Dick Enberg 'an institution' in sports broadcasting

Dick Enberg, one of sports' most versatile and enduring broadcasters, died Thursday at age 82.

He had what appeared to be heart attack at home in La Jolla, Calif., his wife, Barbara, told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Enberg was the broadcasting equivalent of a Hall of Famer in three sports, winning the Basketball Hall of Fame's Gowdy Award in 1995, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Rozelle Award in 1999 and the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award in 2015.

A Michigan native, Enberg began broadcasting as an undergraduate at Central Michigan University. He went on to announce basketball and football games at Indiana University while a graduate student.

In the 1960s, he worked as a local broadcaster in Los Angeles, announcing Rams, Angels and UCLA games, among other duties.

Enberg was at the microphone for the legendary 1979 NCAA championship game in which Magic Johnson's Michigan State team beat Larry Bird's Indiana State team. He also called the 1968 college basketball contest dubbed "the Game of the Century" in which Houston stopped UCLA's record 47-game winning streak.

Enberg joined NBC in the mid-1970s and was one of the network's primary faces on sports broadcasts for more than two decades. His duties for NBC included the NFL, Major League Baseball's "Game of the Week," the NBA, golf, college football, college basketball, major tennis events, boxing and the Olympics.

Enberg called 10 Super Bowls, eight NCAA basketball championship games and 28 Wimbledon tournaments, according to the Sporting News.

In 2000, Enberg moved to CBS, where he remained a multi-sport fixture. He also was one of the San Diego Padres' lead broadcasters from 2010-16.

He earned 13 Sports Emmy Awards, and was widely known for his catch phrase, "Oh my!"

Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler and managing partner Peter Seidler issued a joint statement that read: "We are immensely saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg. Dick was an institution in the industry for 60 years and we were lucky enough to have his iconic voice behind the microphone for Padres games for nearly a decade. On behalf of our entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Barbara, and the entire Enberg family."