Favourite play-by-play announcers?

[Canadave]

Let's face it, the vast majority of play-by-play guys are pretty bad. But there are a few out there who are absolutely amazing at their jobs. One of them, in my rather biased opinion, is former Toronto radio play-by-play announcer Tom Cheek, who is vastly underrated by the rest of the baseball world. Between April 7, 1977 and June 3, 2004 he called 4,303 regular season games and 41 post-season games: in other words, every single Blue Jays game during that period.

Unfortunately, he succumbed to cancer in late 2005 after it looked like he might return to the booth. And he's greatly missed amongst Blue Jays fans... he had a very warm, conversational style, sounding like a guy sitting there in your car or your living room, describing the game as if he was talking about a bunch of your close friends. He made some of the most famous calls in Jays history, and there's no one out there who's truly replaced him as Toronto's voice of summer.

This video has some clips of his best-known calls (skip to about the 3:00 mark to hear them, the speech is from when his name was raised to the Level of Excellence at SkyDome).

So, who are some of your favourites? Doesn't matter the sport.

 

[tomalak301]

Baseball: I'm biased but John Miller, Duene Kuiper, Dave Fleming, and Mike Krukow.

Football: Gus Johnson

College Basketball: Gus Johnson

Basketball: Marv Albert and Mike Fratello

Hockey: Doc

 

[BigFoot]

Jim Hughson

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I'm biased, having grown up watching/listening to the Penguins since the 1970s, but I would have to say Mike Lange.

I realize he is an acquired taste, so I don't fault anyone for thinking Lange's call sounds too staged. However, In my opinion if you listen to Mike Lange enough, you will realize that his excitement is purely spontaneous and genuine, even if his catch phrases are recycled.

I usually despise "catch phrase announcers", but Lange somehow pulls it off without sounding corny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIHPd3vERUw&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvS0iwrJELQ
.

 

[Danny99]

Jim Hughson

I respectfully disagree that Jim Hughson is any good. Maybe all those NHL video games hearing him say the same jokes over and over again made me hate him.

Bob Cole, though he has slipped in recent years, has always been my favorite announcer. His calling of games just makes the game that much more enjoyable.

 

[Canadave]

^ I have to agree with you about Bob Cole (while I do like Hughson, NHL games aside). Even though he's become old, slightly senile and rather biased (though nowhere near as badly as the Chicago White Sox TV guys... oy! ), he still has a great sense of the rhythm of the game, and can really match his voice well to the action. I have to say, there are few announcers out there who can do that properly.

 

[Garak]

Jim Hughson

This. Hughson was awesome as Vancouver's guy and is probably the best in the biz now that he's with CBC.

Jim Robson was awesome too.

Bob Cole was/is good, I never got the critiscism hurled his way. Something about his voice when he gets excited just gives me goosebumps.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Baseball: Mel Allen, Phil Rizzuto

 

[Islander]

Nobody would know him outside of Quebec since he was from french media but the best ever hockey annoucer was René Lecavalier, which hosted La soirée du hockey (french version of Hockey night in Canada) for 30 years. He's even inducted in Canada's sports hall of fame.

 

[Starbreaker]

Skip Caray was the man.

 

[Timby]

Jack Brickhouse and Vin Scully, easily. Neil Funk, Pat Foley and Pat Summerall, too.

 

[scottydog]

Having grown up in Los Angeles, Vin Scully (Dodgers) and Chick Hearn (Lakers) were the best. Dick Enberg (Angels) wasn't bad, either.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I'm biased, having grown up watching/listening to the Penguins since the 1970s, but I would have to say Mike Lange.

I realize he is an acquired taste, so I don't fault anyone for thinking Lange's call sounds too staged. However, In my opinion if you listen to Mike Lange enough, you will realize that his excitement is purely spontaneous and genuine, even if his catch phrases are recycled.

Lange is the greatest of a great era of Pittsburgh announcers, and the last still on the air. They day when he finally retires will be every bit as sad as the day(s) Mario retired.

Random trivia-- Did you know that Jaromir Jagr suggested one of Lange's most iconic catchphrases?
"He smoked him like a bad cigar!"

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I'm biased, having grown up watching/listening to the Penguins since the 1970s, but I would have to say Mike Lange.

I realize he is an acquired taste, so I don't fault anyone for thinking Lange's call sounds too staged. However, In my opinion if you listen to Mike Lange enough, you will realize that his excitement is purely spontaneous and genuine, even if his catch phrases are recycled.

Lange is the greatest of a great era of Pittsburgh announcers, and the last still on the air. They day when he finally retires will be every bit as sad as the day(s) Mario retired.

Random trivia-- Did you know that Jaromir Jagr suggested one of Lange's most iconic catchphrases?
"He smoked him like a bad cigar!"

When you say "great era of Pittsburgh announcers" I take it you mean:

"The Gunner" Bob Prince (Pirates)
Myron Cope (Steelers)
and Mike Lange (Penguins)

All of whom are deservedly inducted into the "broadcasters wing" of the Halls of Fame of their respective sports -- and who I believe all were broadcasting during the same season back in 1975 (Cope was broadcasting from 1970 until 2005, Lange started with the Penguins in 1975, and Prince's last year with the Pirates was 1975).

...although I don't know if I would call any one of them the greatest of the three -- they were/are all equally great in their own ways:

- I have fond memories of summer evenings on the back porch with my Dad listening to the great Pirate teams of the 1970s and "the Gunner's" folksy easy-going voice; it was almost like his call of the game was only meant for us, and he was on the porch with me, telling me about the game.

- Myron Cope wasn't only the Steelers' extremely colorful color man, but he was a fixture of sports reporting in Pittsburgh, and a well-respected and award winning sports journalist (few knew about his writing)

- Mike Lange still sends chills up my spine with every "heeeeeeeeeee shoots and scores!!" and is one of the reasons Pittsburgh is as much of a hockey town as it is a football town. There are people who would rather only listen to Lange's call of the game on the radio than watch the game on TV.​

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm not much of a football fan, but I grew up listening to Lyell Bremser announce the Husker games. Example: Johnny Rodgers Punt Return

"HOLY MOLEY! Man, woman and child, did that put 'em in the aisles! Johnny 'The Jet' Rodgers just tore 'em loose from their shoes!"

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Growing up in Northern California in the 70's the voice of Bill King was ubiquitous. At one time he was the announcer for all three Oakland major sports teams, the Golden State Warriors in basketball; the Oakland Raiders in Football; and the Oakland A's in baseball. He had one of the smoothest deliveries in the business. Not to mention a killer stache.

 

[scottydog]

I have fond memories of summer evenings on the back porch with my Dad listening to the great Pirate teams of the 1970s and "the Gunner's" folksy easy-going voice; it was almost like his call of the game was only meant for us, and he was on the porch with me, telling me about the game.

I have these same memories. A few other Bob Prince-isms:

"We had them alllll the way!"

"Chicken on the hill with Will!"

"We need a bloop and a blast."

I liked the fact that he openly rooted for the Pirates to win while announcing. Interestingly, when my family moved to Los Angeles, I began to appreciate Vin Scully's objectivity -- although he called the Dodgers games, he never rooted for the Dodgers on the air like Prince did for Pittsburgh.

One other highlight living in L.A. as a kid: Listening to Dick Enberg call three of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters for the Angels. That was unbelievably exciting!

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

In La we got spoiled by listening to both Vin Scully and Chick Hearn.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I'm biased, having grown up watching/listening to the Penguins since the 1970s, but I would have to say Mike Lange.....

They've been playing some of his 'Phrases' on the Vancouver station I listen to way to funny not to like.

TSN's Sports Center's Top 10.
10) "Scratch My Back With a Hacksaw"
9) "Smoked'em Like a Bad Cigar"
8) "Get That Dog Off My Lawn Mower"
7) "Micheal, Micheal Motorcycle"
6) "Cry Or Wind His Watch"
5) "Get In The Fast Lane Grandma, The Bingo Game Is Ready To Roll"
4) "Buy Sam A Drink"
3) "Elvis has Left The Building"
2) "Beat Him Like A Rented Mule"
1) "Lord Stanley Get Me the Brandy"

Jim Hughson

I respectfully disagree that Jim Hughson is any good. Maybe all those NHL video games hearing him say the same jokes over and over again made me hate him.

Bob Cole, though he has slipped in recent years, has always been my favorite announcer. His calling of games just makes the game that much more enjoyable.

Jim Hughson is good!!
(Better than Larshide and Shorthouse who seem to count the Canucks Chicken's before they hatch.)

Bob Cole(Leafs) is the most Biased one out there like he went to the Danny Galivan(Habs) school of 'Homers'

 

[Icemizer]

Early Harry Caray(late 60's & early 70's) was terrific. Musberger when he did the NCAA tourney on CBS. Mike Emrick rules Hockey now with Pat Foley a close second and Lloyd Petit was in a class all his own.