Greatest commentator of all time?

Burd · June 15, 2015 11:47AM

I'm 41. I've grown up w some of the greats. Harry Carey (who died on my bday), Vin Scully, "oooohh Nellie" Keith and many more. But to me in my honest opinion "Doc" Emrick is the greatest broadcaster EVER!! Thoughts?

timpatg · June 15, 2015 12:16PM

My earliest memories of having cable TV when it was first available was watching the Braves and listening to Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren. Loved Skip's voice and his persona was totally opposite of Harry's.

Burd · June 15, 2015 12:19PM

<< My earliest memories of having cable TV when it was first available was watching the Braves and listening to Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren. Loved Skip's voice and his persona was totally opposite of Harry's. >>

yes it was and that's what has made Skip a great one also!!

PSASAP · June 15, 2015 2:24PM

Bill King was the greatest radio announcer I ever heard. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of sports, but was never boring. He brought the games to life, with his descriptions of the action. He had great anecdotes, and they weren't always sports related, which gave him the aura of a man of the world. He was relentless in his criticism of bad officiating, which really fueled the listener's sense of outrage and made the games into a battle of good guys versus bad guys. Most of all, he was the most versatile announcer, excelling in calling all sports, from the Raiders, to the Warriors and lastly, the A's. I doubt there will be anyone to come along and fill his shoes, he was one of a kind.

Estil · June 15, 2015 6:20PM

Cawood Ledford.

Justacommeman · June 15, 2015 7:37PM

Ernie Harwell for me

mark

grote15 · June 16, 2015 2:33AM

Don Criqui and Pat Summerall for football.

Ralph Kiner and Vin Scully for baseball.

sparky64 · June 16, 2015 2:49AM

<< Don Criqui and Pat Summerall for football.

Ralph Kiner and Vin Scully for baseball. >>

I can not argue these nominees.

Edit: There is one other for football but can't for the life of me come up with the name.
Edit II: Dick Stockton. I used to enjoy him more so back in the day.

Burd · June 16, 2015 2:53AM

<< Don Criqui and Pat Summerall for football.

Ralph Kiner and Vin Scully for baseball. >>

EXCELLENT!!

galaxy27 · June 16, 2015 3:27AM

Jack Buck and Harry Kalas

telephoto1 · June 16, 2015 5:17AM

When I think "greatest" I close my eyes and picture whose voice immediately comes to mind.
These were all no brainers for me.

Baseball- Harry Caray, Jack Buck

Football (College)- Keith Jackson
Football (Pro)-Pat Summerall, John Madden

Basketball (pro)- Marv Albert

Pro Wrestling- Jim Ross, Gordon Solie

lanemyer85 · June 16, 2015 5:46AM

<< I'm 41. I've grown up w some of the greats. Harry Carey (who died on my bday), Vin Scully, "oooohh Nellie" Keith and many more. But to me in my honest opinion "Doc" Emrick is the greatest broadcaster EVER!! Thoughts? >>

Emrick would be at or near the top of that list 7-10 years ago but father time and the speed of the game has caught up to him. Every Blackhawk game he did over the last 3 months he continually called any Hawk wearing a number in the 80's, Patrick Kane. So Teravainen and Vermette were also Patrick Kane this season. There are other issues with Emrick but that's the big one when you're announcing the game winning goal in a key situation the wrong player scoring a pivotal goal. He's not on a national stage, but (the Dallas Stars') Daryl Reaugh would get my vote for the best current hockey play-by-play commentator.

Until he retires, it's Scully. Though I'll shill for Cubs TV play-by-play man Len Kasper not only because he's one of few ML level boothmen who truly understands and uses advanced stats when they're worth using, but also because when there is down time, or the Cubs are getting rolled, he'll start talking music or hockey or local events or other things. He may not paint fit-for-radio pictures like Scully, and his voice is terribly nasally, but the content is unparalleled.

The best booth in sports right now is Jason Goodall and Robbie Koenig and it's not close. Unfortunately for most American sports fans, they cover tennis. To give you an idea of how great they are, they work for tens of different broadcasters. BBC, Eurosport, Tennis Channel and starting this year, ESPN among others.

coinkat · June 16, 2015 8:14AM

In all fairness, I think the question needs to be separated by sport and by the timeframe (era) of various personalities. There are too many to list and my response will reflect a geographic bias.

For Ice Hockey and Basketball, Chick Hern was as entertaining as they come. He did the Lakers games as well as the Kings hockey games back in the 1960's and 1970's. Listening to him on the radio was an experience that you just have to hear to appreciate.

For baseball, I always liked Vin Scully and Dick Enberg. Don Drysdale was as good of an announcer as a pitcher. I don't have enough of a personal recollection of "Red" Barber, but as for baseball, I would not want to leave him out.

Football is tough for me because I enjoy college football more than the NFL... I will just refrain from adding names here even though Keith Jackson was entertaining... I know I will leave some out that I should have included

garnettstyle · June 16, 2015 8:47AM

I miss Keith Jackson.

halosfan · June 16, 2015 1:16PM

Chick Hearn!

RoarIn84 · June 17, 2015 9:27AM

Ernie Harwell is a no-brainer. But this coming from a Detroiter.... No love for Howard Cosell? He always had a poeticism about him no matter if it was the most anticipated sporting event in the world or ladies curling...

Vin Scully, even though he hates Detroit, was brilliant. His anecdotes and insight were just amazing. I speak in the past tense, because now he just sounds like a rambling old man who occasionally remembers there's a game going on

PowderedH2O · June 17, 2015 9:52PM

My favorite as a kid was Joe Garagiola. There was something about that Saturday NBC Game of the Week with Joe and Tony Kubek. Maybe it is just nostalgia. I lived in New Orleans, and we didn't have a team and there was no cable yet in the mid 1970's, so the Saturday game was the only chance to see baseball (occasionally ABC had Monday Night Baseball, but it was rare). Oddly enough, even though I started watching baseball in 1973 (and collecting cards), there were a number of players I never saw except for the All Star Game. I never saw a game with Rod Carew as a Twin, except for the ASG. Now, of course, you can see any team you want any time you want. So, maybe that's why I held Joe and Tony in such high esteem. They held the key to my childhood baseball.

keets · June 18, 2015 12:26AM

Jim Donovan is a Cleveland area sportcaster who occasionally does National games and Browns games. more than a few people besides myself have commented that it can be hard to tell who has the ball when he announces, he gets so excited about a good play and always, always gives credit or criticism where it's due.

I have always admired his non-homerism attitude. I don't know if that makes him great but he's fun to listen to.

FavreFan1971 · June 18, 2015 12:43AM

Bob Uecker for baseball.

72skywalker · June 19, 2015 12:28AM

Holy Cow !!!!!!!!! Phil Rizzuto for Baseball. He talked about everything but the game.

Tabe · June 19, 2015 3:56PM

<< I'm 41. I've grown up w some of the greats. Harry Carey (who died on my bday), Vin Scully, "oooohh Nellie" Keith and many more. But to me in my honest opinion "Doc" Emrick is the greatest broadcaster EVER!! Thoughts? >>

I know I'm in the distinct minority on this but I think Doc Emrick is awful. He tries waaaaaaaaay too hard to be flowery with his language and to seek out some deeper meaning in every game. He also relies way too heavily on naming where guys played college hockey and mispronounces names (he loved to call Nicklas Lidstrom "Nick-uh-las", which is incorrect and an embarrassing mistake for a supposed top-level guy to make on an all-time elite player's name). And, not his fault, but Emrick's work also suffers by having to carry Eddie O and Pierre Maguire on the national broadcasts. Ugh.

Personally, my favorite hockey guy is Dave Strader. I grew up listening to him when he did Red Wings games and it's a nice treat for me when I get him on a national game again.

Justacommeman · June 19, 2015 8:14PM

For hockey nobody comes close to Danny Gallivan in my opinion. He is the voice of hockey. Gary Thorne is a distant second for me.

mark

Goomba78 · June 20, 2015 11:41AM

seebelow · June 21, 2015 1:49AM

Myron Cope...hmmm ha

MCMLVTopps · June 21, 2015 6:50AM

Hard to not include Curt Gowdy...voice of the Boston Red Sox from the early 50s into the 60s. Heard many times on the Boston airwaves..."Hey neighbor, have a Gansett" which was a local beer.

Notable moments called by Gowdy

Curt Gowdy was present for some of American sports' storied moments, including Ted Williams' home run in his final at-bat in 1960, Super Bowl I, the AFL's infamous "Heidi" game of 1968, and (after the 1968 pro football season) the third AFL-NFL World Championship game (Super Bowl III) in which Joe Namath and the New York Jets defeated the NFL champion Baltimore Colts. In 1971, Gowdy called to the country on Christmas Day the longest Game in pro football history, when the Miami Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24. He also covered Franco Harris' "Immaculate Reception" of 1972, Clarence Davis' miraculous catch in a "sea of hands" from Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, to defeat the Miami Dolphins in the final seconds of a legendary 1974 AFC playoff game, and Hank Aaron's 715th home run in 1974.

estang · June 22, 2015 8:28AM

Baseball:

Vin Scully & Joe Garagiola (sp?) were great on Baseball Game of the Week

Herb Carneal (Twins), classic

Mel Allen -- loved This Week in Baseball

Harry Carey & Steve Stone were entertaining...

I also like Al Michaels doing baseball with Jim Palmer with Cosell there for a while

The Atlanta Braves had a really good crew on TBS before they mysteriously blew that all up...

Football:

Keith Jackson & Vern Lindquist for football play-by-play

Howard Cosell was so entertaining with Don Meredith...

John Madden in his earlier years was also very good...

Basketball:

Dick Stockton & Tom Heinson were the best...

Golf:

Ken Venturi & Jim Nantz and the most of the hole-by-hole announcers at the Masters including Gary McCord...

coinkat · June 22, 2015 10:48AM

Golf- Henry Longhurst

BLUEJAYWAY · June 22, 2015 11:29AM

Always liked Dick Stockton. Have to mention Lindsey Nelson. He of Mets fame. Shared the booth with Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy. Nelson also did some Sat college football. How about Marv Albert for the Knicks, and all the games he called when Jordan was playing, with his trademark call "Yes" after a great basket. Bob Prince in Pittsburgh for the Pirates was on radio for quite a number of years.

JoeBanzai · June 22, 2015 10:45PM

Al Shaver for hockey. "He shoots......he SCORES!" Unforgettable.

BobS · June 29, 2015 8:11AM

Hockey- Rick gennerett. Bflo Sabres play by play for what seems like the last 30 years. YouTube "top shelf where mamma keeps the cookies". He's incredible and unfortunately in poor health. If you've played bubble hockey lately, his call is the voice used on a lot of new machines.

interchanges · June 30, 2015 6:45AM

Ernie Harwell

Sentimental reason of course. In the early 80's we would open the doors of my 1970 Plymouth Fury and listen to the games on the radio with the doors open while shooting baskets at my parents house. Good times.

My current favorite announcer is Phil Simms doing NFL games on CBS

Greatest commentator of all time?

Comments