Glenn Brenner

Glenn Brenner (January 2, 1948 – January 14, 1992) was a broadcast journalist and sports commentator in Washington, D.C., in the United States from 1977 to 1991.

Glenn Brenner was born on January 2, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Bill and Edie Brenner.

At the age of four, he wanted to be a major league baseball player.

Brenner attended Abraham Lincoln High School.

By the time he was in his senior year, however, basketball seemed to be in Brenner's future, as he was already 6 ft tall.

He led his high school basketball team to 26 straight victories.

In his senior year in 1965, Lincoln High School lost the city championship game to Bishop Neumann High School, 75 to 66.

Baseball remained Brenner's dream, however.

Even though he only had one good pitch (a fastball), the New York Mets signed him to a minor league contract after he graduated from high school.

He played for the Marion Mets in the Appalachian League, and eventually was brought up to play Class AA baseball.

But in 1969, Brenner hurt his arm while playing in the Florida Instructional League, and the Mets sold him to the Philadelphia Phillies.

He played Class AAA baseball in the Mexican League, but continuing problems with his throwing arm forced him to quit baseball in 1972.

Brenner knew early that he was not going to have much of a career in professional baseball.

While still playing with the Mets, coach Birdie Tebbetts watched him pitch a terrible game.

When Tebbetts came out to the mound, Brenner asked him what was wrong.

Tebbetts replied, "Horse-spit pitcher"—and Brenner knew his time in the big leagues was finished.

While playing minor league baseball, Brenner attended Temple University and then Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

He graduated from Saint Joseph's with a bachelor's degree in political science and Communication studies.

Brenner sold cars for a few months before turning to sports broadcasting after leaving the Phillies.

His first job was with radio station WMVB in Millville, New Jersey.

He read an advertisement for the position, and applied.

He later said, "I lied so bad to get that first job. I told the boss I was an announcer from Philadelphia, and he took that to mean I was a Philadelphia announcer. I had never even been inside a radio station."

Brenner was paid $79 a week, and commuted from Philadelphia to Millville very day.

The lasted only a short period of time, and Brenner moved to New Haven, Connecticut, to seek work.

After living there only a short time, he returned to Philadelphia and joined radio station WFIL, where he worked for two years as a news reporter and in promotions.

Brenner turned to sportscasting in 1975, and took a position at WOWK-TV in Huntington, West Virginia.

Brenner's big break came in 1976, when he joined KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

Brenner developed his on-air personality during his stint at KYW, becoming well known for his humor and irreverence.

He often called the scoreboard the "boreboard", and made jokes about himself, sports teams, and athletes on the air (much to management's discomfort).

In one well-known incident, KYW introduced a flashy, high-technology set that resembled the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

When the news anchor turned to Brenner to ask for the sports report, Brenner stood and announced, "We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty!"

The angry news director resolved to fire Brenner as soon as a replacement could be found.

KYW's news director happened to know Jim Snyder, the news director at WTOP-TV (as WUSA was then known) in Washington, D.C. He mentioned Brenner's on-air stunt, and told Snyder that Brenner would be let go in a short time.

Intrigued with Brenner's on-air personality, Snyder reviewed tapes of Brenner's work and liked what he saw.

WTOP-TV was seeking a new sports anchor to replace local sports broadcaster Warner Wolf, who had left the WTOP-TV for a job with ABC Sports.

The station had hired Mike Wolfe as the weeknight sportscaster, while weekend duties were held by Klaus Wagner.

But Wagner wasn't working out, and WTOP-TV declined to renew his one-year contract.

He was best known as the sports anchor for WUSA-TV from 1977 until 1991.

Brenner made his D.C. debut on March 4, 1977.

At the time of his death in 1992 from a brain tumor, he was not only the most highly paid broadcast journalist in Washington but also the most popular broadcaster in the D.C. metropolitan area.