Mitch Holthus to be Inducted into Kansas Broadcasters Hall of Fame

Oct 07, 2008, 3:21:31 PM

Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Tuesday that “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus will be inducted into the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Sunday, October 12th in Wichita, Kansas.

“On behalf of the entire Kansas City Chiefs organization, we congratulate Mitch on this tremendous honor,” Peterson commented. “He is richly deserving of this accolade. Mitch has been an outstanding ambassador and announcer for the Kansas City Chiefs for 15 seasons. Certainly the scope of Mitch’s work goes beyond the world of professional football, but those of us associated with the National Football League certainly appreciate his unparalleled work ethic, preparation and enthusiasm for the game. The Kansas City Chiefs are proud to have him as a member of our team.”

Holthus will be honored for his lifetime contributions to the profession of broadcasting in the State of Kansas, joining his Chiefs broadcasting partner – Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson – who is also a member of this prestigious fraternity. Holthus is in his 15th season as the radio play-by-play “Voice of the Chiefs” on the Chiefs Fox Football Radio Network that spans six states and is anchored in Kansas City by flagship station KCFX-FM (101.1 The Fox). His tenure has spanned four different head coaches and makes him one of just eight active NFL play-by-play announcers who own 15 seasons or more in their current roles.

He has called play-by-play for 227 regular season and postseason Chiefs games, the most of any broadcaster in franchise history. Holthus also hosts Chiefs Insider, the official pregame television show of the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as his regionally-syndicated weekly Minute With Mitch segments that air throughout the Midwest. In addition, he represents the franchise locally, regionally and nationally by providing his unique perspective on the Chiefs and the National Football League.

Holthus is a past president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and is an eight-time winner of the Kansas Sportscaster of the Year Award. As the voice of Kansas State Athletics for 14 years from ‘83-96, Holthus had a front-row seat as the Wildcats football program began its rise from relatively obscurity to a national powerhouse under head coach Bill Snyder.

Holthus began his duties as the lead TV play-by-play broadcaster for FOX Sports coverage of the Missouri Valley Conference in ‘95. In 2008, Holthus has added television coverage of Big 12 Conference basketball to his resume and will continue to broadcast select Missouri Valley Conference games.

A graduate of Kansas State University with a degrees in Journalism and Business Administration, Holthus is a native of Smith Center, Kansas. He is a proud alumnus of Smith Center High School, whose football program has won 59 consecutive games. The Redmen have won seven championships, including a string of four straight in Class 2A-1A. Coach Roger Barta and his squad have recently been featured nationally in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated.