Johnny Holliday is Washington’s most versatile broadcaster. For more than 50 years, his face and voice have been one of the most familiar in all of Washington and Baltimore Radio and Television with hundreds of commercials and narrations to his credit. Now in his 45th year as play by play voice of the University of Maryland, Holliday has broadcasted more than 1,600 Terps football and basketball games, including 16 bowl games, 12 sweet sixteens, two final fours and Maryland’s national championship win over Indiana in 2002.
He also handled play-by-play duties for George Washington University basketball, Navy football, ACC women’s basketball on TV, the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, and National Gymnastics events for television as well as Radio and TV coverage of the Washington Bullets. Dick Vitale named Holliday one of his Top 15 play by play voices in the nation.
For 12 seasons, Holliday hosted the Washington Nationals pre and post game shows on MASN. He previously hosted the Washington Senators pre game show on radio with Ted Williams.
Holliday sports reports were heard coast to coast on the ABC Radio Network. His credits include ABC’s coverage of the Winter and Summer Olympics, championship boxing, the USFL with Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, The Masters, as well as television coverage of the Liberty Bowl and the Crosby celebrity golf tournament. Holliday hosts the Maryland Football and Basketball coaches shows on radio. Holliday was also the public address announcer for the Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco Warriors, and Washington Bullets.
Prior to coming to Washington in 1969, Holliday was the top rated radio personality in Cleveland, New York City, and San Francisco, where he was named America’s number one disc jockey. In 2003, he was inducted into the Radio Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He is listed among Cleveland’s all time Top 100 air personalities. Samples of his work as a disc jockey can be heard in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
His network credits include announcing duties for NBC’s Hullabaloo and The Roger Miller show, ABC’s This Week with David Brinkley and This Week with Sam and Cokie, along with ABC Radio’s Sam Donaldson show. Holliday was also seen on the CBS TV series Good Morning World. On PBS, Holliday was heard as the narrator for the Jackie Evancho, Chubby Checker, and Hullabaloo My Music specials.
Off the air, Holliday has been seen on stage in leading roles in such productions as Finian’s Rainbow, Carnival, Bye Bye Birdie, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Same Time Next Year, The Odd Couple, Follies, Company, Music Man, The Apple Tree, 42nd Street and Me and My Girl, for which he was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for Best Actor in a Washington musical.
Despite his busy schedule, Holliday still finds time to participate in a variety of charitable activities including Catholic Charities, Special Olympic’s, Georgetown Visitation, the Patricia Sullivan Benefit Dinner and the Catholic Youth Organization. He hosts his own celebrity golf tournament to benefit the Youth Leadership Foundation, which has raised over $2 Million for scholarships for kids to attend high school and college. His basketball and softball teams have also raised over a Million dollars for charity. Holliday has served as television host for Muscular Dystrophy, Leukemia, Cerebral Palsy, Children’s Hospital, March of Dimes ,and Eastern Seals telethons.
Honors and awards bestowed upon Holliday include “Washingtonian of the Year,” The Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame, the North Miami high school Athletic Hall of Fame, the University of Maryland’s Distinguished Citizen award, the Touchdown Club’s ”Timmie” award for outstanding achievement in Sports Broadcasting, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the All American Football Foundation, the 2005 Lindsay Nelson Outstanding Sportscaster Award, the 2006 Chris Schenkel award from the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Smile award from Operation Smile for outstanding service to the community. In 2011, the ACC recognized Holliday with the Skeeter Francis award for special service to the conference. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recognized Holliday with its Gold Circle Award.
Holliday is a member of the Washington DC Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame and has been named one of Washington’s Football legends. He is a three time winner of the Maryland Sportscaster of the year award and the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters awarded Holliday their Broadcast Legacy award. He is also a member of the Montgomery County sports Hall of Fame.
In 2006, The Catholic Youth Organization named Holliday it’s National Person of The Year, while the Diabetes Association named Holliday it’s Father of the year. Holliday was awarded the 2020 Woody Durham voice of college sports award. In 2007, the Ed Block Courage award foundation inducted Holliday into the Baltimore Sports Media Hall of Fame. Holliday has also been named One of 60 influential Marylanders by The Daily Record. In 2022 he was elected to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
In 2002, Holliday released his autobiography “From Rock to Jock” which he co-wrote with Stephen Moore. Both it and his latest offering “Hoop Tales - Great Moments in Maryland Basketball History," can be found in bookstores nationwide.
Holliday and his wife Mary Clare, are the proud parents of Three daughters, Kellie, Tracie, and Moira, Three son in laws, Steve, Chris, and Bob, Seven grandsons, JT, Devin, Anthony, Christopher, Nicholas, Jack and Liam and Four granddaughters, Maggie, Clare, Bridie and Holly.
Updated July 7, 2024
