As the regular season in the National Hockey League nears its conclusion, the New York Rangers honored longtime television play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon. In a pregame ceremony ahead of a pivotal matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers organization and fanbase showed their appreciation for Rosen as he prepares to retire from the broadcast booth after 40 years. Rosen was joined on the blue carpet by his wife, Jill, in addition to current broadcast partner Joe Micheletti and former analysts John Davidson and Phil Esposito.
While Rosen was stepping up to the podium to address the crowd, the cheers became louder and he took a step back to convey his appreciation. Rosen explained that he was a kid from Brooklyn and was now being honored at The World’s Most Famous Arena, something for which he declared that he has “truly lived the dream.” Throughout the day, MSG Networks aired messages to Rosen from Rangers players and team alumni, culminating in a one-hour special looking back at his broadcast career after the postgame show. The organization also played a highlight video looking back on some of Rosen’s most memorable calls over the years.
“To the wonderful people here at Madison Square Garden, the people I work for and the people I work with – every time I walk into this building, I know I’m walking into my second home because the people are the best in the world,” Rosen said. “Thanks to Joe Cohen, who hired me back in 1982, and I’m still here today and loving every minute of it. To my friends, co-workers and the great production team at Madison Square Garden, you’re the best,” Rosen said. “You’ve made my job easy. It’s been a joy to work every day with all of you.”
Rosen proceeded to call the Rangers game as the team garnered a 5-3 victory over the Canucks and remained in the playoff race. During his time behind the microphone for MSG Networks, Rosen called a Stanley Cup championship for the Rangers in 1994, which broke a 54-year drought for the organization. In addition to his work with MSG Networks, he was also a play-by-play announcer for the NFL on FOX spanning more than two decades and also called Stanley Cup Final games on NHL Radio.
“A special thanks to a couple of others – the late Al Trautwig, I miss him dearly,” Rosen said. “To John Giannone, to my radio partners Dave Maloney and to Sal ‘Red Light’ Messina, who’s in the Hall of Fame. Special thanks to the New York Rangers, to the organization for letting me have the privilege of doing the games for 40 years.
“To the players, who have treated me as one of their own, I admire everything you do on the ice, and I love being around you off the ice. Thank you, and to the fans, for every person who stopped me and asked for a selfie or an autograph, thank you. You are my inspiration to be the best I could be. Thank you, I love all of you.”
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