NEW YEAR, NEW OPPORTUNITY
“I needed someone late in the
game on New Year’s Eve, and you
can imagine how easy that was to
find,” Salvatore says. “When I called
Kevin, I told him I had a game for
him, and as I told him it was on
New Year’s Eve, he didn’t hesitate.
He was like, ‘I’ll do it, I’m in.’”
Within a decade, Burkhardt
went from selling cars and nearly
out of the broadcasting business to
the national stage, which is where
he remains. “When Kevin got the
opportunity, he delivered, and he was
ready for it,” says Pete Macheska,
Burkhardt’s in-game producer with
FOX. “The moment’s never too big
for him, and the best part of that,
he knows where he came from, and
he’s never forgotten that. There are a
lot of guys that do. Kevin’s greatest
strength, he’s like a point guard. He
treats everyone he works with like
gold and really does make everyone
around him better.”
“He doesn’t want to hear it, but
I tell him all the time, you set the
music, man, and we dance to your
tune,” says Davis, his partner.
For Burkhardt to get to this point
from where he started, it’s been some
ride.
WINNING TEAM Top, Kevin Burkhardt and broadcast partner Charles David prepare to make calls
for FOX Sports; above, this 2001 photo shows Burkhardt interviewing a high school coach for
WGHT-AM 1500, the Pompton Lakes station.
“The last car I sold was a used
conversion van,” Burkhardt says. “I
knew I was leaving, and I remember
my boss saying,’’Going out in style.’
I hope somebody’s out there in Jersey
still driving a Tahoe I put on the road
and they’re watching the game and
realize, ‘Hey, that’s the guy who sold
me our car.’ That would be pretty
cool, and for me, another reason
to not take for granted anything
I’m doing right now or what I get
the chance to do going forward.
No complaints from me, this is
another great moment living out
my dream.” ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2019
41