Jamie Campbell (sportscaster)

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Jamie Campbell (born May 20, 1967 in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian sportscaster with Rogers Sportsnet and the play-by-play voice on their Toronto Blue Jays telecasts.

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[edit] Youth and Education

Growing up in Oakville, Ontario, Jamie was a fan of hockey, baseball and auto racing. He attended many Oakville Blades hockey games as a child where the seeds of his future career were planted as he listened to his father announce the games. As a youth he attended Toronto Maple Leafs games at Maple Leaf Gardens and Blue Jays games at Exhibition Stadium.

He estimates that he attended between thirty and thirty-five Blue Jays games per year and liked to sit in right field behind the visiting team's bull-pen in order to try to catch fly balls during batting practice, talk to the relievers, and get the best possible vantage point to watch Barfield.[1] Campbell claims that he would occasionally take a tape-recorder to games and practice calling games. His favorite hockey player as a child was Jocelyn Guevremont of the Vancouver Canucks. His favorite baseball players were Jesse Barfield and Bob Bailor.[2]

Campbell attended Oakville-Trafalgar High School where he was a teammate and friend of future National Football League placekicker Steve Christie on the football team. In 1996 he went to Ryerson Polytechnic Institute (now Ryerson University) from which he graduated with a Bachelor in Applied Arts in Radio and Television in 1999.[3]

[edit] Early career

At age 20 Campbell got a job as librarian and runner for the Hockey Night in Canada archives where he worked with Chris Cuthbert and Brian Williams. In 1993 Campbell moved to Edmonton, Alberta to work as a sportscaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Here his first on-air work was covering a University of Alberta hockey game. In this position he also covered the Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Trappers, and Edmonton Eskimos.

From 1997-1998 he worked with CJOH-TV in Ottawa, Ontario covering the Ottawa Senators and Ottawa Lynx.

In 1998 Campbell was offered a job as an anchor with new station CTV Sportsnet with whom he has remained ever since. He and Daren Millard hosted the station's first show, Sportscentral (now called Connected). As well as anchoring Sportsnet's news shows Campbell reported from a variety of events such as the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and a Grand Prix motor race. He gained additional play-by-play experience covering Canadian Football League and Arena Football League games. He also served as the station's in-studio host for Blue Jays broadcasts and Major League Baseball play-offs.[4]

[edit] Toronto Blue Jays Play-By-Play

Campbell's first game doing play-by-play coverage for the Blue Jays was on April 8, 2002, covering for Rob Faulds after the death of his father forced him to miss a game. In the fall of 2004 he was offered the job as the play-by-play voice of the Jays for Sportsnet replacing Rob Faulds after the death of John Cerutti. He currently works alongside colour commentators Pat Tabler, Rance Mulliniks, and Darrin Fletcher for the TV broadcasts.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Campbell's broadcasting role models include Dodgers play-by-play icon Vin Scully, ESPN commentator Dan Shulman, and Blue Jays radio broadcasters Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth.

The first home run ball that Campbell caught was at the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game off of the bat of David Ortiz, to whom he returned the ball. Campbell was in attendance at the game with then-analyst Warren Sawkiw.

As a fan, Campbell has attended many memorable Blue Jays moments including the triple play on September 5, 1978; Otto Vélez's four home runs in the Jays' double header on May 4, 1980; Devon White's catch in game 3 of the 1992 World Series; Dave Winfield's throw that killed a seagull on August 4, 1983; and Carlos Delgado's four-home run game on September 25, 2003.[5]

Campbell married on February 12, 2005 and his son was born January 31, 2006.

Campbell is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

[edit] References

  1. ^ www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050316095756363
  2. ^ OakvilleToday.ca: Article
  3. ^ The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: Team: Broadcasters
  4. ^ The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: Team: Broadcasters
  5. ^ www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050316095756363
v • d • e
Toronto Blue Jays Television Play-by-Play Voice

Don Chevrier (1977-1996) • Brian Williams (1993-2002) • Dan Shulman (1995-2001) • Rob Faulds (1999-2004) • Rod Black (1999-present) • Jim Hughson (1991-93, 2007-present) • Jamie Campbell (2005–present)