A New Spring

It's Spring Training again. I keep thinking that I will write here a lot this season, again. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.
But I can't let the start of Spring Training pass without my annual post (or re-post or just sharing an old link). The sounds of Spring Training.

I always listen to some sound bytes of Bob Murphy opening up WFAN's first Spring Training broadcast in 1998, a recording I made playing around with a Walkman, wires and my computer. Then I listen to a 6 1/2 minute clip of Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen calling another game from that spring. And then there's a clip of them throwing it to a commercial (which now makes me nostalgic for the WFAN Mets Radio Network).

raw audio from Spring Training 1998 (WFAN Radio):
WFAN's first broadcast of the spring with Bob Murphy at the mic


Bob Murphy leading into a commercial


6 1/2 minutes of play-by-play and conversation between Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen

Recently, I found some cassette tapes that I made around the same time as those sound bytes, taken from both TV and radio. So I have some brand new Mets audio clips:

Another game opening on WFAN in Spring Training 1998, with Gary Cohen as the lead and Bob Murphy as the #2 announcer.


WWOR TV's "Fresh From Florida" opening (unfortunately, it's only the audio) with Gary Thorne and Tim McCarver opening "Mets Baseball '98".


A short highlight from Tim McCarver and Gary Thorne on WWOR TV. Pitcher Paul Wilson with a basehit.


Another short highlight from Tim McCarver calling a homerun. I always loved how small and intimate the crowd sounds here.




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Home Opening Day

This is another re-post, this one from 2011. I always like to celebrate Opening Day. Today, I'm heading to it for the 4th time (twice for real Opening Day - both in March; twice now for the home opener - both times after winning the division). This, as always, includes Bob Murphy sound bytes.

It's Opening Day at Shea. I can just hear Howie "Dr. Metropolitan" Rose saying that as he walks into Citi Field on Thursday morning (if he's not camping out there overnight).

I've been to Opening Day in person only twice in 25 years. I was at Shea for the home opener in 2007 when the Mets were coming off of an NL East championship and all was right in Mets-land. And I was at a real Opening Day in 2003 (Bob Murphy's last and Art Howe's first). Tom Glavine started for the Mets and got trounced by the Cubbies, 15-2 (though Glavine wasn't the worst that the Mets threw out there).


I remember cutting class during my sophomore year in college to watch Opening Day 1998 (like 2003, also a March 31 opener, and like 2007, against the Phillies) when Bobby Jones started for the Mets.

Here's how the game started.


And this is how that game ended.



And who can forget Opening Day from 25 years ago, when the Mets were called out one-by-one and received really big rings
<insert video here> - ok, you can actually see the ring ceremony on the 1986 World Series DVD box set bonus disc.


Or Opening Day 1985 when Gary Carter made an impression on New York (or to be more literal, he made an impression on a baseball that went over the LF bleachers in the bottom of the 10th inning) and Opening Day 1983 when George Thomas Seaver came home.


And of course, the first Opening Day for the New York Mets, 50 years ago...



Happy Opening Day!

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Happy Opening Day

Editor's Note: this is a re-post from Opening Day 2012. Opening Day wouldn't be right without the voice of Bob Murphy.

I remember cutting class during my sophomore year in college to watch Opening Day 1998 (like 2003, also a March 31 opener, and like 2007, against the Phillies) when Bobby Jones started for the Mets.

Here's how the game started.


And this is how that game ended.

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Baseball has been asleep for a while, welcome, the game is coming back

NOTE: this is my annual first-spring-training-game post.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you two treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inaugural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.


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Mets Announcers at the Olympics

This is an updated post from ones I did in 2010 and 2012.

With this Winter Olympics underway, I decided to take a look and see which past and present Mets broadcasters have worked at the Olympics. I found a few more than I had expected. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an omission from this list. If you don't want to do all that reading, head down to the bottom of the post for a few sound bytes from a current Mets announcer calling an Olympic sport.

• Jiggs McDonald - Best known as a Hall of Fame Hockey broadcaster and voice of the Islanders on TV from 1980-81 through 1994-95, he called Mets games on SportsChannel in 1982.
  

  He called Ice Hockey at the 1998 Calgary Winter Games for ABC and at the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for TNT, and also Basketball for CTV in Canada at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Don Criqui - Known for his work calling NFL and College Football and College Basketball for NBC and CBS TV and Radio, he was listed as a fill in announcer for the Mets in 1991 (which I don't really remember, but have seen his name listed in some announcer lineups and it was noted in the NY Times).
  

  He called play-by-play for Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games and Water Polo at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games for NBC and hosted NBC's Olympics Triplecast PPV broadcast at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Kenny Albert - Best known for his work with the NFL and MLB on FOX and Rangers on the radio and NHL on NBCSN, he was a fill-in announcer for Bob Murphy during the summer of 2001 on WFAN.
  

  He's called play-by-play for NBC's Olympic Ice Hockey coverage at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, 2010 Vancouver and now 2014 Sochi Winter Games for NBC.

• Ed Coleman, former Mets fill-in announcer and host of Mets Extra on WFAN.
  

  He "did some radio work" at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Games for NBC Radio and the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for CBS Radio.

• Howard Cosell - best known from his work on Monday Night Football and Boxing on ABC, he was actually the first pre-game host for the Mets Radio broadcasts in 1962 on WABC Radio.
  

  He was part of ABC TV's Olympic coverage in the 1972 Munich Summer Games and called Boxing at the 1976 Montreal and 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games

• Tim McCarver - Known at one point as the best analyst in Baseball, he's been a lead analyst for ABC, CBS, ABC again, and FOX and was a Mets broadcaster on WOR/WWOR and SportsChannel from 1983 to 1998.
  

  As part of ABC Sports in the late '80s, he called Freestyle Skiing and served as a reporter at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, and as part of CBS Sports the early '90s, he was a co-host of CBS's primetime coverage of the 1992 Albertville Winter Games

• Gary Thorne - Best known as ESPN and ABC's lead NHL announcer, he was a Mets Radio announcer from 1985 to 1988 on WHN/WFAN and a Mets TV announcer on WWOR, WPIX, and FSN New York from 1994 to 2002.
  

  He called Speed Skating for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, Canoeing and Rowing for NBC at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, and Ice Hockey for NBC at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

• Ted Robinson - Best known as the lead Tennis commentator for NBC and the Tennis Channel, he was a TV and Radio announcer for the Mets from 2002 to 2005 on WPIX, FSN New York, and WFAN.
  

  He holds the record for past/present Mets broadcasters making his 8th Olympic broadcast appearance, having called Short Track Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing, and Giant Slalom Snowboarding for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, and for NBC, he called Baseball at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, Short Track Speed Skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Speed Skating at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, Diving and Canoeing at the 2004 Athens Summer Games, Diving again at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Summer Games.

• Gary Cohen - Best known for his work calling New York Mets baseball, he's been the TV voice of the Mets on SNY and WPIX since 2006 and was a voice of the Mets on WFAN from 1989 to 2005.
  

  He called Ice Hockey for CBS Radio at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, including all 3 Gold Medal contests

Here are some sound bytes of Gary Cohen at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

A disclaimer. These broadcasts are probably the copyright of the IOC, USOC, CBS Radio and/or WFAN. I recorded them using an old fashioned walkman plugged into my computer in 1998, live, as the events happened.

Gary Cohen at the 1998 Olympics Men's Ice Hockey tournament (CBS Radio):
Czech Republic wins the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal

Jason Bornstein · Czech Gold (98 Nagano)

Czech goalie Dominik Hasek with 3 great saves against the U.S.

Jason Bornstein · Hasek Save (98 Nagano) (1)

Jason Bornstein · Hasek Save (98 Nagano) (2)

Jason Bornstein · Hasek Save (98 Nagano) (3)

Mike Modano scores for Team USA

Jason Bornstein · Modano Goal (98 Nagano)

Mikhail Shtalenkov with a save for Russia

Jason Bornstein · Stalenkov Save (98 Nagano)

Petr Svoboda with a goal for the Czech Republic

Jason Bornstein · Svboda Goal (98 Nagano)

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And it all begins tomorrow

Happy Opening Day. I'm beginning my 5th baseball season with this blog (hard to believe) and the 5th season at Citi Field (also hard to believe), and I'm pretty much recycling some of my special posts (but they still have meaning, such as an anniversary).

This one I'm taking from my Opening Day post from last year, where I shared a few Opening Day memories. I will except the very short story and sound bytes from Opening Day 1998, which is hard to believe was 15 years ago today.

I remember cutting class during my sophomore year in college to watch Opening Day 1998 (like 2003, also a March 31 opener, and like 2007, against the Phillies) when Bobby Jones started for the Mets.

Here's how the game started.


And this is how that game ended.

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Mets Baseball 2013

This is my annual Spring Training sound byte post.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you three treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inagural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


and finally is Bob Murphy leading into a commercial


I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.


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And the Mets Win It

In honor of the 26th anniversary of the greatest game in New York Mets history (and if you don't know, I mean Game 6 of the 1986 World Series), I present to you, my local readers, 2 sound bytes never before heard on this blog.

I found these on the internet one day. I can't take credit for creating them myself. They are the Boston Red Sox radio broadcast of the 2 memorable moments during Mookie Wilson's 10th inning at-bat.

First, the Wild Pitch


Second, the Buckner error


The tone of the broadcast and certainly the style are a lot different from what I posted last year from Mets announcers Bob Murphy and Gary Thorne.


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Mets Announcers at the Olympics

This is an udpated post from one I did in 2010.

With this Summer Olympics starting this weekend, I decided to take a look anad see which past and present Mets broadcasters have worked at the Olympics. I found a few more than I had expected. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an omission from this list. If you don't want to do all that reading, head down to the bottom of the post for a few sound bytes from a current Mets announcer calling an Olympic sport.

• Jiggs McDonald - Best known as a Hall of Fame Hockey broadcaster and voice of the Islanders on TV from 1980-81 through 1994-95, he called Mets games on SportsChannel in 1982.
  

  He called Ice Hockey at the 1998 Calgary Winter Games for ABC and at the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for TNT, and also Basketball for CTV in Canada at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Don Criqui - Known for his work calling NFL and College Football and College Basketball for NBC and CBS TV and Radio, he was listed as a fill in announcer for the Mets in 1991 (which I don't really remember, but have seen his name listed in some announcer lineups and it was noted in the NY Times).
  

  He called play-by-play for Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games and Water Polo at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games for NBC and hosted NBC's Olympics Triplecast PPV broadcast at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Kenny Albert - Best known for his work with the NFL and MLB on FOX and Rangers on the radio, he was a fill-in announcer for Bob Murphy during the summer of 2001 on WFAN.
  

  He's called play-by-play for NBC's Olympic Ice Hockey coverage at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and he will reprise that roll at 2010 Vancouver Winter Games for NBC.

• Ed Coleman, Mets fill-in announcer and host of Mets Extra on WFAN.
  

  He "did some radio work" at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Games for NBC Radio and the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for CBS Radio.

• Howard Cosell - best known from his work on Monday Night Football and Boxing on ABC, he was actually the first pre-game host for the Mets Radio broadcasts in 1962 on WABC Radio.
  

  He was part of ABC TV's Olympic coverage in the 1972 Munich Summer Games and called Boxing at the 1976 Montreal and 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games

• Tim McCarver - Known at one point as the best analyst in Baseball, he's been a lead analyst for ABC, CBS, ABC again, and FOX and was a Mets broadcaster on WOR/WWOR and SportsChannel from 1983 to 1998.
  

  As part of ABC Sports in the late '80s, he called Freestyle Skiing and served as a reporter at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, and as part of CBS Sports the early '90s, he was a co-host of CBS's primetime coverage of the 1992 Albertville Winter Games

• Gary Thorne - Best known as ESPN and ABC's lead NHL announcer, he was a Mets Radio announcer from 1985 to 1988 on WHN/WFAN and a Mets TV announcer on WWOR, WPIX, and FSN New York from 1994 to 2002.
  

  He called Speed Skating for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, Canoeing and Rowing for NBC at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, and Ice Hockey for NBC at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

• Ted Robinson - Best known as the lead Tennis commentator for NBC and the Tennis Channel, he was a TV and Radio announcer for the Mets from 2002 to 2005 on WPIX, FSN New York, and WFAN.
  

  He holds the record for past/present Mets broadcasters making his 7th Olympic broadcast appearance, having called Short Track Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing, and Giant Slalom Snowboarding for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, and for NBC, he called Baseball at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, Short Track Speed Skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Diving and Canoeing at the 2004 Athens Summer Games, Diving again at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Games.

• Gary Cohen - Best known for his work calling New York Mets baseball, he's been the TV voice of the Mets on SNY and WPIX since 2006 and was a voice of the Mets on WFAN from 1989 to 2005.
  

  He called Ice Hockey for CBS Radio at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, including all 3 Gold Medal contests

Here are some sound bytes of Gary Cohen at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

A disclaimer. These broadcasts are probably the copyright of the IOC, USOC, CBS Radio and/or WFAN. I recorded them using an old fashioned walkman plugged into my computer in 1998, live, as the events happened.

Gary Cohen at the 1998 Olympics Men's Ice Hockey tournament (CBS Radio):
Czech Republic wins the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal


Czech goalie Dominik Hasek with 3 great saves against the U.S.




Mike Modano scores for Team USA


Mikhail Shtalenkov with a save for Russia


Petr Svoboda with a goal for the Czech Republic



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Bob Murphy and the No Hitter

A thought went through my head in the few days since Johan Santana pitched the first No Hitter in Mets history. We heard Howie Rose's call on WFAN. We heard Gary Cohen's call on SNY. They are holding down the fort as the voices of the Mets.

Howie Rose's call on WFAN with Jim Duquette


Gary Cohen's call on SNY with Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez


On Monday, I suggested that Santana appear on Kiner's Korner.

And today, I want to think about the man that I call "forever the voice of the Mets", Bob Murphy. Bob Murphy was an original Mets broadcaster in 1962. He wasn't the "network guy". He wasn't the "All-Star Player". He was the voice of the Mets for a couple of generations, until his retirement after the 2003 season. We lost him in August 2004. He was known as a "homer", a broadcaster (in fact, a Hall of Fame broadcaster), but one who rooted for the team which he called.

So how would Bob Murhpy have called the last out of Santana's no hitter? For argument's sake, let's put him on WFAN with his old partner Gary Cohen. That's how I grew up listening to the Mets, and that's where he was when he retired. This is how I think it would have sounded (you'll have to meet me half way and imagine his voice and emphasis saying these words). If you remember Bob Murphy, you remember the emphasis that he put on certain words and certain parts of words, so I am attempting to capture that with capital letters and extra letters.

now the crowd standing, roaring as loud as they can.
three and two, here's the pitch.
swing and a miss. STRIKEEE THREEEE! STRIKEE THREE!
it's all over, the mets win it!
JOHAN SANTANA HAS THROWN A NO HITTER!
the first one by a METS pitcher.
they're all racing towards the mound, MOBBING Johan Santana.
they had gone over fifty years without one, and now a mets pitcher has thrown a NO hitter.
and we'll be back with the very happy recap in just a moment!

Especially here, feedback and alternate suggestions are welcome.


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No Words

Just listen.




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It's Opening Day at Shea

It's Opening Day at Shea. I can just hear Howie "Dr. Metropolitan" Rose saying that as he walks into Citi Field on Thursday morning (if he's not camping out there overnight).

I've been to Opening Day in person only twice in 25 years. I was at Shea for the home opener in 2007 when the Mets were coming off of an NL East championship and all was right in Mets-land. And I was at a real Opening Day in 2003 (Bob Murphy's last and Art Howe's first). Tom Glavine started for the Mets and got trounced by the Cubbies, 15-2 (though Glavine wasn't the worst that the Mets threw out there).


I remember cutting class during my sophomore year in college to watch Opening Day 1998 (like 2003, also a March 31 opener, and line 2007, against the Phillies) when Bobby Jones started for the Mets.

Here's how the game started.


And this is how that game ended.



And who can forget Opening Day from 25 years ago, when the Mets were called out one-by-one and received really big rings
<insert video here> - ok, you can actually see the ring ceremony on the 1986 World Series DVD box set bonus disc.


Or Opening Day 1985 when Gary Carter made an impression on New York (or to be more literal, he made an impression on a baseball that went over the LF bleachers in the bottom of the 10th inning) and Opening Day 1983 when George Thomas Seaver came home.


And of course, the first Opening Day for the New York Mets, 50 years ago...



Happy Opening Day!


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Mets Baseball is on the air

NOTE: This is my now-annual Spring Training sound byte post.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you three treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inagural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


and finally is Bob Murphy leading into a commercial



I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.



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The Dream Has Come True

I have more audio, this time, from Game 7 of the 1986 World Series played 25 years ago tonight. I don't think I can take credit for having created these.

Knight's 7th inning Home Run (this one is a little grainy)


The final out




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Bottom of the 10th

It's split into 4 audio clips. They're listed sequentially. It's the entire bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series from WHN radio with Bob Murphy and Gary Thorne.

I created these files some time before the 1999 season (I remember having recorded it from WFAN on Christmas night 1996, when WFAN would basically put filler programming rather than expect someone to man the studio and phones on a holiday). The sound is a bit loud, but it's adjustable.

starting at Bottom of the 10th


starting at Kevin Mitchell's at-bat


starting at Mookie Wilson's at-bat


starting after the Wild Pitch


Merry Metsmas!


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49 years ago tonight

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Baseball has been asleep for a while, welcome, the game is coming back

NOTE: this is what I'll call a "classic" post from 2 years ago.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you two treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inaugural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.


Leave a comment or drop me a line at DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com. "Like" RememberingShea on Facebook (the function formerly known as "Becoming a Fan"). Become a Networked Blog

Mets Broadcasters at the Olympics

With this Winter Olympics starting this weekend, I decided to take a look anad see which past and present Mets broadcasters have worked at the Olympics. I found a few more than I had expected. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an omission from this list. If you don't want to do all that reading, head down to the bottom of the post for a few sound bytes from a current Mets announcer calling an Olympic sport.

• Jiggs McDonald - Best known as a Hall of Fame Hockey broadcaster and voice of the Islanders on TV from 1980-81 through 1994-95, he called Mets games on SportsChannel in 1982.
  

  He called Ice Hockey at the 1998 Calgary Winter Games for ABC and at the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for TNT, and also Basketball for CTV in Canada at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Don Criqui - Known for his work calling NFL and College Football and College Basketball for NBC and CBS TV and Radio, he was listed as a fill in announcer for the Mets in 1991 (which I don't really remember, but have seen his name listed in some announcer lineups and it was noted in the NY Times).
  

  He called play-by-play for Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games and Water Polo at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games for NBC and hosted NBC's Olympics Triplecast PPV broadcast at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Kenny Albert - Best known for his work with the NFL and MLB on FOX and Rangers on the radio, he was a fill-in announcer for Bob Murphy during the summer of 2001 on WFAN.
  

  He's called play-by-play for NBC's Olympic Ice Hockey coverage at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and he will reprise that roll at 2010 Vancouver Winter Games for NBC.

• Ed Coleman, Mets fill-in announcer and host of Mets Extra on WFAN.
  

  He "did some radio work" at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Games for NBC Radio and the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for CBS Radio.

• Howard Cosell - best known from his work on Monday Night Football and Boxing on ABC, he was actually the first pre-game host for the Mets Radio broadcasts in 1962 on WABC Radio.
  

  He was part of ABC TV's Olympic coverage in the 1972 Munich Summer Games and called Boxing at the 1976 Montreal and 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games

• Tim McCarver - Known at one point as the best analyst in Baseball, he's been a lead analyst for ABC, CBS, ABC again, and FOX and was a Mets broadcaster on WOR/WWOR and SportsChannel from 1983 to 1998.
  

  As part of ABC Sports in the late '80s, he called Freestyle Skiing and served as a reporter at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, and as part of CBS Sports the early '90s, he was a co-host of CBS's primetime coverage of the 1992 Albertville Winter Games

• Gary Thorne - Best known as ESPN and ABC's lead NHL announcer, he was a Mets Radio announcer from 1985 to 1988 on WHN/WFAN and a Mets TV announcer on WWOR, WPIX, and FSN New York from 1994 to 2002.
  

  He called Speed Skating for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, Canoeing and Rowing for NBC at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, and Ice Hockey for NBC at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

• Ted Robinson - Best known as the lead Tennis commentator for NBC and the Tennis Channel, he was a TV and Radio announcer for the Mets from 2002 to 2005 on WPIX, FSN New York, and WFAN.
  

  He holds the record for past/present Mets broadcasters making his 7th Olympic broadcast appearance, having called Short Track Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing, and Giant Slalom Snowboarding for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, and for NBC, he called Baseball at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, Short Track Speed Skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Turino Winter Games, Diving and Canoeing at the 2004 Athens Summer Games, Diving again at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, and he will reprise his roll calling Short Track Speed Skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

• Gary Cohen - Best known for his work calling New York Mets baseball, he's been the TV voice of the Mets on SNY and WPIX since 2006 and was a voice of the Mets on WFAN from 1989 to 2005.
  

  He called Ice Hockey for CBS Radio at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, including all 3 Gold Medal contests

Here are some sound bytes of Gary Cohen at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

A disclaimer. These broadcasts are probably the copyright of the IOC, USOC, CBS Radio and/or WFAN. I recorded them using an old fashioned walkman plugged into my computer in 1998, live, as the events happened.

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Happy Birthday to the longtime voice of the Mets

Gary Cohen reminded us on the TV broadcast today that today would have been Bob Murphy's 85th birthday. Murph, for you younger fans, is what I call "Forever the Voice of the New York Mets".

Just as I did on the anniversary of his passing, I invite you to listen to his voice from a couple of posts from earlier this year.

First is a few minutes of play-by-play and banter during Spring Training with Gary Cohen.

Second is something that I put up just before Opening Day and is available on the right side of (every page in) this site. Just Bob Murphy talking about Shea.

And I invite you to read (or re-read) something from Faith and Fear In Flushing that Greg Prince sent me about a month ago and posted about a year ago, in which he transcribed Bob Murphy's account of the first half inning at Shea Stadium. I can read those words and just imagine his voice in my head.


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Gary Cohen, Hockey Announcer

During the All-Star break, I'm going to go down a different path. Today I have a closer look at everyone's favorite Mets TV Play-by-play man Gary Cohen.

Gary's radio style allowed for him to clearly and correctly announce lots of detail in a short amount of time. Never this was more true than in broadcasting Hockey on the radio. Gary was selected to be the radio play-by-play voice for hockey at 3 different Winter Olympics games in the 1990s (1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano).





Good stuff. I'll leave you with this - what every happened to Gary Cohen, Hockey announcer?

The sound bytes came directly from my walkman into my computer live as the games were being played as broadcast on WFAN radio. The broadcasts are probably copyright 1998, Westwood One, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the International Olympic Committee.