THE mustachioed legend of NBN Television, Mike Rabbitt, is calling it a day after a sensational career spanning almost 30 years.
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The famous Hunter sports presenter is pulling stumps to ‘‘smell the roses’’ and spend more time with his wife and five grandchildren.
Announcing the news on Thursday, the face of NBN Television said his appearance in Hunter loungerooms each night had ‘‘been my life’’.
‘‘It has provided everything to me and I hope I have given some back from time to time,’’ he said.
A repository of Newcastle sporting knowledge, Mr Rabbitt, who is originally from South Australia, said he was driven by being a part of a ‘‘sport-mad community’’.
‘‘I’ve seen so many sports progress, a few others have gone by the wayside, [but] its been really really interesting over almost 30 years,’’ he said.
He pin-pointed the advent of the Newcastle Knights and Jets, as well as commentating sport from across the globe like the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and 2010, as personal highlights.
Mr Rabbitt first appeared on our screens presenting a tennis segment on the Sunday Sports Show in 1981 before going on to become a permanent figure on the NBN desk later in that decade.
Officially the station’s promotions manager, Mr Rabbitt has also been a long time match day caller and radio presenter.
However it could have all turned out very differently.
Never short of a story, Mr Rabbitt remembers his first night on air with something close to fondness.
‘‘I nearly got sacked the next morning,’’ he said.
‘‘Back then the moustache was longer than John Newcombe’s [and] I had no idea that people would sit at home and actually try to read the news from your lips.’’
What’s now called the Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Children called the station to complain, and Mr Rabbitt was hauled into the station managers office for a stern word.
‘‘They rang up and said look the young bloke who read the news last night we can’t read his lips his moustache is overgrown,’’ he said.
‘‘Thank goodness I hung onto the job, I went home and got the clippers and cut it back profusely, hence its been like this for the last 30 years.’’
Mr Rabbitt will hand the microphone over on December 12, but will still appear on Hunter television screens as a replacement presenter when needed, as well as covering outside broadcasts like the Real NRL grand final.
