Ronald Reagan -- Not acting, but still on stage
Ronald Reagan -- Never did Movies again after 1964. GE Playhouse lasted until 1965.
Needing a new gig, Reagan went back to his roots, as play-by-play man for the Los Angeles Rams starting with the 1966 season. His smooth style was to football what Dick Enberg was to UCLA basketball. For the next 7 years, fans in L.A. enjoyed Ol' Dutch. He was seen as one of the top radio voices in the NFL.
In 1974, Reagan was courted by the television networks. With the popularity of ABC's Monday Night Football, both CBS and NBC were pushing for new voices to bring in. With some prodding for old friend and former L.A. Rams/now Washington Redskins head coach George Allen, Reagan went to CBS, who had the television package for the National Football Conference.
Reagan was paired with Pete Retzlaff as the #6 announcing team early in the season, but by mid-season, Reagan was moving up the order fast. By the end of '74 Reagan was the #3 man on the NFL on CBS, right behind Jack Buck and Pat Summerall.
In 1975, the producers at CBS had an idea. Hank Stram had retired as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and he was landing in broadcast booth. The smooth, articulate Reagan paired with Stram's locquatious vocabulary and knowledge of football.
"Reagan and Stram? Who'd have thought that would work?..But you know, it did. Reagan was so smooth, easy going, but he was also an authoritative game call, and Stram was a Cosell with actual knowledge. Listening to those two do a game was a joy, and hearing them argue on the NFL Today was a joy, too." -- Brett Musberger with John Feinstein, Brett, Irv, Greek, Phyllis and Dutch: The Wild Ride of the Original NFL Today (Simon & Schuster, 2010)
Reagan and Stram were a ratings hit, as CBS outdid NBC on Sundays. Reagan-Stram was a perfect counterpoint the ABC's Gifford-Meredith-Cosell juggernaut on Monday Nights.
Hank Stram: "Dallas will have to go deep against this Minnesota pass defense and I don't think they can matriculate that ball down the field in short a time."
Ronald Reagan: "Well, there you go again. They won't need to matriculate the ball downfield. They just need a good Navy man like Roger Staubach to throw a good pass." -- Reagan and Stram in the booth. NFC Divisional Playoff December 28, 1975
On January 18, 1976, Ronald Reagan was the play-by-play man for Super Bowl X. The stars converged for the former B movie actor. Reagan's call of that game is still studied by many broadcasters today. It also helped that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys put on the first truly great Super Bowl (Pittsburgh won 21-17, Lynn Swann was MVP). The game also was most watched show in television history at the time (it got a 44.7 rating and a whopping 79 share, over 40 million American television homes tuned in). Ol' Dutch Reagan finally got his due.
Reagan did play-by-play for Super Bowls XII, XIV, XVI, XXI, and XXIV. Reagan's style also was a signature of CBS Sports' Award winning golf coverage. People still talk about Reagan's call of the 1986 Masters and Jack Nicholas' incredible comeback win.
"Reagan painted a picture that entire weekend. All the ebbs and flows of what was a great tournament, and his last call when Nicholas hit that last put...'It's morning at Augusta..The old sun rose again, Nicholas wins the Masters'. People talk about Jim McKay painting a picture with words, but Reagan was right in his class." -- Jim Nance, CBS Sports, 2011
Reagan retired from broadcasting in 1990. He said he wanted to slow down and enjoy life with Nancy. In 1992, Reagan disclosed that he suffered from Alzheimer's disease. In a special letter to his fans printed in Sports Illustrated. Reagan gave appreciation to a sporting public who loved him.
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At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life's journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.
I want to thanks all those who love sports and listened and watched me. I thought that when I left the movies I would leave the stage. Thanks to all of you who let me in their living rooms every weekend, you gave an old ham actor a whole new stage. I love you all for that." -- "Ronald Reagan's Goodbye" (Sports Illustrated July 27, 1992)
Reagan came back on the mic one last time for CBS's coverage of the Tournament Players Championship that year. After that he wrote a book on his time in broadcasting. But mostly spent time with the love of his life. His Nancy and checking in on his son Ron Jr. who went into the family business (Ron Jr. played 10 years for 3 teams in the NFL as a graceful wide receiver, including a Super Bowl championship as a member of the 1986 New York Giants. Today Ron is a sports announcer for NBC-Universal-Versus)
Ronald "Dutch" Reagan died of pneumonia at his home in Bel Air California, June 5, 2004. Reagan's funeral on June 11th was a who-who's of sports broadcasting as many people he worked with attended. Those who happened to be on-air that day all had special tributes to him during their broadcasts,
"Those of us who've had the honor of chronicling sports are admirers of each other even in competition. We marvel at what each of us brought on air. We all had our different artistry and style. But regardless of our individual style, everybody took a little something from Dutch Reagan. He was just that good." Dick Enberg delivering the eulogy at Reagan's funeral June 11, 2004.