page_title: Ron Pinkney
section_title: Television years
hierarchical_section_title: Ron Pinkney / Television years
caption_attribution_description: English: Ron Pinkney chatting with publisher of Black College Sports Reports, Edd Hayes
context_page_description: Robert Theron "Ron" Pinkney is an American pioneer broadcaster who was the first African American play by play announcer on a major television network. The game was played at the Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi between Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State.
context_section_description: Pinkney was the first black sportscaster to work a televised broadcast when he covered the famed Orange Blossom Classic, the Black college football spectacular set in Miami, Florida in the Orange Bowl arena. It was a closed circuit television production pitting the host Florida A&M University versus Jacksonville State University, Alabama. The FAMU Rattlers Hall of Fame head coach and then athletic director Alonza "Jake" Gaither handpicked him to work with another popular Atlanta broadcaster, Chico Renfro. The game was piped into the campus of the Florida A&M and Jacksonville State University, Alabama (the first white school to play in the All-black classic). Pinkney was hired as a weekend sportscaster at WTTG, channel 5 (Washington, DC) and teamed with Connie Chung, the weekend news anchor and Maury Povich, who anchored the week night sports show. Pinkney hosted a weekly half-hour black news program on Saturday nights from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm. He later became the weekend sportscaster on the 10:00 pm newscast from 1970-1973.
  From 1971-1974, Pinkney was brought in to perform play by play duties for the syndicated Grambling University football games. He worked with the iconic sports information director Collie Nicholson, who masterminded the Tigers rise to national prominence. Grambling football was under the guidance of the legendary Hall of fame coach Eddie Robinson, who went on to become one of the top all-time winningest coaches in all of football. He replaced another famous athlete and actor Fred "The Hammer" Williamson who was the lone announcer in 1970. Pinkney assumed the solo role in the Grambling booth in 1971. In 1972, former Dallas Cowboys runningback Don Perkins was added as a color commentator. Los Angeles sports writer Betty Smith, considered the first woman sideline reporter was brought on board. Grambling football games were seen in ninety-four markets on a one-hour taped delay.
  In 1974, Pinkney became the Sports Director of the Mutual Black Network in Washington, DC. He was the play by play voice of the MBN Black College Game of the Week.
  The fourteen-game package was a historic first for Black college sports coverage. Joining the broadcast team were former NFL star Roger Brown in 1975 and Tom Gatewood (Notre Dame)in 1977. The games were aired through 1979. Pinkney was the Sports Director for National Black Network (NBN) from 1979-1991.
  ABC TV broadcast three HBCU games with Pinkney and Don Perkins handling the play by play and color commentary, thus earning Pinkney the distinction of being the first African American play by play announcer on a major television network. That game pitted Mississippi Valley State versus Jackson State in Jackson, Mississippi. Pinkney was selected to head the MBN coverage of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, and he covered the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles for National Black Network. (Dr. Leroy T. Walker, North Carolina Central University was named head coach of the US contingency).
  In 1978, Pinkney was the color commentator for the CIAA Invitational Tournament held at the Norfolk Scope in Virginia (Les Keiter did play by play). In 1979, NBC-TV was in the second year of coverage of the Black college historic tournament when he did play by play. It was the first regional television broadcast for the Peacock Network and the CIAA. Joining Pinkney in the broadcast booth were ex-North Carolina Central great and Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Sam Jones. The tournament highlight was Virginia Union's men's victory over Norfolk State. Dave Robbins, a white coach, won his first CIAA title which came at the expense of the Spartans under Hall of Fame coach Lucious Mitchell (he guided Kentucky State's men's team to the second three-peat championships in the NAIA history (1970–1972)).
  Pinkney finished his fifty-five-year career at Hampton University as the play by play commentator for basketball and football games.
  Note: Pinkney was a good luck charm for nearly all of the teams he covered as they claimed at least two conference and/or national championships:
  Morgan State 19
caption: Edd Hayes with Ron Pinkney at CIAA Tournament
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