"Voice of the Terps" Johnny Holliday Earns National Figure Award
5/10/2006 8:00:00 AM | Terrapin Athletics
May 10, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland Hall of Fame broadcaster Johnny Holliday, who just finished his 27th season as the "Voice of the Terps" was honored as the winner of the James Cardinal Hickey National Figure Award by the Office of the Youth Ministry/Catholic Youth Organization (OYM/CYO) at an awards banquet last night at the Indian Spring Country Club. The award is presented annually to an individual who exhibits excellence in his/her career and personal life, while acting as a positive role model for both youth and adults.
The OYM/CYO is celebrating its 61st year of assisting parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington to develop and provide effective ministry, leadership and services to the youth. The annual banquet celebrates the work that has been accomplished by honoring those who have dedicated their time and efforts to the lives of young people.
Recent honorees include: Lt. Governor Steele, Hon Antonin Scalia, Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen, Williams Collins, Morgan Wooten, James Brown, Alana Keyes and Andrea Roane.
Holliday, who also works for ABC Sports, is considered one of the finest play-by-play announcers in the country. In addition to calling the action for the Maryland football and basketball teams, Holliday hosts the Ralph Friedgen and Gary Williams television shows. As the Terps' director of broadcasting, he also handles a myriad of speaking duties within the athletics department, ranging from banquets to golf outings.
His long list of credits includes ABC's coverage of the 2000 and 1996 Summer Olympics and the Winter and Summer Olympics in 1984, 1988 and 1994. In addition, he has covered championship boxing, the Masters, and the Liberty and Aloha bowls.
Holliday's announcing career allows him to lay claim as Washington's most versatile broadcaster, and among the best nationally. Whether it be in radio, where he was named America's No. 1 disc jockey during his rock 'n roll deejay days, to his public address duties with the Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, and Golden State Warriors, to his work in Washington television for the Senators and Bullets, Holliday makes a complicated business look easy.
He brings that ease to the Maryland coaches' television shows on Comcast SportsNet, the region's premier sports channel. Holliday is among the pioneer broadcasters for the sport of women's basketball, earning a Distinguished Service Award from ACC women's basketball officials for his work on that league's women's basketball telecasts. Additionally, Holliday was named one of the top 16 radio announcers for college basketball by ESPN's Dick Vitale.
A native of Miami, Fla., Holliday began his broadcasting career in Perry, Ga., and through the years has worked in four of the nation's prime radio markets: Cleveland, New York, San Francisco and Washington. At one time, he was recognized as America's No. 1 disc jockey.
In addition to his broadcasting accomplishments, he also has been extremely successful raising money for charity. Washingtonian magazine honored him as a Washingtonian of the Year for his many civic activities. His basketball and softball teams, the Radio Wonders, have raised more than $1 million for charity. He is involved in Special Olympics, Catholic Charities, Operation Smile, and the Boy Scouts of America. He has served as television host for the Easter Seals, Muscular Dystrophy, March of Dimes and Leukemia telethons. In October 2003, he was inducted into the Radio-Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
In 1998, he was honored by the Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter of Operation Smile with its 1998 Smile Award for his outstanding service to the community. In 1995, he was the recipient of the University of Maryland M Club Distinguished Citizen Award. He earned the Touchdown Club Award for outstanding achievement in sports broadcasting in 1991, and was the recipient of the Maryland basketball service award in 1999. He is an honorary member of the university's chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa and the university's Alumni Association.
