He is the “velvet voice” of the University of Maryland football and basketball. Some know him as the host of Nats Xtra on MASN, the consummate broadcaster who has been a voice of sports in the Washington area for 40 years.
But there is much more to Holliday than sports. He was a top-rated disc jockey in Cleveland, New York and San Francisco — where he once interviewed The Beatles at Candlestick Park.
A talented regional theater star, Holliday has been seen on stage in more than 30 leading roles and was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for Best Actor in a musical for his role in “Me and My Girl.”
So when talking to Holliday, it is really kind of hard just to talk about sports — but we did our best in a recent conversation.
Holliday on working on the Nationals telecasts » “Well it was like coming home for me because along with Tony Roberts and Warner Wolf I was part of the final couple of years of the Senators broadcasts. For me it was wonderful to see baseball return to Washington. As for being part of the broadcasts well that is great because MASN has really given us everything it takes to do a network quality broadcast. As for partners well you can’t any better than Ray Knight and Phil Wood. Ray brings you the experience of a player who was an All Star and a key member of a World Series team. He also served as a coach and manager so there really is not any area of the game that he can’t speak about. With Phil you get a baseball historian who has great insights about the game and he uses his historical knowledge to frame the game. I also love working with Bob Carpenter — he is one of the best in the business and a class act. Also I enjoyed working with Rob Dibble. He had a unique way of looking at the game and is a true pro.”
Holliday on doing the University of Maryland sports » “By far one of the most enjoyable things I do. Being around college sports keeps you young, the players are always great to be around — both when they are playing and then after they have graduated and come back to say hi or just talk about the program. As for coaches you could not ask for two better guys to work with than Ralph Friedgen and Gary Williams. They are both such great men who truly enjoy coaching and the University of Maryland, plus they have been super to me over the years working with me and my charity — they are two class guys.”
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
