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George Grande introduced the country to ESPN when he co-anchored the first episode of SportsCenter on September 7, 1979.

His co-anchor was Lee Leonard, a longtime New York broadcaster.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Leonard spoke these words as the show opened: " If you're a fan, what you will see in the next minutes, hours, and days to follow may convince you that you've gone to sports heaven.

" Grande spent ten more years with ESPN and SportsCenter until 1989.

Another early addition to the show was Chris Berman, who joined ESPN a month after its debut and became a fixture at SportsCenter until the early 1990s, when his main efforts became focused on the network's NFL coverage and Baseball Tonight ; however, Berman remains a frequent contributor to the Sunday night 11 p. m. edition.

Bob Ley also began anchoring early in the show's history and still regularly appears on the Sunday morning SportsCenter in addition to hosting Outside the Lines.