Longtime Fox 29 sports director Tom Sredenschek — “Sreder” to those who know him best — is calling it a career after four decades at the station.
His last day was Friday, which included a big send-off with colleagues and fond remembrances from a who’s who of former and current Philly sports stars, including Charles Barkley, Kyle Schwarber, and Donovan McNabb.
Jim Driscoll, Fox 29’s news director and vice president, called Sredenschek “a mentor to many” and “a brilliant storyteller and producer,” while meteorologist Scott Williams described him as “the glue” holding many parts of the station together.
“I have been very blessed in my career,” Sredenschek said. “They let me grow my role and weren’t afraid to take chances, and I’ve really enjoyed that.”
Fox 29 hasn’t yet named a replacement
Sredenschek was at the station for so long he predated Fox, which added WTAF as an affiliate a few months after he was hired. He was one of Fox 29’s longest-tenured employees, sharing that title with technical director Diana Latzko, who was hired on the same day.
Of all the people who help him, he owes a special debt to former sports talker Howard Eskin.
Just a year removed from graduating from Penn State, the Havertown native and Penncrest graduate was 22 and working as the overnight radio host at WILM in Wilmington in February 1986 when he got word the station was launching a 10 p.m. newscast, featuring Eskin as its main star.
Sredenschek previously interned for Eskin at Channel 3, and impressed the sports talker by, among other things, wearing a sport coat and a tie every day to work.
“It showed respect,” Eskin said. “He was also very good at the job and conscientious. When Channel 29 hired me to start its late newscast, Tom was the only person I interviewed for the sports producer position.”
“Howard had a reputation. He could be gruff, he could get into fights with people. But he was always fair,” Sredenschek said. “We clashed — the producer and talent always clash — but we were fair with one another … That’s the one thing I took from him.”
In the subsequent 40 years, Sredenschek had a front-row seat for two Eagles’ Super Bowl victories, a Phillies World Series championship, and Villanova’s men’s basketball championship in 2016.
“To be sitting court side watching Kris Jenkins’ game-winning shot go through stands out as a cool moment,” Sredenschek said.
Sredenschek grew up wanting to be a play-by-play announcer, but fell in love with all the action behind-the-scenes. He helped launch Eagles Gameday in 1994, and one of his most enduring (and widely replicated) features was “Walk 100 Yards,” where he would interview players, coaches, and even Eagles announcer Merrill Reese while walking the length of a football field.
The first 40 to 50 yards were the typical pregame talk, but by midfield Sredenschek said the players began to open up about their lives away from the field. That included everything from former Eagles safety Patrick Chung singing his mother’s popular song from Jamaica or getting ex-Birds defender Vinny Curry to do his best Ric Flair impersonation.
“When you can bring out the personality of a player and bring that into some fan’s living room, that’s pretty cool,” Sredenschek said.
Fox 29 certainly didn’t have shortage of personality over the years. During Sredenschek’s career, he worked alongside stars like Eskin, John Bolaris, current Good Day Philadelphia co-host Mike Jerrick, and sportscaster Don Tollefson, who was later fired and convicted of fraud, ultimately serving 14 months in prison.
Sredenschek said managing the personalities that came in and out of the station was like being a parent.
“You kind of learn to keep your mouth shut, get to know the person and what makes them tick, and how you can best work with them,” Sredenschek said.
It also made for good stories. Sredenschek recalled after one Eagles game against the Falcons, a cameraperson found a terrific live shot for Tollefson for his Ten O’Clock News report featuring the Atlanta skyline. Tollefson, who was on crutches after injuring his ankle, suddenly began to freak out during the live shot.
“He’s going crazy with his foot, and he’s got this boot on, so I ask‚ ’What’s wrong?’” Sredenschek recalled. “The camera guy says, ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you there’s a lot of red ants up in this area. But it’s a nice backdrop of Atlanta, I hope you don’t mind.’”
Sredenschek is walking away ahead of what promises to be a huge year for Philly sports, including the World Cup and MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park. But what he’ll miss the most is telling the stories of people like Penn State grad Brett Gravatt, who became a wheelchair athlete after a snowboarding accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
“Stories like that affect people’s lives,” Sredenschek said. “We can cut highlights, but when you can tell stories about people, when you can expand someone’s mind, if you can leave someone with a smile on their face that there’s hope, that’s the gift.”
