said at the 2019 Final Four<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s just the Coach K, if you will, of directors.\u201d<\/p>\nCBS Sports Lead Reporter Tracy Wolfson, who has worked with Fishman for 15 years at the NCAA Tournament, adds, \u201cI see firsthand the talent he is, the incredible attention to detail, the love he has for sports, the feel he has for the game, and what a tremendous teammate and friend he is. And, because of all those things, he has set a standard not only at CBS but for so many in this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Picture of Versatility: From Football to Figure Skating and Beyond<\/strong>
\nIn addition to redefining the way auto racing and college hoops are covered, Fishman has proved to be one of the most versatile directors in the history of sports television, covering nearly every major sport during his 45 years at CBS.<\/p>\nHis career directing action on the gridiron began in 1981 with college football before he transitioned to directing\u00a0The NFL on CBS<\/em>, which he continues to do each Sunday in the season.<\/p>\n\u201cBob has directed of some of the biggest events over the past 40 years,\u201d says Mike Arnold, lead game director,\u00a0The NFL on CBS<\/em>. \u201cHe has been one of the standard-bearers of our industry for almost half a century.\u201d<\/p>\nFishman is also a veteran of three Olympics, having directed figure skating at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, as well as the Opening Ceremony in Nagano. In 1994, he helped capture the climax of the Nancy Kerrigan\u2013Tanya Harding soap opera as it played out on the ice during the women\u2019s short-program competition in Lillehammer, powering CBS to the fourth-largest primetime audience in the history of television.<\/p>\n
The 16-time Emmy Award winner directed 27 US Open tennis tournaments (before CBS Sports lost the rights in 2014); dozens of NBA Playoff games throughout the 1980s; the 1992 and 1993 World Series (during CBS\u2019s 1990-93 run carrying MLB); countless horse races, including several Belmont Stakes (for which he won two Eclipse Awards); and various events at three Pan American Games. He is also the recipient of three Directors Guild of America Awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cBob is the man,\u201d says Mark Wolff, Fishman\u2019s longtime producer on college basketball and the NFL. \u201cThere is no better director in our industry. He possesses a keen eye and sharp editorial mind that he has brought to some of the world\u2019s biggest sporting events. Bob\u2019s biggest contribution to CBS might be his experience and knowledge. He is always open to share his experiences and work to solve problems that he has seen before. He is our \u2018go-to guy\u2019 and is always willing to help to make the show better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fishman has also directed various CBS primetime skating specials, including the \u201cIce Wars\u201d series\u00a0Scott Hamilton, Back on the Ice<\/em>, and, in 1996, was nominated in the DGA\u2019s Music and Variety category for\u00a0Sergei Grinkov, Celebration of a Life<\/em>. He also co-produced and directed\u00a0Dolphins, Whales and Us<\/em>, a CBS entertainment documentary, which was awarded the international Cine Golden Eagle Award.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not just Fishman\u2019s wide-ranging record of live telecasts that cement his legacy at CBS Sports, however. He also has helped mentor dozens if not hundreds of successful directors, producers, and other industry stalwarts during his years in the production truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cBob is not only a pioneer in the television-sports industry; he has been instrumental in almost every production person\u2019s career at CBS Sports,\u201d says Jim Rikhoff, lead game producer,\u00a0The NFL on CBS<\/em>. \u201cHe has been a giving mentor and leader at our sports division for as long as I can remember. A consummate professional, as impressive as Bob\u2019s work r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is, it\u2019s his character and professionalism that truly make him a Hall of Famer in our industry.\u201d<\/p>\nMcManus seconds that sentiment: \u201cIn addition to his stellar work as a top director, Bob has been an amazing teammate to everyone at CBS Sports and a mentor to many of our aspiring directors who have followed in his footsteps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life Outside the Truck: Family and Philanthropy<\/strong>
\nWhile the rigors of the 40-plus years on the road have not made it easy, Fishman has always made family a priority. He and his wife of 38 years, Margaret, have twin sons, Andy and Matt, who will be graduating from USC in May. \u201cMy family has been unbelievably supportive of me, and, for that, I could not be more grateful.\u201d<\/p>\nSays McManus, \u201cAbove all else, Bob has his priorities in order as a man of integrity and class who understands that his most important role is as a devoted husband, father, and son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly three decades ago, Fishman\u2019s decorated career nearly came to an end far too early when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgins lymphoma, missing the Final Four in 1990. He underwent a bone-marrow transplant and made a complete recovery, but the memory of a young Puerto Rican girl dying alone in the clinic where he was treated \u2014 her family could not afford to make the trip \u2014has never left him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat experience crushed me emotionally and impacted my outlook on pretty much everything,\u201d says Fishman. \u201cNo one should have to go through that alone, and I made it one of my missions in life to try to help those that were in need.\u201d<\/p>\n
He helped found and is now president of the Bone Marrow and Cancer Foundation (BMCF), which aims to improve the quality of life for bone-marrow- and stem-cell\u2013transplant patients and their families by helping with expenses. Since Chairman\/CEO Christina Merrill and Fishman launched the organization in 1992, it has raised and distributed millions of dollars in patient aid, including $2 million in 2018 alone.<\/p>\n
At 71, Fishman says retirement isn\u2019t in the cards just yet, indicating that he\u2019d like to get to 50 years at CBS Sports (he\u2019s at 45) and 40 Final Fours (he\u2019s at 37) before calling it a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think about being at CBS all these years, it is truly insane, but I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m done yet,\u201d he says. \u201cThe business is changing, but I still love what I do. As difficult and complex as the job has become with the responsibilities we have in the truck, it\u2019s still very enjoyable to me, and I\u2019m still having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The video in this profile was originally produced in 2019. <\/em>For more on the life and career of this industry legend, visit their profile at the\u00a0Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story of American sports television is engrained in the history of this nation, rising on the achievements of countless incredible men and women who never once appeared on our […]\n More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":185681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9248,33],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185680"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":185682,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185680\/revisions\/185682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}