EPISODE SUMMARY: Suzyn Waldman shares her remarkable journey from Broadway to becoming a trailblazing sports broadcaster, breaking barriers for women in the industry. She recounts stories from decades of calling Yankees games, highlighting how perseverance and authenticity helped her succeed in an evolving sports media landscape.

Waldman will be among those honored as Giants of Broadcasting by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation at the 2026 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony. The event will be held on Tuesday, November 17th at Gotham Hall in New York City.

On this episode of Chachi Loves Everybody, Chachi talks to Suzyn Waldman about:

1. Her early life in Boston and her love for baseball and Broadway
2. How her musical theater background helped her as a broadcaster, and why she changed careers
3. Challenges she faced as a woman in sports broadcasting in the 1980s and 1990s
4. The groundbreaking moment she became the first woman to call a World Series game
5. Her partnership with John Sterling and their impact on Yankees broadcasting
6. Her relationship with Yankees legends George Steinbrenner and Yogi Berra
7. Surviving breast cancer and how the experience shaped her life and career
8. The most memorable moments covering championships, crises, and personal milestones
9. The evolution of sports media and her advice for young women entering the industry

And More!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE'S GUEST: Award-winning broadcaster Suzyn Waldman this year begins her 40th year either covering or broadcasting the New York Yankees, and her 22nd season as the Yankees’ radio color commentator.

Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2022, Waldman has spent the last four decades overcoming the obstacles that go along with being a female sports broadcaster, and has been an inspiration and mentor to two generations of girls and women wanting to enter the sports arena.

Forty years ago, in 1987, Waldman became the first voice heard on New York’s WFAN-AM — the first all-sports station in the country — creating the job of the radio beat reporter, covering the Yankees and New York Knicks. Her news-breaking reports, exclusive interviews and controversial opinions won her countless journalism awards, including the International Radio Award for Live and Emotional Reporting from the upper deck in Candlestick Park during the San Francisco earthquake.

The word “first” precedes the name Suzyn Waldman in every facet of her television and radio career. She was the first woman to work on a nationally televised baseball broadcast (for the Baseball Network) and the first to provide TV play-by-play for a Major League team, broadcasting New York Yankees games for WPIX, MSG Network and WNYW in the mid ‘90s. She is the first woman to host an NBA pre- and post-game show, provided play-by-play for the WNBA on Lifetime TV, and was an analyst for St. John’s basketball and the NIT for MSG and WFAN. She was the first woman to broadcast a World Series, and her scorecard and microphone are among other artifacts of her career in the “Women In Baseball” exhibit at Cooperstown.

She has been honored by countless organizations, including the Thurman Munson Foundation, the March of Dimes, the Jimmy Fund of Boston, the Gracie Awards, American Women in Radio and TV, the US Federal Women’s Foundation, and was the first recipient of the Women’s Global Health award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at the United Nations for her work speaking with and inspiring fellow breast cancer survivors. She has been named one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Radio” 12 straight years by Radio Ink Magazine, and in 2016, was inducted, with her former longtime radio partner, John Sterling, into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame. On January 25, 2025, at the 100th New York Baseball Writers’ Dinner, Waldman and Sterling received one of baseball’s highest honors, the William J. Slocum/Jack Lang Award for “Long & Meritorious Service.”

A native Bostonian with a B.S. in economics and an honorary doctorate of Journalism from Boston’s prestigious Simmons University, Waldman spent 15 years on the Broadway musical stage and performed in countless night clubs around the world.

She is proudest of two things in her long and varied career: her two years in theater starring opposite the late Richard Kiley in Man of La Mancha, and her bringing together George Steinbrenner and Yogi Berra after 14 years of not speaking. She lives in Westchester County with her German Shepard, Margo.

ABOUT THE PODCAST: Chachi Loves Everybody is brought to you by Benztown and hosted by the President of Benztown, Dave “Chachi” Denes. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the myths and legends of the radio and broadcast industry and beyond as they share their unique career paths. Hear how a variety of innovative leaders grow businesses, develop iconic brands, and entertain audiences in this in-depth interview podcast.

ABOUT BENZTOWN: Benztown is a leading international audio imaging, production library, voiceover, programming, podcasting, and jingle production company with over 3,000 affiliations on six different continents. Benztown provides audio brands and radio stations of all formats with end-to-end imaging and production, making high-quality sound and world- class audio branding a reality for radio stations of all market sizes and budgets. Benztown was named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 by Inc. magazine for five consecutive years as one of America’s Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies. With studios in Los Angeles and Stuttgart, Benztown offers the highest quality audio imaging work parts for 21 libraries across 15 music and spoken word formats including AC, Hot AC, CHR, Country, Hip Hop and R&B, Rhythmic, Classic Hits, Rock, News/Talk, Sports, and JACK. Benztown’s Audio Architecture is one of the only commercial libraries that is built exclusively for radio spots to provide the right music for radio commercials. 

Benztown provides custom VO and imaging across all formats, including commercial VO and copywriting in partnership with Compass Creative. Benztown Radio Networks produces, markets, and distributes high-quality programming and services to radio stations around the world, including: The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown, The Todd-N-Tyler Radio Empire, Hot Mix, Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!, Flashback, Hey, Morton, StudioTexter, and SPECai. Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks produces and markets premium podcasts including: IEX: Boxes and Lines and American Afterlife.

Web: benztown.com

Facebook: facebook.com/benztownradio

Twitter: @benztownradio

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/benztown

Instagram: instagram.com/benztownradio