Your top 5 Sports announces of all-time?

[Jayson1]

You can pick just one person or a team. My top 5 would be:

1 Keith Jackson: To me he WAS the voice of college football and nobody has ever been as good. He had a kind of laid back style and some old school folksy charm. Of course he also did other stuff than just college football but I think he is mostly remembered for the football.

2 Dick Vitale; Might be the only active person still on my list. LIke Jackson he has been the voice of College Basketball for just about, forever. He always had the fun sayings and almost constant youthful joy for the game, though if you go back and see some of his real early games he didn't quite have that style at first.

3 Peter Van Wieren, Don Sutton and Skip Caray for the Atlanta Braves. Like many people I grew up watching tons of Braves games, partly because they were on TBS and thus they were in ever market and you also didn't have access to all the games like you do, today. When I think of them I think of being young though I guess that will be common with everyone I choose for this list.

4 Pat Summerall and John Madden. I should also note that Al Micheals and John Madden was great as well. One was very low key and Madden was like a big kid. They made a great combo.

5 Al Micheals: Okay Vitale ended up not being the only active person on the list. He was great with Gifford and Diedorff and then with Madden and now with Collinsworth.

Jason

 

[Timby]

When I think of great announcers, my mind immediately goes to Vin Scully, Pat Foley, Jack Brickhouse, Steve Stone before he got old and cranky, Al Michaels, Pat Summerall, Dick Stockton, Curt Gowdy, Gary Thorne and Jon Miller.

 

[Jayson1]

I can't believe I forgot Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. I still don't know why ESPN moved on from them on Sunday NIght Baseball. Vin Scully and Harry Carray. I don't live in LA and got into baseball towards the end of his national career so I was never able to get into him like so many others did. Harry Carray I saw more of and he was kind of fun. Also like the White Sox guy whose name I have forgotten. Says something like "Can of Corn" and basically is the biggest homer announcer of all-time. Brent Musburger and Tom Raferty have also been top notch.

Jason

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Also like the White Sox guy whose name I have forgotten. Says something like "Can of Corn" and basically is the biggest homer announcer of all-time.

Oh geez. Had to bring up Hawk Harrelson, did ya?
srsly, the fact that Hawk was a homer (IIRC, he's retired now, thank God) wasn't the problem. Lots of great announcers have been homers. Hawk's just a shitty announcer. Nothing more than a grumpy old man. He's like the Oscar Leroy of broadcasting.

Me, I rather like the Mets TV team (Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez). They are NOT homers, and they have great comic chemistry (especially when Ron's not there and it's just Gary and Keith).

As for the Yankees, I wish I'd been around to hear Mel Allen in his prime. It's been a LONG time since the Yanks have had decent radio...

 

[Timby]

I can't believe I forgot Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. I still don't know why ESPN moved on from them on Sunday NIght Baseball.

Because Joe Morgan fucking sucks.

 

[1001001]

I agree with Keith Jackson. He was awesome.

I liked John Madden too. All the sound effects, etc. He had a genuine love of the game and it came through.

 

[Danny99]

Being a primarily hockey guy, I'll throw Doc Emrick and Bob Cole out there. No one has ever called the game with such passion while also being non-biased. Too many newer announcers feel they can't call a national game with any kind of emotion for fear of being called biased.

 

[MacLeod]

From F1, Murray Walker

 

[BillJ]

John Madden, Pat Summerall, Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, Dick Enberg.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

When he was only slightly drunk, this was my guy, along with the aforementioned younger less cranky Steve Stone.

 

[Starbreaker]

Beth Mowins
Joe Morgan
Harold Reynolds
Brian Jordan
Brent Musburger

 

[Franklin]

Except for Jack Buck at number one, the others are in no particular order.

-- Jack Buck (underrated sense of humor; great phrasemaker)
-- Lindsey Nelson (steady and sharp; the game was the star)
-- Ernie Harwell (great story teller)
-- Jack Brickhouse (passion and enthusiasm; a rampant homer for his poor Cubs)
-- Skip Caray (sense of humor)
-- John Madden (everything)
-- Jon Miller (everything)
-- Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth (as a set they're the best in the booth for my dollar)
-- Vin Scully (and why not?)
-- Dan Schulman (who's being replaced starting this season by Matt Vasgersian on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball)
-- Gary Thorne (great in hockey and doing Orioles games with Jim Palmer)

That's more than five, but hey.

The Nationals radio announcers, Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler, are growing on me, too. They have great chemistry in the booth, though they're hardly all time greats, yet.

 

[Franklin]

When I think of great announcers, my mind immediately goes to Vin Scully, Pat Foley, Jack Brickhouse, Steve Stone before he got old and cranky, Al Michaels, Pat Summerall, Dick Stockton, Curt Gowdy, Gary Thorne and Jon Miller.

I liked Steve Stone. I think it was probably working with Harry Caray all that time that made Stone old and cranky. I've never understood the attraction of Harry Caray, and I think it's a thumb in the eye of Brickhouse that Caray seems to be more remembered and associated with the Cubs, popularly. It's too bad Caray's statue is outside Wrigley Field and Brickhouse doesn't have one there, but it's probably more appropriate that the Brickhouse statue is down on Michigan Avenue. Brickhouse was Chicago.

 

[Timby]

I liked Steve Stone. I think it was probably working with Harry Caray all that time that made Stone old and cranky. I've never understood the attraction of Harry Caray, and I think it's a thumb in the eye of Brickhouse that Caray seems to be more remembered and associated with the Cubs, popularly. It's too bad Caray's statue is outside Wrigley Field and Brickhouse doesn't have one there, but it's probably more appropriate that the Brickhouse statue is down on Michigan Avenue. Brickhouse was Chicago.

Stone got cranky during his latter time with the Cubs, when he was first angry at not getting an interview for the manager's job and then later the players publicly taking potshots at him. He and Harry Caray were best of friends.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

-- Lindsey Nelson (steady and sharp; the game was the star)

Surely you mean, his jackets were the star?

 

[tomalak301]

My top 10 announcers of all time:

Jon Miller
Vin Scully
Gus Johnson (When he was doing March Madness)
Marv Albert (NBA on NBC)
Keith Jackson
Verne Lundqvist (College Football and The Masters)
Al Michaels
Jim Nantz (Mostly for his Masters work and the calming "Hello Friends" he has)
Greg Papa (Local voice, but worked the Warriors, Raiders, and I think A's in his hayday)
Doc Emrick

I know I'm in a minority, but I think Joe Buck is creeping his way onto this list. He has gotten much better over the last few years (especially his World Series announcing and when he echoed his father that one year, I think it was Rangers/Cardinals).