4. VIN SCULLY-Remember that guy we mentioned back in Jack Buck's place? This is him. Vin Scully's golden voice has been around ever since radio and television began broadcasting sports. Scully's first monumental call may have been on the TV side of Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1955 World Series between the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. Scully is Dodger Baseball and, througout the 80's, he was the premier voice for NBC's Saturday Baseball Game of the Week. Before his work with NBC, he covered the NFL for CBS, college basketball, numerous sports specials. He fits into that golden era where the voice telling the story just grabs you. His way with words is still unprecedented in a time where the picture is meant to tell the story.
3. HOWARD COSELL-What would Monday Night Football have been without Howard Cosell? What would watching boxing and the feats of Muhammad Ali have been without Cosell? Millions of Americans learned of the death of John Lennon from Cosell, he was a celebrity among athletes and knew what buttons to push when. He was a sportscaster that most loved to hate and knew that controversy was the best way to keep the conversation going. He molded the way we currently talk about sports way before ESPN Radio and all of the numerous local voices that have a platform. And the voice? Who doesn't try to impersonate it and know that without Cosell, sports and television would not be the same.
2. KEITH JACKSON-Cosell's partner on Monday Night Football and Monday Night Baseball in the 70's and 80's on ABC is maybe the most adored voice in sports. Keith Jackson is one of the greats and anytime you hear the phrase, "Whoa, Nelly!" you know who's on. College football, basketball, the NFL, Major League Baseball, golf, the NBA...Jackson has done it all including time for Jim McKay's Wide World of Sports and, of course, the Olympics before ABC lost the coverage to NBC. He is in the same conversation as Scully and Harwell....remarkable voices who know how to turn sports into drama and poetry. His lengthy resume and ability to cover so many different sporting events puts him in my Top 2.
1. AL MICHAELS-He is our modern voice. He is Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, the NBA on ABC, the voice on the Madden NFL games that doesn't annoy you so much, he's the World Series, he's "Do You Believe In Miracles?", he's "I believe we're having an earthquake". He's the response that you would give like when Green Bay's Antonio Freeman dropped a pass tumbling around except he didn't and we all said with him, "He did WHAT!?" He's calm in front of the mic and personable and real on camera. He's both coasts, he's Olympics, he's big time. At this time and in this age, he's the voice you want when it's the big game and he does it almost flawlessly. He's #1.
