Tom Suiter WRAL Sports Anchor

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Football Friday, Sports, Sportscasts

Tom Suiter, a native of Rocky Mount, joined WRAL-TV as a sportscaster in 1971. He had just graduated from Erskine College located in Due West, South Carolina. The rest, as they say, is history!

Suiter was hired by his hero of sportscasters, Ray Reeve. Under Reeve, and then later Nick Pond, he honed his sports delivery and developed a unique style which included the addition of new words like, “Jamburger” and “Crunchburger.”

The first interview Tom Suiter ever did as a paid sports journalist was with legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden. The last interview he conducted as WRAL –TV sports anchor was with Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, in 2008.

Suiter is best known for “Football Friday,” a segment of the sportscast that featured video highlights of the games and final scores. The segment grew from coverage of eight games to 50+ games, and from a segment in the sportscast to a thirty minute program that aired after the late newscast.

“The Extra Effort Award” is another segment developed by Suiter to recognize high school student -athletes. Throughout the school year, he would honor one person – nominated by schools – each week who excels not only on the playing field but also in the classroom and in the community.

Suiter was elected to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2011. He has also been named the winner of the annual Media Representative of the Year by the NCHSAA and was honored by the Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a place in the Silver Circle. He has been nominated for 17 regional Emmy’s, winning two, and was named the NC Sportscaster of the year in 1990 by the National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association.

This interview was produced in 2006 for the 50th Anniversary of WRAL. David Crabtree, WRAL news anchor, is the interviewer. Note that the video is in raw form, meaning that it had not been edited for final production. You will see camera adjustments that would have been covered with other camera angles.

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Tom Suiter WRAL Sports Anchor

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