Veteran Radio/TV announcer John Rayburn garnered top ratings in broadcasting football, baseball, basketball, hockey and other major events.He offers personal anecdotes, plus interviews/conversations with many of the brightest stars in the fascinating world of sports at all levels. Behind the scenes looks at the major sports, along with bits of fiction by award-winning writers, are offered with admiring and amusing takes on teams, individuals, coaches, managers and others associated with athletic endeavors.
The great, near-great and never-were are featured in far-reaching aspects of athletics, all offered as evidence of the world-wide popularity of sporting endeavors. He met and interviewed such outstanding baseball personalities as Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Mickey Mantle, Tris Speaker, Lefty Gomez and Casey Stengel plus Oscar “Big O” Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Bob Kurland from basketball, and football luminaries Red Grange, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw, Johnny Unitas, Pete Rozelle and many, many more.
Media contacts included Curt Gowdy, Mel Allen, Harry Caray, Al Michaels, and Grantland Rice plus many others. Opinions and observations expressed here will open new avenues of thought no matter which sport happens to be your favorite whether one of the majors or shooting pool or pitching horseshoes. It’s all there!
About the Author:
John Rayburn is a veteran of 62 years in broadcasting and is a member of a Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. He served as a news/sports anchor and show host, and his TV newscast achieved the largest Share of Audience figures of any major-market TV newscast in the nation.
His network credits include reports/appearances on The Today Show, Huntley-Brinkley News, Walter Cronkite News, NBC Monitor, NBC News on the Hour, et al. He recorded dozens of books for the National Library Service and narrated innumerable Radio/TV recordings. He had conversation/interviews with Ronald Reagan (then President of the Screen Actors Guild), John F. Kennedy (U.S. Senator at the time), Jimmy Carter on the campaign trail, special coverage with Presidents Richard Nixon and Harry Truman, and many more with major personalities in business, education, politics, sports, entrainment, literature, et al.
Rayburn has traveled extensively, gaining information and making observations about our national foibles. He is well suited to bring fascinating stories to life concerning the people, places and things that combine to present lively observations of our day-to-day lives.