with ESPN, on December 8, 2009, Gammons announced that he would leave ESPN to pursue "new challenges" and a "less demanding schedule". Gammons joined the MLB Network
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
and MLB.com
MLB.com
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
as on-air and online analyst. He also works for NESN.
Other activities
Gammons is on the 10-person voting panel for the Fielding Bible Awards, an alternative to the Gold Glove AwardsRawlings Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Honors
He was voted the National Sportswriter of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 1993 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He has also been awarded an honorary Poynter Fellow from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
January 9, 2009 was proclaimed Peter Gammons day in the City of Boston. The proclamation was made by Michael Ross, president of the Boston City Council at the Hot Stove Cool Music Sports Roundtable at Fenway Park. 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of Hot Stove Cool Music, a charitable concert benefiting the Foundation To Be Named Later. At this event, Theo Epstein, Vice President and General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, announced a new scholarship in Gammons' name. The "Peter Gammons - Foundation To Be Named Later Scholarship presented by RISO
Riso Kagaku Corporation
Riso Kagaku Corporation is the inventor, manufacturer, and distributor of the RISO Printer-Duplicator, a.k.a. Risograph.Established in Tokyo, Japan, Riso Kagaku is now a billion dollar company distributing product in over 150 countries. The Company is listed over the counter in Japan...
" enables select Boston Public Schools
Boston Public Schools
Boston Public Schools is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.-Leadership:The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the Mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified...
students to attend college who otherwise might not have the chance.
Personal life
Gammons was born in Boston and raised in Groton, MassachusettsGroton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
, where he graduated from Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
. He lives in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
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
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, Mass. and was initially taken to Falmouth Hospital before being airlifted to Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to undergo surgery. Sportswriter Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston...
of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
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.
On July 17, he was released from the hospital and entered the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands.
On August 19, Gammons made his first public appearance since the aneurysm rupture at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
when the Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
played the Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
.
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.Gammons resumed his regular reporting coverage during the 2007 baseball season.
Music
Gammons has a penchant for 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 OilMidnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
shows, and has mentioned the band in several columns. He is also a fan of Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, 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
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
General Manager Theo Epstein
Theo Epstein
Theo Nathan Epstein is the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.On November 25, 2002, he became the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball when the Boston Red Sox hired him at the age of 28...
, 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
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's Death or Glory
London Calling
London Calling is the third studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 through CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 through Epic Records...
and Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
's Model Citizen. Proceeds again went to Epstein's charity.
The Boston Baseball Band wrote a song about Gammons called "Jammin' With Peter Gammons." Gammons founded the Hot Stove Cool Music benefit concert series with sportswriter Jeff Horrigan, Casey Riddles, Debbi Wrobleski
Debbi Taylor
Debbi Taylor, formerly Debbi Wrobleski, is a reporter for the Mid-Atlantic Sports NetworkDebbi got her start in sports broadcasting at NESN, where she hosted the morning show, as well as doing feature interviews and reporting for Boston Red Sox games....
, Mindy d'Arbeloff and singer Kay Hanley in December 2000. The fundraiser now takes place twice each year, with one show in January and another in July or August.
Gammons is tightly connected to the Boston rock scene. He even served as minister at the November 2007 marriage of bassist Ed Valauskas (Gravel Pit, the Gentlemen) and singer Jennifer D'Angora (Downbeat 5, the Dents, Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents).