ESPN’s 30 for 30 series has been a huge hit for the network over the years. I remember traveling for baseball and having multiple episodes loaded for viewing in flight. Depending on how long the trip was, I would have several episodes ready for viewing to pass the time and be entertained.
I remember watching the first one that came out in 2009, King’s Ransom, the story of Wayne Gretzky’s trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. I was hooked. From there I’d download many of them. Some of my other favorites were, June 17, 1994, Jordan Rides the Bus, and Four Days in October.
It has been reported that ESPN is working on a 30 for 30 on Bill Walton currently titled The Luckiest Guy in the World. It will focus on Walton’s life in basketball, from UCLA to the Portland Trail Blazers, and then on to the world of announcing. By my calculations, Walton would be the third (or fourth depending on how you count) broadcasting type to be featured. Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder was the focus of Episode 6, which showed his life as a Vegas bookmaker to his time on The NFL Today on CBS. Years later, WFAN’s iconic duo Mike and the Mad Dog got their own 30 for 30 as well.
There should be more announcers featured. There have been so many talented men and women broadcasters that it’s probably too difficult to narrow down the field and then produce the episodes. So, I have compiled a list of announcers/analysts that I’d like to see featured on an upcoming 30 for 30’s. Here we go! (In no ranking order)
Vin Scully, MLB. ‘It’s Time for Dodgers Baseball’
Scully is well known as the best play-by-play announcer in Major League Baseball history. His storytelling ability was second to none. Many have tried to imitate, but nobody will ever duplicate Vin.
FOCUS: The move from NY to LA and his early days working with Red Barber. Also, on his partnership with the late Don Drysdale and why Scully decided to work on his own rather than bring in a new partner.
Pat Summerall and John Madden, NFL.‘Montana…Rice…Touchdown…Whap!…Boom…Doink’
These guys HAVE to be featured together. There’s no other way around it. The two were paired together in 1981 and their partnership lasted 22 seasons between CBS and Fox. They were the perfect duo. Summerall was a minimalist, and Madden, had a lot to say, ALWAYS.
FOCUS: How this unlikely pairing became the most recognized and well-liked duos in the history of the NFL. What did it take to get this pairing off the ground and maintain that tremendous working relationship?
Chick Hearn, NBA. ‘It’s A Slam Dunk’
Ask anyone living in Southern California and they’ll probably tell you that Hearn is the greatest to ever call an NBA game. He called almost 34-hundred consecutive Lakers games starting in 1965. That’s nearly 38 straight seasons.
FOCUS: Hearn was as much a part of ‘Showtime’ as Magic and Kareem were. I’d love to know where he came up with ‘Slam Dunk’, ‘Air Ball’ and ‘No harm, no foul’. The phrases live on today in basketball lingo.
Keith Jackson, ABC, Football, Baseball. ‘Whoa Nellie’
The voice, the unmistakable voice of Keith Jackson will always be remembered. Mainly as a college football announcer for ABC, he became the gold standard. With his ‘Whoa Nellie’ and ‘Fum-BLE!’ He’s also credited with naming Michigan Stadium, ‘The Big House’.
FOCUS: The early days of college football on television, this one could even show the evolving nature of the game through Jackson’s eyes. He saw some of the greatest college football players ever and some of the greatest teams ever.
Brent Musburger, CBS, ABC, studio, play-by-play. ‘You Are Looking Live’
From hosting ‘The NFL Today’, to becoming a broadcast play-by-play voice of football and basketball on CBS/ABC/ESPN, Musburger has been a fixture in the industry for many years.
FOCUS: Where did ‘you are looking live’ come from? It could also focus on the evolution of the NFL studio show. The CBS show had a gambling angle way back when. The early indications that viewers wanted to know this aspect of the game.
Doc Emrick, NBC, NHL play-by-play. ‘Waffle boarded, pitchforked, ladled, SCORRRREE!’
The wordsmith of hockey and voice of many a hockey memory. Emrick is a member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. His style is unmatched, with the vocabulary of an English professor, with no descriptions commonly the same.
FOCUS: That vocabulary, how, where, why? This would also be a good time to find out about Emrick the man. He has always had a love for animals and frequently would rather discuss this passion rather than hockey.
Howard Cosell, ABC Commentator, Monday Night Football. ‘I’m Just Telling It Like It Is’
How do you describe Cosell? In his own words in a New York Times piece, ‘I’ve been called arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. And, of course, I am.’ He had a style all of his own. He was famous for his interactions with Muhammad Ali, watching them interact was incredible.
FOCUS: How would the style of Howard Cosell work in today’s world of sports? Could he have been, ‘himself’ in the current culture? If that wouldn’t work, I’d love to have an account of how Cosell broke the news of the death of John Lennon on Monday Night Football.
Jim Nantz, CBS, Studio, Play-by-play, PGA, NFL, NCAA. ‘Hello Friends’
What else could the title be? His face/voice have become the signature of CBS Sports. Nantz is the lead voice of PGA, NFL and College Basketball coverage on the network. In 2007, he called Super Bowl XLI and joined a group, with Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy and Kevin Harlan as the only play-by-play announcers to call both a Super Bowl and NCAA Championship game.
FOCUS: I’d like to know more about Nantz and his association with the PGA Tour and more specifically ‘The Masters’. It would be cool to relive some of the greatest finishes and tournaments in his time. The Tiger Woods’ wins in 1997 (#1), and 2019 (#5) could fill 30 minutes easily.
Al Michaels, ABC, NBC, play-by-play, NFL, MLB. ‘It’s No Miracle’
Michaels is such a pro he can do any sport. He proved that during the 1980 Winter Olympics when Michaels called one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports. The Miracle on Ice team will always be tied to him. But Michaels has done so much more, like baseball, basketball and of course now football, including last week’s Super Bowl.
FOCUS: He’s already been featured in ‘The Day the Series Stopped’ the story of the 1989 World Series being interrupted by an earthquake. I’d like to see more of his work with the Cincinnati Reds from 1971-74; and then his early days with UCLA starting in 1974.
Kevin Harlan, CBS, Westwood One, play-by-play, NFL, NCAA. ‘With No Regard For Human Life’
Harlan is the rare breed that knows the ins and outs of calling a game and have the ability to insert some humor into the broadcast. The thing that is great about Harlan is one never gets in the way of the other. His enthusiastic calls resonate and don’t go over the top.
FOCUS: I could watch an entire night of his epic calls of people running on the field, a cat looking to score a touchdown, or Harlan calling two games at once. He’s so good and I still love one of his catchphrases ‘With No Regard for Human Life’, hence the title of his story.
Dick Vitale, ESPN,College Basketball. ‘Awesome With A Capital A’
There probably isn’t anyone who has done more to spread the joy of college basketball than Vitale. It’s hard to imagine telling the story of NCAA basketball without him in it. At present Dickie V is in a battle with cancer. I know he’s been going through some rough times of late but he continues to inspire many, Tweeting about his experiences. All the best to you!
FOCUS: I would love to watch the story of Dick Vitale the coach. Mainly his work at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he went 79-29 and took a Titans team to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1977.
Marv Albert NBC, Turner Sports, NFL, NHL, NCAA, NBA. ‘Yes! And It Counts’
There really isn’t much that Albert hasn’t done. He’s been a party to some of the greatest moments in sports, locally in New York and nationally for NBC. Versatile, enthusiastic and sarcastic, Albert was truly one of a kind.
FOCUS: I’d like to know more about what it was like calling New York Rangers games starting in 1965. He was on the radio call for the Rangers Stanley Cup-clinching victory in 1994. I’m sure there are some stories to tell in there. “Kick save and a beauty”
Jack Buck CBS, ABC, St. Louis Cardinals, MLB, NFL. ‘He’s A Winner!’
The unmistakable voice of Buck assured you that it was going to be a big game no matter the consequence. The longtime voice of the St. Louis Cardinals also lent his talents on the national baseball scene. From his ‘Go crazy folks, go crazy!’ to ‘I don’t believe what I just saw’ he captured the moment as only he could.
FOCUS: One of my first jobs in radio was to ‘run the board’ for Monday Night Football games. The announcing team of Buck and Hank Stram were so good and so smooth together. I’d like to hear more about that tandem as they ‘matriculated’ down the road of CBS Radio’s coverage of MNF.
Gus Johnson, Fox, BTN, CBS, College Football, Basketball, NFL. ‘Hurt My Feelings!’
Johnson’s high-energy style has resulted in a polarized response from sports fans. Catchphrases are his thing along with the upbeat style. ‘Rise and fire…count it’, ‘Cold-blooded’ and ‘Here comes the pain’ are among many he uses. He rose to prominence in the mid 2000’s after getting a shot to call NCAA March Madness games on CBS.
FOCUS: He’s been everywhere. Would be interesting to follow Johnson’s career on its many stops, then focus in on his NCAA Basketball work. Maybe also follow him through a session of doing the voicework for the Madden NFL video games.
Leslie Visser, CBS, ABC, NFL, MLB, NCAA, Tennis, Olympics ‘There’s Nothing She Couldn’t Do’
Lesley Visser was a trailblazer. Visser spent a decade as a reporter with The Boston Globe before making the jump to television work, where she’s the only broadcaster, male or female, to work the Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, Olympics, Super Bowl, U.S. Open and World Figure Skating Championships.
FOCUS: You could go any number of ways here, just spanning her career achievements would be riveting enough. The struggles she went through to pave the way for future generations of female broadcasters would also be interesting to see.
Others in the mix: Joe Buck, Mike Tirico, Bob Costas, Harry Caray, Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy, Jim McKay, Jack Brickhouse, Bill Raftery, Beth Mowins, Doris Burke, Hannah Storm, Frank Gifford, and Don Meredith.
There you go ESPN, I’ve done the hard part, now it’s time to get moving on these!
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.
