A voice for all seasons. Kenny Albert seems to appear on your television no matter what sport is going on at that time. Albert does baseball, football, basketball, hockey and the Olympics. As one of television sports’ most versatile announcers it’s not a wonder he’s on all the time. Albert’s work appears on several networks including TNT, FOX, and NBC. This week he’ll start calling Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Albert was bitten by the sports bug at a very young age. Being the son of Marv Albert, naturally his parents gave him a tape recorder for his 5th birthday, so he could practice his broadcasting. For his next birthday, Marv took Kenny along to a Rangers hockey game. One of the statisticians had to leave in the middle of the game, so Kenny got to do the stats for the rest of the game. At 14, he became the official statistician for the Rangers on the radio. At 16, he wrote content for the Rangers program. He was a prodigy of sorts.
While having a famous father may have opened up some doors along the way, talent has to win out to sustain at such a high level of broadcasting. Kenny Albert didn’t start right away with a network. He paid some dues along the way. He covered high school sports for the Port Washington News as a youngster and did minor league hockey for the Baltimore Skipjacks in 1990. From there he’d start to break into the higher levels, starting with television play-by-play for the Washington Capitals in 1992. Albert would do hockey for ESPN and NHL Radio. He broke into football in 1994 when Fox took over coverage of the NFL and has been there ever since. Albert also added MLB on Fox, the Olympics and the full-time radio gig with the New York Rangers.
As of just a couple of weeks ago, Albert, along with Eddie Olczyk have been named the lead announce team for Turner’s coverage of the NHL. Albert was tabbed one of the lead voices of this year’s NBC telecasts replacing the retired Doc Emrick.
WHY IS HE SO GOOD?
Albert has been called by many, a “pro’s pro”. Quite a compliment if you ask me. Not too many announcers are just so solid at what they do that they earn that label. There really is no flash or catch phrase that Albert relies on. It’s just solid broadcasting and a voice that can transcend multiple sports.
He never shies away from an assignment either. With his busy schedule you’d forgive him every once in a while, to say, “I think I’ll pass on that one”, but that’s not his style. Take for example, and this is just one case, back in 2009 when he called four different sports in four nights, including two on the same day.
October 25: Play-by-play Vikings/Steelers NFL on Fox
October 25: Yankees’ locker room celebration after clinching ALCS on Fox
October 26: Play-by-play Rangers hockey on radio
October 28: Play-by-play Knicks season opener MSG Network
That’s a pretty impressive skill set to have, to be able to pivot quickly and be able to adequately prepare for each assignment. Not many have been asked to do this type of turnaround, and for good reason. It’s not easy to do. Versatility has been his calling card and it’s made him a successful broadcaster over the years.
WORKING WITH KENNY ALBERT
According to some that count these things, Albert has worked with nearly 250 different broadcasters (as of 2016). The numbers add up when you consider he works all four of the major US sports. Add to the fact that he’s done the Olympics and boxing among others and the number of people he’s worked with begins to soar.
As of a few years ago, it was estimated Albert has worked with 57 different broadcast partners in football alone. That included a game with both Tiki and Ronde Barber. Some of the famous names he’s done games with include: Anthony Munoz, Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Jimmy Johnson, Glenn Anderson, Eddie Olczyk, Bill Raftery, Paul Molitor and Sugar Ray Leonard. That’s a who’s who of famous athletes.
In a story done on Fox Sports Press Pass in 2016, Albert explained how it’s possible to work with such a wide variety of analysts. The most important take from this article is Albert knows his job.
“The play-by-play man has many roles: the first is obvious — calling the play,” Albert said. “Also weaving in anecdotes, statistics, historical information, rules explanations, stories from meetings with players and coaches, while also serving as somewhat of a conversation ‘traffic cop.’”
“I have been fortunate in that I have gotten along with — and ‘clicked’ with — just about all of the partners I have worked with,” Albert said. “You certainly develop a rhythm and flow with the partners you work with on a consistent basis; you learn each other’s cadence and tendencies from years and years of working together.”
Pretty impressive to be able to handle the ‘celebrity’ of some that he’s worked with and not stray from what makes him a terrific broadcaster and deliver a great broadcast. Being able to set up the analyst and allow that person to be themselves and tell their stories is what fans want to hear. Albert is happy to allow all of that to happen.
DID YOU KNOW?
In November 2020, he scheduled an extra game, in between two NFL games. He called the Giants/Washington game one week. The following week he called Steelers/Bengals. Sandwiched in the middle a High School Football game. Northern Valley Demarest High School (Bergen County) vs. Dumont. Why? Albert’s two daughters have attended Northern Valley and Albert struck up a friendship with the Athletic Director Greg Butler. Due to the pandemic only a limited number of fans were allowed at games, so they’d stream the games with no audio for students that couldn’t attend.
Albert texted Butler, saying if there are any football games that fall on a Thursday, he’d be available. He was half serious and half joking, but the school took him up on it. So, while he was prepping for the Steelers/Bengals game he started to work on the high school board. He also attended a practice and spoke with both coaches. Albert wanted to be prepared.
“The biggest thing is pronunciation,” Albert told the New York Post. “I know a lot of the parents and the families are going to be watching and can’t be at the games. You don’t want to pronounce a kids’ name incorrectly. It might be the only time on a YouTube livestream in their life. It is actually harder than preparing for an NFL game because you are not familiar with the names and numbers.”
CONCLUSION
Albert is just a solid broadcaster. It’s no frills, but he has the skills to make every sport he covers come to life. Versatile and professional are two words he’s earned the right to use. Busy schedule or not, football or hockey, you know he’s going to be ready to go.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
