Inductees

You look at the resume now and assume that this was the dream all along, that working as a TV sports director – and in one long stretch as the Voice of the St. Louis Rams – was carefully mapped out.

No, that wasn’t the case for Steve Savard, who in 1987 had to say goodbye after two seasons trying to make the roster of the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys.

“I chose the broadcasting route after watching the sports anchor at my brother’s television station give a baseball score backwards on the air,” Savard said. “I thought, at minimum, I could pay the bills.”

Well, he certainly paid his dues, becoming one of St. Louis’ top sports broadcasters, and that is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Savard with the Class of 2021.

A 1982 graduate of Parkway North High School and a 1986 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, Savard has enjoyed more than 30 years in sports broadcasting, winning six Emmy Awards.

He was the “Voice of the Rams” for 16 seasons (2000-2015). That came as part of Savard’s 26 years working for KMOV TV in St. Louis, where he was the Sports Director for 19 years before becoming lead anchor in 2013.

He covered St. Louis’ biggest sports stories, including 10 St. Louis Cardinals playoff berths (including the 2004, 2006 & 2011 World Series) as well as the Rams’ two Super Bowls (1999, 2001 seasons), the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues and the University of Missouri and University of Illinois.

Best of all, he put in the work to get there. After Savard spent two seasons trying to make the Cowboys’ 45-man roster – there were no practice squads back then – he set out on a broadcasting career.

Over four years, he had stops in Billings, Montana and then El Paso, Texas and Hartford, Connecticut, whose company also owned KMOV. In 1994, General Manager Allan Cohen brought him home.

The Rams relocated to St. Louis that year and, in 2000, they were looking for a play-by-play announcer.

“The program director at the Rams flagship radio station knew I would do the job and pushed hard for me,” Savard said. “In fact, without Mike Wheeler’s efforts, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity. I was motivated to repay his confidence in me. It worked out well, although ‘Wheels’ never takes any credit for it. He was a perfect boss.”

Talk about a natural fit. Savard was just that in calling NFL football games, having played football since age 7, when he was in the Junior Football League of St. Louis.

As an athlete at Parkway North, he was team captain in football and baseball, and his football jersey number is retired. He was a First Team All-Suburban West Conference and All-District as a linebacker his senior year.

As a Northwest Missouri State linebacker, he was a four-year starter, three-year team captain and made a then-school record 441 total tackles – which is now No. 2 all-time in team history. His 10 interceptions there also are the most by a linebacker in school history. Savard twice earned unanimous First Team All-MIAA honors and, in 2013, and was inducted into the Northwest Missouri State M Club Hall of Fame.

“I think playing the game for 17 years gave me an ability to see the entire field and anticipate what was coming better than many who do play-by-play,” Savard said. “But, like I did when I played, I prepared thoroughly each week. I never mailed it in as an athlete, and I don’t as a broadcaster, either.”

Talk about arriving at the right time.

“I was blessed to step into a dream situation, doing play-by-play for the Greatest Show On Turf,” Savard said. “I documented consecutive 500-point seasons in my first two years in the booth. I called Super Bowl 36 in my second season. Those teams were special not just because the roster was full of elite athletes., They were first-class people off the field as well.

“Win, lose, or draw, it was a privilege to broadcast NFL football for 16 seasons in my hometown.”

Savard thanks many for their support over the years: His wife, Jennifer, stepsons David and Bret Apted, sister Mary, brother Gene and parents Gene and Betty. Additionally, there were TV influences in Bob Nitzburg in El Paso, Beasley Reece in Hartford and Steve Hammel in St. Louis. And his high school coach, Denny Staub.

In May 2021, Savard became lead anchor of KOLR 10 in Springfield.

“I was just trying to make a living when I headed off to Montana in 1989,” Savard said. “I wanted to pay the heating bill. And barely was making enough to do that. The past 32 years in broadcasting far exceeded anything I expected. I’ve been blessed personally and professionally.”