The ’80s were one of the greatest decades in Los Angeles sports history.
Local teams have won eight championships, including their first Super Bowl victory, two World Series titles with the Dodgers and five NBA titles with the Lakers. Seven of the 10 Rose Bowl games were played by teams in the Los Angeles area, and six of those games were won.
Witnessing it all was Fred Rockin.
One of the greatest careers in Los Angeles sports journalism began at the turn of the decade when Rogin joined NBC4 in 1980. The Southern California TV sports legend witnessed the history-making and memorable moments of the 1980s as well as the highs and lows of the U.S. The network announced Tuesday that the ensuing four decades will end for the last time on Thursday, January 26.
Now, after traveling back to 1981 with the DeLorean, Fred Roggin shares his All-Star coverage from 41 years ago.
Rokin will move away from NBC4’s daily sports programming and turn his attention to creative outlets, such as his radio show and other opportunities.
Like those Los Angeles teams of the 1980s, Rogin earned a string of honors throughout his career. He has won dozens of awards, including 35 Los Angeles Emmys, 30 Golden Mikes, five prestigious Associated Press Awards and numerous Los Angeles Press Club Awards for his sports programming, specials and series .
Rokin was part of a lineup of Southern California television news icons that included anchors Chuck Henry and Colleen Williams and weatherman Fritz Coleman. He is also the host of “Going Roggin,” a 30-minute sports commentary show, and the creator and host of “The Challenge,” a multi-platform live show.
Rogin also received the Joseph Quinn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2013. He was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2020, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern California Broadcast News Association.
The iconic Fritz and Fred campaign hit the airwaves in the ’90s. Now, with Fritz Coleman retiring, the pair look back at the memorable TV commercial. As seen in news on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 at 5:00 pm.
His NBC4 career began in 1980 as a weekend sports anchor with the launch of “Sunday Night Sports.” By 1986, Rogin was the station’s primary sports anchor and reporter, a career that saw him witness the highs and lows of sports in Los Angeles over the next four decades.
Through humor and irony, Rogin created segments such as “Hall of Shame,” which featured clips of memorable sports moments, and his signature “Rokin’s Heroes,” which highlighted the extraordinary or extraordinary in sports. Contest. “Rockin’ Heroes” developed into a successful nationally syndicated weekly show in 1990.
The “Rockin’ Heroes” segment continues to this day in his newscasts.
He’s also a familiar face to fans of NBC’s Olympic coverage. Since 1984, Rokin has been a web host and reporter at every Olympic Games, including Los Angeles, London, Vancouver, Beijing, Athens, Turin, Sydney and Salt Lake City.
Rogin began his broadcasting career in 1976 as a sports anchor, reporter and live broadcaster for KIKO Radio in Globe, Arizona. In 1977, he became a sports anchor, reporter and sports director for KBLU Radio and KYEL-TV in Yuma, Arizona. The following year, he became the sports director and anchor for KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas, and the same year he moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become the weekday sports anchor for KPNX-TV.
Originally from Detroit, Roggin grew up in Phoenix and attended Phoenix College where he studied broadcasting. Rokin and his family live in the San Fernando Valley.
