Marv Albert

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Marv Albert
Albert calling a game for TNT in December 2008
Born
Marvin Philip Aufrichtig

(1941-06-12) June 12, 1941 (age 82)[1]
EducationSyracuse University
New York University
Years active1963–2021
Spouses
  • Benita Oberlander
  • Heather Faulkiner
Children4, including
Play-by-play
Sports

Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former

Turner Sports as the lead announcer for NBA games on TNT
.

In addition to working extensively in both professional and college basketball, he has experience calling a variety of other sports, such as American football, ice hockey, horse racing, boxing, and tennis. Albert has called the

TNT with Jim Courier and Mary Carillo and has worked as a co-host and reporter for two World Series (1986 and 1988
).

In 1997, Marv Albert was charged with forcible sodomy and assault and battery in 1997. He pled guilty to the assault charge and was given a 12-month suspended sentence. [2]

Albert hails from a family of broadcasters. His brothers, Al and Steve Albert, and a son, Kenny, are also play-by-play sports commentators.

In 2015, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Early life

Albert was born to a Jewish family in

Syracuse Chiefs.[4] He graduated from New York University in 1965.[5]

Broadcasting career

National Basketball Association

After getting his start by being a ball boy for the New York Knicks, Albert worked his first Knicks game as a broadcaster on January 27, 1963, on WCBS Radio. He was filling in for his mentor, Marty Glickman, who was away in Europe. The game was against the Celtics at the Boston Garden. Beginning in 1967 and lasting 37 years, Albert served as the voice of the New York Knicks on radio and television before being let go by James L. Dolan, the chairman of the MSG Network and Cablevision, after Albert criticized the team's poor play on-air in 2004. It was said that Albert's high salary was also a factor. His son, Kenny Albert, has been a part-time play-by-play announcer for the Knicks since 2009, filling in whenever the elder Albert's successor, Mike Breen, is unavailable.

NBC Sports

Albert was the lead play-by-play announcer for the NBA on NBC for most of its run from 1990 to 2002, calling every NBA Finals during that timeframe except for 1998, 1999, and 2000, which were called by Bob Costas in the wake of Albert's arrest for sexual assault.[6][7] Albert resumed his previous position for the 2000–2001 season and called Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Finals, which was the final NBA telecast on NBC.[8][9][10][11] During his time on NBC, he continued as the lead play-by-play man for the New York Knicks on local MSG Network telecasts and began calling national games for TNT in 1999, as well.[12] When he regained the lead broadcaster position on NBC, he continued to call play-by-play for both networks until the end of NBC's coverage in 2002.[13]

TNT

Albert continued to be the lead

TNT had become his primary commitment ever since his longtime employer NBC lost the NBA broadcasting rights in 2002 to ABC and ESPN, which may have played a role in his departure from the Knicks' broadcast booth.[14]
The Knicks reportedly wanted Albert to accept a salary commensurate with his reduced Knicks schedule but also weren't happy about Albert making what Knicks management felt were overly critical comments about their team despite their losing record.

In basketball, his most famous call is his simple "Yes!" for a basket, rendered in many variations of volume and length depending on the situation.

On April 17, 2002, shortly after calling a game between the

2002 NBA Playoffs was set to begin two days later, with Albert scheduled to call multiple games that week. Bob Costas filled in for those games, and Albert returned to call Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.[15][16][17]

On May 15, 2021, it was reported that Albert had planned on retiring following the 2021 NBA playoffs.[18][19] The news became official two days later.[4][20] His last game called was Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.[21]

New Jersey Nets (YES)

In

Mark Jackson.[22][23] With that, the Nets had employed all three Albert brothers during the franchise's history; Al started his broadcast career with the Nets during their ABA days, while Steve called Nets games during the late 1970s and 1980s. Beginning with the 2008–09 season, he was also paired with his TNT broadcast colleague Mike Fratello on the YES Network. However, with the Nets' struggles in the 2009–10 season, Nets management relegated him Albert to secondary play-by-play and was replaced by Ian Eagle. In 2011, Albert left the YES Network to join CBS Sports
for NFL and NCAA tournament coverage.

Other basketball-related ventures

Albert hosts a basketball-focused interview

, which also airs on YES.

Albert also hosted the Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers VHS tape by NBA Entertainment in 1988.

Since 2003, Albert has also been providing the play-by-play voice on the NBA Live video-game series from EA Sports, a role he fulfilled until NBA Live 10.

From 2011 to 2015, Albert announced

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament games, the result of longtime tournament broadcaster CBS
handing off some of its coverage to Turner Sports.

In February 2016, Albert and Turner Sports announced that he would no longer call NCAA Tournament basketball games, stating that calling four games in one day during the first round, and a total of six matches in three days during the first two rounds, was too much for his 74-year-old voice to handle. Albert said that he "felt it was the wiser move to go primarily NBA at this stage."[24]

In 2022, Albert appeared in the Playoffs on NBA Lane short film alongside ESPN sideline reporter Malika Andrews.[25]

Outside basketball

New York Rangers

In addition to the Knicks, Albert had a lengthy tenure (beginning in 1965) calling the games of another Madison Square Garden tenant, the New York Rangers. He handled the radio call of the Rangers' Stanley Cup-clinching victory in 1994.

He also famously coined the nickname "Red Light" for radio analyst Sal Messina, a former Rangers goaltender. His signature play-by-play phrase was "kick save and a beauty."

Over his years as the Rangers' broadcaster, Albert missed a large number of games for other commitments. Many other broadcasters filled in, including several who later served long stints for other NHL teams, including Howie Rose, Mike Emrick, and John Kelly, as well as Albert's brothers Al and Steve. It was his absence from Game 7 of the RangersDevils Eastern Conference Finals game that led to Rose's famed Matteau, Matteau, Matteau call.[26]

Albert left the Rangers after the 1994–95 season. At the same time, Rose took the job as a play-by-play announcer of the New York Islanders. Albert's son, Kenny, replaced him and has been the radio voice of the Rangers ever since. Kenny also calls NHL and Olympic ice hockey for NBC Sports and has served as the national radio voice of the Stanley Cup Finals since 2016.

New York Giants

From 1973 to 1976, Albert called radio broadcasts of New York Giants football games, succeeding Marty Glickman after the latter started broadcasting for the New York Jets.

Monday Night Football

Albert was also the lead play-by-play voice of the

NFL coverage from the 2002 to the 2009 seasons,[27] calling Monday Night Football as well as numerous playoff games and every Super Bowl from 2003 to 2010. On June 4, 2010, it was announced that Albert was leaving his NFL on Westwood One duties.[28] He was succeeded by Kevin Harlan
.

NFL on CBS

On June 6, 2011, it was announced Albert was joining CBS Sports to call play-by-play for The NFL on CBS.[27][29] Albert was usually teamed with Rich Gannon on broadcasts.

On May 29, 2014, Albert stepped down from calling The NFL on CBS to focus more on his basketball duties for TNT and CBS.[30]

Other network duties

Other

WNBC-TV
, in New York.

Albert also called regular-season and playoff NHL games for the syndicated NHL Network in the 1976–77 season, and, from 2000 to 2002, he helped call TNT's coverage of the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament.

In popular culture

Albert made 53

12th Street Rag
".

Albert was placed as No. 14 on David J. Halberstam's list of Top 50 All-Time Network Television Sports Announcers on Yahoo! Sports.[33]

He appears on "

Perfect Sense, Part II", on Roger Waters' 1992 album, Amused to Death
, commentating on a military attack in the manner of a sports report.

Albert's voice is imitated in the popular video game NBA Jam. The announcer was modeled on Albert, although there is no mention of Albert in the game and the announcer was actually voiced by Tim Kitzrow.[34]

Honors and awards

Sexual assault

Albert was accused of sexually assaulting a 42-year-old woman in 1997.

Academy Award performance".[42]

NBC – for which Albert worked for over 20 years – fired him hours after he entered his guilty plea.[47] His last NFL broadcast for NBC before being fired was the Baltimore Ravens-New York Giants game alongside Randy Cross and Len Berman.[51][52] Bob Costas took over for Albert on NBA on NBC in the 1997–98 NBA season.[53] Tom Hammond would eventually move up to the #2 team[clarification needed] (behind Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire, and Phil Simms), while Dan Hicks would primarily call games with Hammond's old partner, Jim Kelly.[citation needed][relevant?] NBC rehired Albert less than two years after firing him, with Chairman of NBC Sports Dick Ebersol stating that, "Marv has done what he had to do" since being fired.[54]

Broadcasting partners

References

  1. ^ "Today in history". ABC News. Associated Press. June 12, 2014.
  2. ^ Corcoran, Tully. "KU attracts Brooklyn star" Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Topeka Capital-Journal, October 26, 2007. Accessed September 17, 2009. "Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., is too high school basketball what Odessa Permian High School, in Texas, is too high school football. Basketball rules there. Stephon Marbury starred there. Marv Albert went there. Even Jesus Shuttlesworth, the fictional baller played by Ray Allen in He'ssic Got Game went there. Kansas coach Bill Self may be spending a bit of time there in the next year, too. Lance Stephenson, a 6–5, "395"-pound junior guard from Lincoln who is the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2009 recently contacted Self about his interest in Kansas."
  3. ^ Katelyn, Faubel (September 17, 2014). "Sportscaster Marv Albert '63 visits Newhouse, discusses his love of broadcasting". Newhouse School Syracuse University. Syracuse, NY. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  4. ^
    Syracuse Post-Standard
    . Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "CNN/SI – Turner Sports – NBA – Marv Albert". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  6. New York Times
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Lowry, Brian; Corwin, Miles (September 26, 1997). "Marv Albert Pleads Guilty in Sex Case, Is Fired by NBC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  8. New York Times
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Albert back as NBC's lead announcer". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  10. New York Times
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Stewart, Larry (October 30, 2000). "It's a Full-Circle Journey for Albert". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  12. ^
    New York Times
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  13. New York Times
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Pickman, Ben (June 30, 2020). "Report: Marv Albert Won't Call NBA Games On-Site in Restart". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; Albert and Fratello Are Hurt In Early-Morning Car Crash (Published 2002)". The New York Times. April 19, 2002. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Stewart, Larry (April 19, 2002). "A Bad Ride for Albert, Fratello". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Stewart, Larry (May 3, 2002). "Walkin' and Rollin' to the Mike". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  18. ^ Marchand, Mushnick, Andrew, Phil (May 15, 2021). "Marv Albert retiring after NBA playoffs". New York Post.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Casselberry, Ian (May 15, 2021). "Marv Albert will reportedly retire after the NBA playoffs, ending nearly 60 years at the mic". Awful Announcing.
  20. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  21. ^ McAllister, Mike. "Marv Albert Calls Final Game of Legendary Broadcast Career". Sports Illustrated Syracuse Orange News, Analysis and More. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  22. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  23. ^ "Nets Get Albert for Next Season (Published 2005)". The New York Times. February 28, 2005. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  24. ^ "Marv Albert, Turner agree to long-term extension". Newsday. February 9, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  25. NBA.com
    . March 31, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  26. New York Times
    . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c d e Sandomir, Richard (June 6, 2011). "Marv Albert to Call N.F.L. Games for CBS". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  28. ^ "Marv Albert leaves Westwood One football play-by-play gig". newsday.com. Newsday. June 4, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  29. ^ Vanderberg, Marcus. "Marv Albert Joins The NFL on CBS". Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  30. ^ Yoder, Matt (May 29, 2014). "Marv Albert stepping away from NFL on CBS to focus on basketball duties". Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  31. ^ Yoder, Matt (February 9, 2015). "Marv Albert and Sugar Ray Leonard are NBC's boxing announcing team". Awful Announcing.
  32. ^ "David Letterman by the Numbers: First Top 10 List, Most Frequent Guests, Who Was on His First Show". The Hollywood Reporter. April 30, 2015.
  33. ^ "The top 50 network TV announcers of all time". www.yahoo.com. January 30, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  34. ^ IGN: Breaking into the Industry: Tim Kitzrow
  35. ^ a b c Nets Broadcasters Archived 2006-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
  36. ^ Curt Gowdy Media Awards Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ [1] American Sportscasters Association
  38. ^ a b Jewish Sports Hall of Fame – Marv Albert Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ^ "Costas, Elway to Present Albert, Reilly for Hall of Fame Induction". nssafame.com. April 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  40. ^ "Three Top Broadcasters Earn WAER Hall of Fame Honors". SU News. September 15, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  41. ^ "Ed Levine, Marv Albert Among New WAER Hall of Famers". Insideradio.com. September 14, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  42. ^
    Durant Daily Democrat
    . November 7, 1997. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  43. ^ "Albert Case Merges Sex, Significance; Lawyers Expect Trial To Look at Social Issues". The Washington Post. September 21, 1997. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  44. ^ Mihoces, Gary (September 25, 1997). "New witness' allegations 'carbon copy,' judge says". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  45. ^ https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-miki-garcia
  46. ^ "Surprise witness 'belts' Marv". Reading Eagle. September 25, 1997. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  47. ^
    New York Times. Archived
    from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  48. ^ CNNSI archive of video news coverage Archived 2007-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ Court Tv Online – Marv Albert Sexual Assault Trial Archived 2006-05-30 at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ Davis, Patricia (October 9, 1998). "Marv Albert's Record Cleared in Biting Case; Judge Dismisses Charge a Year After Trial". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  51. New York Times. Archived
    from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  52. ^ "1997 NFL on NBC Schedule". Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  53. New York Times. Archived
    from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  54. from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  55. ^ Guzzo, Paul (November 17, 2017). "Ferdie Pacheco, the 'Fight Doctor' and Muhammad Ali's physician, dead at 89". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 27, 2021.

External links