ANCHORS AWAY

LOCAL SPORTSCASTERS WERE ONCE COMMUNITY STAPLES. BUT LATELY, THEIR STATUS HAS UNRAVELED FASTER THAN A CHEAP BLAZER. CAN THE JOB BE SAVED?

- L. JON WERTHEIM

IN 1980, Fred Roggin moved from Arizona to Los Angeles to become the local sports anchor for KNBC-TV, where, night after night, he put on his uniform and took his place in the lineup, batting third, following news and weather. When it was his turn to do his thing, he'd clear his throat, his producer would count him down and then he'd spend five (then eventually four, then three) minutes delivering sports news and highlights.

With a mix of levity and gravity, Roggin recounted the exploits of the Dodgers, from Fernando Valenzuela to Clayton Kershaw. He told his viewers about the triumphs of Magic and Kareem, then Shaq and Kobe, then LeBron. He broadcast from the 1984 Olympics; he broadcast when L.A. was awarded the 2028 Summer Games. And it wasn't just local highlights. Was there a frenetic play from a Nuggets game? A triple play from an A's game? A title fight? A waterskiing squirrel? As the countless commercials that aired throughout the 1980s promised, "If it sweats, Fred'll show it to you."

Roggin was ubiquitous in Southern California, more recognized around town than most of the athletes he covered. Yes, it was all that nightly airtime, but it also owed to all that local promotion. Keith Olbermann, another L.A. sports anchor in the 1980s, once remarked, "During an earthquake, your chances were one in three of being crushed by a Fred Roggin billboard."

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, marked Roggin's final sportscast on KNBC, the last installment of what he branded "The Dean's Office." It was his last call for a Los Angeles institution, closing time for a familiar fixture that had persisted in c the market for more than 42 years.