‘It’s been a good run’: Green Bay’s John Anderson leaving ‘SportsCenter,’ ESPN after 25 years

The 1983 graduate of Green Bay Southwest High School often drops in references to his hometown and Wisconsin as a “SportsCenter” anchor.

After 25 years at ESPN, Green Bay native John Anderson is leaving the cable sports company.

The “SportsCenter” anchor announced on Wednesday’s “The Inside Wisconsin Show” podcast he will be done at the end of June when his contract expires.

“I have decided that will be the end. I’m gonna leave the company. I am gonna sort of retire from ‘SportsCenter,’” Anderson said in a clip posted by “Inside Wisconsin” on social media, his Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers memorabilia and several Emmy Awards visible behind him.

Anderson, who joined ESPN in 1999, said he will continue to do coverage of some track and field events, including the Boston and New York City marathons.

“I feel like it’s been a good run, and the operation has changed. I don’t know that it has passed me by, but it has taken its toll, and I still want to be able to do the best shows I can, and I don’t know that in years 26 or 27 that I have the stamina to go through it again, so I’m done,” he said in the clip.

Anderson said he doesn’t know what’s next or if he’ll come back to Wisconsin or elsewhere but said he has “some things in the fire.”

A Green Bay Southwest High School grad with his own bobblehead

Anderson grew up in Green Bay and is a 1983 graduate of Green Bay Southwest High School. He has often made references to his hometown and Wisconsin when anchoring “SportsCenter” — things like mentioning his high school commencement ceremony was at Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena when it showed up in a basketball clip.

“I like that people remember I’m from here,” he told the Green Bay Press-Gazette during an interview in 2010 when he was back at Southwest High School to accept its first distinguished alumni award. “I think there’s something to be said for that. You know, they always say if you’re successful, don’t forget where you came from. Well, it’s nice the other way, that the people where you have your roots don’t forget that you were here.”

That same year, he was also honored by the Green Bay Bullfrogs (now the Green Bay Rockers) for John Anderson Bobblehead Night at Joannes Stadium, where the first 500 fans scored a bobblehead of him as a 14-year-old when his Green Bay Babe Ruth team won the city championship in 1979.

In 2018, he wrote a touching and heartfelt column about growing up in Green Bay as it related to the news that the Sears store on the city’s west side was closing. He also counts Al’s Hamburger as one of his favorite stops when he’s back in town.

Anderson graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 1987 and made broadcasting stops in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Phoenix before being hired at ESPN. He also hosted “Wipeout,” the extreme obstacle-course series on ABC.

In 2021, he and Trevor Thomas of De Pere started “The Inside Wisconsin Show,” an audio and video podcast that hashes over all things Wisconsin, with a focus on sports and sporting life.

Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or[email protected]. Follow her on X@KendraMeinert.