#TBT: ABC pioneers Button, Pearl inducted into Sports Broadcasting HOF

ABC Sports figure skating commentator Dick Button, who also worked for ESPN for four years, won two Olympic gold medals. (Ida Astute/ABC)

ESPN commentator Mike Tirico (l), who served as master of ceremonies, introduces Dick Button. (Photo courtesy of SVG)

ESPN Vice President, Production Enhancements & Interactive TV, Bob Toms (L), congratulates Mike Pearl on the Hall Of Fame induction. (Photo courtesy of SVG)

NEW YORK – The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony Tuesday night put the spotlight on a Pearl and a Button from ABC Sports’ illustrious legacy.

Production exec Mike Pearl – who spent two stints at ABC Sports during his long career and brought his expertise to ESPN before retiring in 2014 – and the incomparable Dick Button – the face of figure skating on TV for more than 50 years – were among the Class of 2015 inductees. Others honored included Marv Albert and Ted Turner.

Originally an on-air reporter in Miami (he interviewed the Beatles in the Bahamas in 1965), Pearl went on to have a major influence on a wide range of events (several Olympics, Monday Night Football, the first live Daytona 500, Wimbledon) and studio shows (CBS’ original “NFL Today”; and TNT’s “Inside the NBA”).

Button, a 1948 and ’52 Olympic Gold Medal winner, went on to become synonymous with commentating on his sport for both ABC and ESPN, starting with the 1960 Winter Games and continuing into this decade.

Read more about Button by visiting Front Row’s Facebook page.