Top Play-by-Play Announcers of All-Time

Top 10 Most Beloved Play-by-Play Announcers in Alphabetical Order:

Marty Brennaman was the “voice” of the Cincinnati Reds for more than three decades. He covered the “Big Red Machine” with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and George Foster.

Jack Brickhouse covered the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox from 1948 – 1981 on WGN-TV. Brickhouse is also remembered for his coverage of the 1954 World Series, describing Willie Mays’ famous catch in game one.

Harry Caray is best known for his work with the Chicago Cubs and his rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the 7^th inning stretch.

Ernie Harwell enjoyed one of the longest careers in baseball broadcasting serving 55 years. He spent 42 of those seasons with the Detroit Tigers.

Chick Hearn was the legendary voice of the Los Angeles Lakers. He holds the record for most consecutive games broadcast and invented several basketball terms.

Harry Kalas, winner of the 2002 Ford C. Frick Award, broadcast Philadelphia Phillies games from 1971 to 2009.

Ralph Kiner, Hall of Fame player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and original broadcaster for the New York Mets. Kiner is the longest running broadcaster for the Mets in their History. He has worked on broadcasts since 1962.

Johnny Most was the longtime voice of the Boston Celtics from 1953-1990. Many Celtics fans were known to turn down their television sets and listen to his call on the radio.

Sam Rosen is the longtime and legendary television voice of the New York Rangers and NHL Radio. He also calls the NFL on FOX.

Vin Scully has worked more than half a century with the Dodgers, beginning in Brooklyn and then moving to Los Angeles. Scully has worked many national assignments including the MLB Game of the Week.

Announcers With the Top 5 “Voices” in Play-by-Play:

1. Mel Allen was a best known as being the “Legendary Voice of the New York Yankees”. He is also known for being the host of This Week in Baseball.

2. Bob Costas is renowned for his Olympic coverage. He has also worked for Major League Baseball, NBC sports and on many other broadcast teams.

3. Al Michaels is most famous for his play-by-play role on Monday Night Football which he performed for 19 years. He was also one of the announcers of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Winter Olympics hockey game.

4. Harry Kalas was known as the voice of NFL Films. Kalas died in the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast booth shortly before a game on April 13, 2009.

5. Marv Albert is commonly referred to as “the voice of basketball.” He is currently covering the NBA playoffs.

The Best Play-by-Play Announcers of All-Time in Alphabetical Order:

Mel Allen was the famous voice of the Yankees and New York Giants. Most celebrated as the host of This Week in Baseball.

Don Chevrier built his football play-by-play reputation in a number of markets and sports. He was the voice of three different CFL teams including the Edmonton Eskimos, the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Montreal Alouettes. He was a network commentator for regular season games on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or CBC.

Bob Costas has covered virtually every major sport for NBC as a play-by-play man. He has been a studio host, and even hosted his own late-night talk show on NBC.

Mike Emrick is the voice of the New Jersey Devils and the primary announcer on the NHL on Versus. He also covers NHL for NBC. He is considered by many as the greatest announcer in the history of the NHL.

Dick Enberg is best known for his role as the announcer for Wimbledon. He has worked for NBC, CBS and ABC. The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Rams are also on his resume.

Curt Gowdy is famous for announcing the NBC Game of the Week. He has also been the primary play-by-play man for the Boston Red Sox. Gowdy has worked in the NFL and announced Super Bowl I.

Foster Hewitt, the first and still best-known voice for Hockey Night in Canada for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. On May 24, 1925, Hewitt and his father made what was said to be the world’s first broadcast of a horse race.

Keith Jackson was the voice of college football for ABC Sports for many years. He also was the very first play-by-play man for Monday Night Football where he first worked with Howard Cosell in 1970.

Al Michaels is well known for his work on ABC’s Monday Night Football and now working with Sunday Night Football on NBC. Michaels has announced virtually every major sport, including NBA basketball, Major League Baseball, and ice hockey on both the NHL and Olympic level. He was the announcer for the Cincinnati Reds before Marty Brennaman.

Pat Summerall, a top NFL player in his own right for many years partnered with John Madden on NFL games with CBS and FOX, and also on many golf telecasts.

They said it:

Russ Hodges did play-by-play for several teams, most notably the New York and San Francisco Giants. Hodges was at the microphone on local radio for Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World “. It was Hodges who cried, “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!…”

Bob Murphy is a Hall of Fame announcer and original broadcaster for the New York Mets. Murphy’s most famous call is Bill Buckner’s ground ball error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium, “And the pitch by Stanley…a ground ball, trickling..it is a fair BALL! GETS BY BUCKNER!! ROUNDING THIRD, KNIGHT, THE METS WIN! THEY WIN!”.

Ralph Kiner’s most famous call came when the Mets won their first National League Pennant in 1969, “So the Mets are won out away from their impossible dream, pitch is a curve, topped out to third, Garret has the ball, he THROWS TO FIRST, and the New York Mets are the National League Champions.”

Al Michaels has had many famous calls but his most memorable came in 1980 at the Winter Olympics during the USA versus USSR hockey game. “Do you believe in miracles? YES!”

Johnny Most may have the most famous call in NBA history. “Havlicek steals it! Havlicek stole the ball!” this happened after Havlicek intercepted Hal Greer’s inbound pass to clinch the Eastern Conference Championship against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Coined phrases:

Ernie Harwell, long-time announcer for the Detroit Tigers has his own trademark phrases.

“That ball is loooong gone!”, and “He stood there like the house by the side of the road.”

Chick Hearn the former LA Lakers play-by-play legend invented several terms including, “Slam Dunk!”

Harry Kalas of the Phillies broadcast team is known for the phrase, “LONG DRIVE! Watch that baby…OUTTA HERE!”( for home runs)

Dave Niehaus has been the voice of the Seattle Mariners since the franchise’s birth in 1977. His signature calls are “Fly Away” (for home runs) “Get out the rye bread and mustard grandma, it’s Grand Salami Time” (for Grand Slams).

Joe Tait has been the Cleveland Cavaliers for 37 years with a 2 year break in the 1980’s he has many Taitisms including, “Wham with the right hand,” and “Three ball….Got it.”

Contributing source: http://en.wikipedia.org

photos: AP