Earlier this week, Hall of Fame broadcaster Sam Rosen, who has been the play-by-play voice of the New York Rangers for the last 39 seasons, announced this coming season would be his last. He was a guest on ESPN New York during DiPietro & Rothenberg which was being hosted by Dan Graca.
Rosen talked about his recent trip to Portugal and how he has been following one of his grandsons around the country who is playing in baseball showcase tournaments.
“Now I’m starting to get the itch, Dan,” he said about the upcoming hockey season. “I’m looking forward to the next season with a lot of excitement.”
Graca then asked Rosen how he knew it was time to call it quits after this season. “I don’t know if there’s ever the right time, Dan,” he said. “I think the guy who said it best for me was a few weeks ago at Wimbledon. Andy Murray said his heart was telling him he’d love to play for the rest of his life, but his head knew that he can’t. For me, I’d love to be doing games the rest of my life. The thrill of doing the games for the Rangers in the National Hockey League never stops. But you know, it’s time.”
Rosen continued and talked about his family, which he looks forward to spending much more time with.
“We’re getting a little older,” Rosen said. “I used to block out the numbers, but you can’t. The reality is that it’s time to slow down, time to spend time with family…It’s time to spend a little more time with them, with my wife, get out on the golf course, work on my mediocre golf game…It’s something that’s so special. As I said, I’d love to do the games until forever, but the reality is it’s time to step aside.”
Rosen added, “Personally, when I step aside and finish up this year, I want to finish up on top and make sure that my performance doesn’t falter whatsoever.”
Graca asked Rosen about being with the team as long as he has and how rare it is to spend 40 years with the same organization in any capacity.
“I would say, pretty fortunate to be with a great organization, to have grown up in New York City, to have rooted for the Rangers, to have gone to their games, and then to be able to broadcast for MSG Network as long as I have has been good luck for me” he said. “It’s been very, very special and heartfelt, and probably the best thing is when you leave the building or when you’re in the building and you have fans come up to you and tell you that they grew up watching the Rangers and listening to me, and now their kids are doing that. I think that’s the greatest feeling, that there’s so much passed along to family, and they want you to take a picture, and the fans have been so great, and knowing that I’ve touched so many people, that’s something special.”
Another topic Graca brought up was how few partners Rosen has had in those years. After a brief run with Phil Esposito, Rosen spent 20 years working with John Davidson and has been working with Joe Micheletti since 2006,
“Yeah, it was, again, good fortune,” he said. “When I took over in 1984, it was me and Phil Esposito, and Phil, to this day, is one of the most fun people to be around. We had great times for two seasons, and then I got him a job as the general manager of the New York Rangers and pushed him out of the booth. J.D. and I had a great run of 20 years, very special. John was the gold standard as far as hockey broadcasters, and he just set the standard. We’ve remained close friends…and then when J.D. left in 2006, Joe just slid over, and it was an easy transition. Joe is right out of the same mold. He is as good as it gets as far as his work is concerned, his work ethic, his ability to explain the game.
“My job was easy. The first two years, it was a lot of giggles and a lot of fun with Phil Esposito, and then with J.D. and Joe, it’s been just an easy show up. Call the game, because they’ve got everything going for them.”
