Art Eckman, the longtime face of supercross and motocross events on ESPN, died last weekend, according to multiple sources. He was 81.
Eckman, who attended Washington State University, served as a broadcaster in many different sports, covering everything from the Masters to the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco Giants, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. He worked for stations in the Atlanta, San Francisco and Portland markets.
Yet he’s most remembered for his two-decade stint on ESPN covering Monster Energy Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross, as well as his work on the weekly MotoWorld show.
The racing site Racer X noted, “For an entire generation of motorsports viewers Eckman was the voice of supercross and motocross.”
Here’s a clip of Eckman calling the legendary Jeremy McGrath’s 72nd and final Supercross victory.
Art Eckman died on Saturday, November 4. He was 81.
The final lap of Anaheim II, 2001, pretty much sums up why we loved having Art in our sport (and he did it all).
A2 '01 was Jeremy McGrath’s 72nd and final Supercross win. pic.twitter.com/ZuY02FIiYG
— Brett Smith (@wewentfast) November 7, 2023
Eckman is survived by his wife Donna Haines Eckman, two daughters and two grandchildren.
Fans shared their memories of Eckman and sympathies with his family on X/Twitter.
Very sad. Growing up, he was the voice that many of us associate with pro racing.
— A_Haze81 (@A_Haze81) November 7, 2023
Thoughts are with his family. He’ll always be the voice I think of when watching Supercross. I believe he and David Bailey were supposed to live announce one of the last Red Bull Straight Rythms. Shame it didn’t happen.
— Randy (@ranham84) November 7, 2023
Bummer! Prayers for his family. I will never forget that voice and the picture he painted. We were lucky.
— Ryan Evans (@RKevans354) November 7, 2023
The iconic voice of the N64 SX video games too
— Cory Gilchrist (@legend_director) November 7, 2023
[11Alive.com; Photo Credit: Brett Smith]
