Legendary Seven sports announcer Bruce McAvaney was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame last night for his 40 years of broadcasting.
Special!
He becomes the 11th media representative to be recognized since and the first since Dennis Cometti in 2020.
Bruce said: “To have been involved in the Australian game for so long through the management of Channel 7 has been an absolute privilege and one of the great joys of my life.
“Football commentators are newcomers to the legendary greats who have put on football boots and coached their teams to the highest level.
“I am honored to be following in the footsteps of Ron Casey and Dennis Cometti, recognizing that everything you see is lifted by the incredible support we receive behind the scenes.”
McAvaney started calling footy in 1978 and led coverage of Seven between 1989 and 2020, before focusing more on horse racing and Olympic Games coverage.
Network Sport boss Lewis Martin said: ‘What can you say about this incredible broadcaster that hasn’t been said for many years and many times before?
“Special, that word which he made his own to capture the excellence he witnessed and called upon over five decades of his sporting life, seems most appropriate for an extraordinary journalist, commentator, colleague and friend.”
“It continues to be a great honor to work with Bruce, who deserves every accolade for his unparalleled career. Well done Mac.”
“It’s the coolest game in the world, it’s the coolest game to call…then someone does something amazing. How nice to have headphones then. –Bruce McAvaney❤️
📺 Look #AFL360 ON @Foxtel CH 504 or streamed via @kayosports https://t.co/7kvglvpWSC pic.twitter.com/HWECq2Obkr
—Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 27, 2023
McAvaney already has an AFL lifetime membership; Logies Hall of Fame (2022); The Kennedy Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement (2022); Melbourne Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award (2020); Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sports broadcasting and to the community through charitable and sporting organizations (2002); induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (also in 2002); and the International Olympic Committee Media Award in 1989.
FOX Sports Reports AFL Committee Chairman Richard Goyder also confirmed that former FOX Footy announcer and St. Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt had been nominated for the induction.
“For the record tonight, I would like to announce that Nick Riewoldt has been nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame, which he has gratefully accepted. But Nick lives in the US with his kids and his family,” he said.
“Nick will be formally inducted next year upon his return, but I wouldn’t want you to think our draft panel somehow lost the high-flying No. 12 to the Saints now that he’s eligible for induction.”
