RIP Fred Hickman. If you are about my age, he was one of the faces on your sports-crazy youth on CNN. He was a true OG in the field. Him, Nick Charles, Vince Cellini, Van Earl Wright, Jerome Jurenovich, etc. They were our internet before the internet.
Frederick Hickman (born October 17, 1956) is an American television broadcaster who is currently the anchor and editor-in-chief of the evening news program of the Black News Channel of the African American Cable News Network. He has also worked at CNN, TBS, YES Network and ESPN. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, he graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1978, and joined CNN’s “Sports Tonight” as the original co-host in 1980. He won CableACE Awards in 1989 and 1993, and was a Newcomer Award recipient at the York Sports Emmy in 2004.
Hickman was born on October 17, 1956, in Springfield, Illinois, to George Henry and Louise Winifred Hickman. He graduated from Springfield Southeast High School in 1974 and then attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from 1974 to 1978, where he received his bachelor’s degree. in sociology. There, he worked for the low-power radio station KCOE-FM.
Hickman began his broadcasting career in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1977, as a news anchor for KLWW-AM. After leaving Coe College, Hickman moved back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, to work on the WFMB-AM radio station, playing country music. In February 1978, at the age of 22, Hickman became the anchor and athletic director of the Springfield television station WICS-TV. He remained there until May 1980.
