Steve Shapiro, who retires this week, dishes on longest TV sportscasting career ever here

Nobody in the history of South Florida television has anchored more sportscasts than Steve Shapiro, who arrived before the Marlins and kept talking for three decades.

From his early days as one of WFOR’s “Shports Guys” (with Russell Shimooka) to his 23 years at WSVN-Fox 7, Shapiro always injected style and personality into his sportscasts, while never sacrificing substance or content.

On Wednesday night at 6:25, Shapiro anchors a sportscast for the final time after 30 years and 6 months on South Florida airwaves. Retirement, which he delayed a year at the station’s request, begins later this week.

“Saturday is my favorite day of the week,” he said. “And starting January 1st, every day is Saturday.”

Shapiro never suspected his career would take this path.

He played football and baseball at Tufts University while earning an economics degree and initially worked in the moving business for Allied Van Lines in Washington, D.C., where he arranged long-distance moves for diplomats.

He decided he wanted to work in TV, later earning a master’s degree in broadcasting from Boston University, worked in Boston and eventually landed at Miami’s WCIX-4 (now WFOR) in 1990.

Shapiro, 66, reflected on his career in a phone conversation:

▪ How do you want to be remembered by South Florida viewers?

“For taking big swings. I want to be remembered uniquely as an original, that every sportscast was different from the rest of the sportscasts in the market. I wanted it to feel like it had an ‘Only-on-7’ Shapiro twist to it and there was a Shapiro signature to every appearance I made on air.”

▪ As you reflect on your career here, what makes you proud and how have you been able to achieve longevity in an unstable industry?

“That’s what makes me proud — the longevity. This is generally an industry that eats its veterans. TV stations are always trying to get younger and cheaper.

“You need a lot of people to like you for a long time. You need management and co-anchors to like you and you need viewers who change and age over time to continue to like you. I’m in the watch-me business but definitely I’m also in the like-me business. That’s what makes me most proud, that I was able to endure” — especially after WFOR regrettably dropped him in the mid-1990s after an ownership change and major staff changes.

Shapiro said he’s also “extremely proud of the [Sunday night] product” — the “Sports Xtra” show, featuring regular segments with agent Drew Rosenhaus.

“I would hold that up against any [wrap-up] show in the country. Drew and I have been together [on TV] 28 years. It’s the longest human relationship I’ve ever had.”

▪ Favorite South Florida athletes you’ve covered or interviewed?

“The athletes I enjoyed the most were the ones who were honest or sincere — Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Mike Lowell, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic I’ve really enjoyed. These guys were exceptional with the media. Generally, hockey players and golfers are very easy to deal with.

“I liked the characters, like Chad Johnson. Those are guys that made my job more fun. I always enjoyed talking with the guys that asked me questions.”

▪ Favorite South Florida coaches and executives you’ve covered or interviewed?

“[Original Marlins manager] Rene Lachemann. Got along great with him. [Former Marlins manager] Fredi Gonzalez and I were great friends.

“I got along well with Don Shula. I had a really good relationship with [former Panthers coach] Doug MacLean; I did “Sports Xtra” in his house a couple times. I’m still friendly [with original Heat coach] Ron Rothstein. [Former Heat coach] Kevin Loughery and I were kind of friends; we had glasses of wine along the way.

“I was friendly with [former Heat coach] Stan Van Gundy; I have respect and admiration for him. And I have great respect for Erik Spoelstra, Pat Riley and the entire Heat organization.”

▪ So who in sports locally maybe didn’t get your wisecracking style?

“I never got along with [former Dolphins coach] Dave Wannstedt. No matter what the question was — and whether we were talking alone or in a scrum — he always eyeballed me like, ‘Where is that coming from?’ He was always suspicious, a little abrasive.”

▪ Twenty years from now when you’re on a porch or balcony, what specific memories do you think will come to mind?

“Right off the bat, the season of the rat was so much fun,” Shapiro said of the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, where they lost to Colorado. “I’m a Boston guy, kind of a hockey guy. That was a ball, galvanized the community.

“Next one, if not the first one, was the 2003 [Marlins-Yankees] World Series. The games were on Fox and Channel 7 and the station took ownership of the story. We did three-hour pregame shows. That 2003 Marlins championship made people in the audience really notice.

“I went to the White House six times, two for Marlins championships, three Heat championships and then with Don Shula when President Obama had the 1972 team there. Every time I was there when somebody would announce — it was a canned announcement — the President of the United States - I would get goose bumps.”

▪ Any memorable public interactions?

There was the time O.J. Simpson - long after he was acquitted in his murder trial - approached Shapiro at a Morton’s Steakhouse and asked Shapiro if he could come on ‘Sports Xtra’ to handicap NFL games. When Shapiro mentioned Simpson’s idea to his news director, “she cursed and threw me out,” Shapiro said.

Then there was the time former Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito — following his role in the Bullygate scandal — saw him out and about, “came up from behind me and gave me a big bear hug. It startled me that this massive human being grabbed me.”

Viewers often approached. Often they knew it was Steve Shapiro, but not always.

“People knew they knew me — I was either [Tony] Segreto, [Jimmy] Cefalo or [Frank] Forte. My name ended in a vowel somewhere. I was glad they recognized me. ‘Right business, wrong station.’”

▪ What will he do now?

He has three adult daughters who live in Austin, Nashville and Fort Lauderdale and will assuredly see them more.

“First thing and of utmost importance, I am waiting for the [COVID-19] vaccine. I didn’t live a hermit life, but I am conscious of my age and what’s going on. I’m going to be first in line.

“My plan is to stay in Fort Lauderdale and keep my condo. I will keep watching events; I don’t know if I will watch the news that much, but I’m a sports fan and I definitely will keep up with sports. Actual events are my greatest form of entertainment.”

And he won’t need to work on his birthday anymore; he did that most years, including two June 20s when the Heat won championships.

After celebrating Shapiro’s career in a segment on Wednesday’s 6 p.m. newscast, WSVN will turn lead sports anchor duties over to Josh Moser, who was hired from the Fox affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He will be assisted by veteran staffers Mike DePasquale and Donovan Campbell.

And once Shapiro begins retirement, WFOR’s Jim Berry, in our market continuously since 1996, will inherit the distinction of being the longest-tenured active sportscaster in South Florida.