Play-by-play

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Play-by-play, in broadcasting, is a North American term and means the reporting of a sporting event with a voiceover describing the details of the action of the game in progress. In North America, in many sports, the play-by-play person is assisted by a color commentator.

Nearly all professional sports teams and most collegiate teams have their own play-by-play announcers, who usually are the voice of the team on radio broadcasts and are often identified with the team as much as the players or coaches. In addition, television networks and cable channels will have their own stable of play-by-play announcers that work on the games of varying teams.

In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the term "commentator" is used instead, but the function is much the same.

Many play-by-play announcers will work in more than one sport.

Contents 1 Famous play-by-play announcers 1.1 Baseball 1.2 American football 1.3 Association football (soccer) 1.4 Basketball 1.5 Ice hockey 1.6 Horse racing 1.7 Cricket 1.8 Auto racing 1.9 Curling 1.10 Multiple sports 1.11 Pro wrestling 2 Theater parlance

[edit] Famous play-by-play announcers

Among the best known play-by-play announcers, listed by the sport where their work is best known:

[edit] Baseball

• Harry Caray, best known with the Chicago Cubs, but also worked for many years with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. Also worked with the St. Louis Hawks of the NBA and University of Missouri football.
• Skip Caray, Harry's equally-known son, longtime voice on television and radio for the Atlanta Braves, among many other play-by-play duties with various cable channels owned by Ted Turner and successors.
• Chip Caray, Skip's son and Harry's grandson. The trio is ther only three-generation team ever to work a single game together in any sport, having done so twice: on May 13, 1991, at a Cubs-Braves game, and in 1989 for an NBA game between the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat. Chip Caray has worked full time with both his grandfather (with the Cubs) and father (currently, with the Braves). Chip took over play-by-play for the Cubs on WGN-TV after Harry's death, and left that job after the 2005 season to work with Skip again in Atlanta. He also previously worked for the Magic, and also on national broadcasts (and in-studio hosting) for FOX Sports.
• Jack Buck, Caray's former color commentator, best known for his work with the Cardinals but also as a network announcer, and the radio voice for Monday Night Football.
• Mike Shannon, Buck's color partner with Cardinals, who later replaced Buck on play by play.
• Joe Buck, Jack Buck's son, who does baseball and football for FOX Sports. The current TV Play-by-play man for the World Series.
• Herb Carneal, for the Minnesota Twins.
• Marty Brennaman, for more than three decades with the Cincinnati Reds, and also on national radio for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
• Thom Brennaman, Marty's son, previously with the Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks, but leaving Arizona to work with his father and the Reds starting in 2007.
• Bob Uecker, better known for his comedic act and mediocre baseball career (the frequent topic of his comedy), but also for many years the play-by-play man for the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Red Barber, legendary voice for the Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees, among many other announcing jobs.
• Mel Allen, famous voice of the Yankees and New York Giants, as well as This Week in Baseball.
• Dizzy Dean, the famous player turned broadcaster, though often remembered for his malaprops on the air.
• Milo Hamilton, with the Houston Astros and before that the Braves; his radio call is often heard in recordings of Henry Aaron hitting his 715th home run in Atlanta.
• Vin Scully, who has worked more than half a century with the Dodgers, beginning in Brooklyn and then moving to Los Angeles. Scully has worked many national assignments, including the Major League Baseball Game of the Week on NBC for six seasons, and also the National Football League on both radio and television.
• Joe Garagiola, Curt Gowdy's longtime partner as color commentator on NBC's Game of the Week, who later replaced Gowdy on play-by-play. A top former player for the New York Yankees, Garagiola was also a co-host of NBC's Today Show and a game show host, and in recent years has done "play-by-play" (of sorts) for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

[edit] American football

• Keith Jackson, the decades-long voice of college football for ABC Sports. He also was the very first play-by-play man for Monday Night Football where he first worked with Howard Cosell, and also called NBA and MLB games for ABC.
• Pat Summerall, a top NFL player in his own right, but for many years partnered with John Madden on NFL games with CBS and FOX, and also on many golf telecasts.
• Al Michaels, the voice of Monday Night Football on ABC from 1986-2005, now does NBC's Sunday Night Football with John Madden. Michaels has also called the World Series and NBA Finals when he was with ABC. Was also one of the announcers of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Winter Olympics hockey game, when an upstart American side upset the powerhouse team from the Soviet Union en route to a gold medal; coined the line, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Note: Nearly every major college football program in the United States can boast a "legendary play-by-play man" whose tenure with the school runs many years. They are too numerous to list here.

[edit] Association football (soccer)

• JP Dellacamera, primary soccer announcer for Major League Soccer in the United States on ESPN. He also serves as play-by-play man for the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL.
• Barry Davies, for 35 years the voice of the BBC Match of the Day, but also worked on many Olympic sports.
• Peter Jones, best known as the commentator who witnessed and broadcast the accounts of the Hillsborough disaster.
• Raymond Glendenning, longtime English football commentator who worked numerous FIFA World Cup matches, but also tennis, boxing, horse racing and even greyhound racing.

[edit] Basketball

• Chick Hearn, longtime voice of the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Johnny Most, longtime voice of the Boston Celtics, remembered for many calls, including "Havlicek Stole the Ball".
• Cawood Ledford, for many decades the radio (and sometimes television simultaneously) of the University of Kentucky Wildcats; he also broadcast their football games, as well as national radio broadcasts of the NCAA Men's Final Four and the Kentucky Derby.
• Tom Hammond, who has worked on college and Olympic basketball for NBC, as well as horse racing (though better known in that sports as a host instead of a race caller).
• Max Falkenstien, voice of Kansas Jayhawks basketball and football from 1946 until 2006, covering over 1750 basketball games as well as 650 football games.

[edit] Ice hockey

• Rick Jeanneret, the play by play announcer for the Buffalo Sabres known for his exuberant play calling, one of the few announcers who currently simulcast TV and radio.
• Foster Hewitt, the first and still best-known voice for Hockey Night in Canada for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
• Bob Cole, who succeeded Hewitt on HNIC.
• Bill Hewitt, Foster's son, was also a HNIC play-by-play man.
• Pat Foley, former radio and television play-by-play man for the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL.
• Dan Kelly, radio and TV voice for the St. Louis Blues from its first game until his death in 1989. His sons, Dan Jr. and John are also play-by-play men in the NHL.
• Jim Hughson, currently the voice of the Vancouver Canucks, and the primary announcer on the 10pm ET game on Hockey Night in Canada.
• Mike Emrick, currently the voice of the New Jersey Devils and the primary announcer on the NHL on Versus.
• Jiggs McDonald, formerly the Hall of Fame voice of the New York Islanders and several other teams.
• Mike Lange, currently the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• Sam Rosen, currently the television voice of the New York Rangers.
• Howie Rose, currently the television voice of the New York Islanders, but remembered by Ranger fans for his "Matteau, Matteau, Matteau" call in the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs.
• Danny Gallivan, the voice of the Montreal Canadiens for a generation.

[edit] Horse racing

• Tom Durkin, who has called many major races for NBC, including the Triple Crwon and the Breeder's Cup.
• Dave Johnson, known for his race work on ABC and ESPN, known for his trademark phrase as the hortses come to the top of the home stretch: "And down the stretch they come!"
• Chic Anderson, who caled Triple Crown races for many years on CBS, best remembered for his call of the record victory by Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes.

[edit] Cricket

Play-by-play announcers in cricket and other traditionally-English sports are usually referred to as commentators, but perform the same function. Additinally, cricket commentators will often rotate between play-by-play and color commentary, owing to the length of the game. (Some baseball radio play-by-play annoucers will do the same.)

• Henry Blofeld, famous for his work on Test Match Special for the BBC, but also worked with ITV and BSkyB.
• Jim Maxwell, Australian cricket broadcaster for more than 30 years, but also having worked in rugby league, rugby union, and Olympic Games.
• Christopher Martin-Jenkins, also known for his longtime Test Match Special work.
• Jonathan Agnew, Blofeld's frequent colleague, a former test cricketer for England in his own right and now a TMS commentator.

[edit] Auto racing

• Paul Page, longtime radio and television voice for the Indianapolis 500, but now works many other open-wheel races for ABC/ESPN.

[edit] Curling

• Don Chevrier, who has done play-by-play for Olympic and other major curling matches in Canada and the United States for many years, now working primarily with NBC in the U.S.

[edit] Multiple sports

Some play-by-play announcers are hard to pin down to a specific sport.

• Brent Musburger, now with ESPN on ABC but for many years synonymous with CBS Sports and its coverage of the NFL and the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Musburger's main work now is in college football, but he can be found working nearly any sport.
• Dick Enberg, who has worked for NBC, CBS and ABC as well as individual teams (such as the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Rams calling basketball, football, and even tennis, both at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and has even been a game show host (Sports Challenge and Baffle).
• Al Michaels, well known for his work on Monday Night Football and now working with NBC Sunday Night Football. Michaels has announced virtually every major sport, including NBA basketball, Major League Baseball, and ice hockey on both the NHL and Olympic level. His call of the "Miracle on Ice" win by the U.S. hockey team in the 1980 Winter Olympics — "Do you believe in mircales? Yes!" — is legendary in sports broadcasting. Michaels was once the radio play-by-play man for the Cincinnati Reds, and was replaced by Marty Brennaman when he moved on.
• Marv Albert, who has worked many network and local-team assignments in basketball, football and ice hockey. He has been the play-by-play voice for the New York Knicks of the NBA and the New York Rangers of the NHL, numerous NFL games, and the regular play-by-play voice for Westwood One radio broadcasts of Monday Night Football. He is also the #1 announcer for TNT's NBA coverage. Albert's son, Kenny, and brothers Steve and Al are also play-by-play announcers for various teams and/or networks. He was the voice of the NBA on NBC during Michael Jordan and the Bulls' dynasty of the 90's (except 1998), and had some very memorable calls, including during the 1991 NBA Finals when Jordan switched hands in the air during a layup.
• Curt Gowdy, whose name is still linked to NBC's Game of the Week, but who also was the primary play-by-play man for the Boston Red Sox for years, and also worked on NFL and American Football League games including Super Bowl I. He worked so many different sports that he was called the "broadcaster of everything."
• Bob Costas, who has covered virtually every major sport for NBC as a play-by-play man and studio host, and even hosted his own late-night talk show on that network.
• Eli Gold, radio voice for NASCAR and NBC's coverage of the Arena Football League, but also the play-by-play man for University of Alabama football and basketball and Nashville Predators of the NHL, and formerly with the St. Louis Blues of the NHL and Birmingham Barons minor-league baseball.

[edit] Pro wrestling

Play-by-play announcers are also well known in professional wrestling, especially for such announcers as Vince McMahon, Gordon Solie, Gorilla Monsoon, Jim Ross, and Tony Schiavone. Current well-known play-by-play announcers in wrestling include Joey Styles, Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Tazz. Play-by-play announcers are to some fans referred to as the "face" announcer, often giving credit to all accomplishments made by wrestlers as well as shunning the dirty tactics undertaken by heel wrestlers.

[edit] Theater parlance

Play-by-play is also used to refer to theatre-going types who remain in the audience for extended days, weeks or months watching any play hosted there. Famous examples of these so-called 'play-by-players' include Eva Moore and her father.