Bradley University alumnus Charley Steiner, the play-by-play announcer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will give the keynote address for Bradley’s mid-year commencement on December 18 in the new on-campus arena.
Steiner will be recognized with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the commencement ceremony.
Charley Steiner, one of the most popular and recognizable sports announcers in the United States, has been the play-by-play radio announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers for six years. In his first year with the Dodgers, USA Today ranked the Dodgers broadcast team of Steiner, Hall of Famer Vin Scully and Rick Monday as the best in major league baseball. He has called games in six countries, including the first major league game in China and Puerto Rico
The 1971 Bradley graduate was one of the early faces of ESPN. In his 14 years at the all-sports cable network, he distinguished himself as one of America’s foremost authorities on baseball and boxing, winning a Cable Ace award for his television special on Muhammad Ali and a Clarion Award for his coverage of the Mike Tyson rape trial. The four-time Emmy award winner also has been named UPI Best Sportscaster three times and won three New York State Broadcasters Association awards for best play-by-play.
Originally from New York City, Steiner began his career as a newscaster for WIRL radio in Peoria while he was a Bradley student. Following his graduation in 1971, he broadcast his first sports show for KSTT in Davenport, Iowa. After jobs in Connecticut and Cleveland, he entered the New York market in 1978 at WXLO radio, later moving to sister station WOR for several years before joining ESPN in 1988. Steiner served as the play-by-play man for the New York Yankees from 2002 to 2004, the New York Jets in the 1986 and 1987 seasons, and the New Jersey Generals from 1983 to 1985.
Steiner was inducted into the Bradley University Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and into the Centurion Society in 2003. He was recognized with the Lydia Moss Bradley Award in 1991. He established the Charles H. Steiner Endowed Scholarship at his alma mater in 2000.
Last December, Steiner returned to Bradley for the mid-year commencement ceremony when long-time friend Larry King gave the keynote address.
Steiner’s address will be the first time the University’s new $50 million arena is used for a mid-year commencement. The arena, home to Bradley’s Athletic Department and the women’s basketball and volleyball teams, was completed in August.
Steiner continues a Bradley tradition of bringing nationally distinctive speakers to commencement to inspire graduates and their families.