Monday, December 28, 2015

Sports Announcers I Grew Up With: Marv Albert


There is a special place in my heart for the radio and TV sports announcers I grew up with. From ABC's Wide World of Sports to roller derby and wrestling, and everything in between, sports was a big part of my life growing up. At my house, we watched on TV whatever sport was 'in season,' especially on Saturday's. If there was a sports event on radio, we listened to it. I was very blessed to grow up with many now-legendary voices and characters.

Marv Albert was known as the voice of the New York Knicks from 1967 to 2004 (getting his start by being a ball boy for the Knicks before getting his first break on New York radio by sportscaster Marty Glickman). He has called the play-by-play of six Super Bowls, NBA Finals, seven Stanley Cup Finals and Wimbledon Tennis Championships and worked in two World Series (1986 and 1988). Albert is currently lead announcer for NBA games and NCAA tournament action works for Turner Sports and CBS Sports.

He was born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig on June 12, 1941 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, where he went to Abraham Lincoln High School. While Albert grew up, members of his family owned a grocery store on Brighton Beach Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets known as Aufrichtig's. He then attended Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications from 1960 through 1963. He then graduated from New York University in 1965.

Albert is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." As of this writing, Albert handles basketball duties for TNT and CBS.

Albert appeared on David Letterman's late night talk shows for NBC and CBS a total of 126 times. Each time, he brought with him a group of clips featuring sports bloopers and outstanding plays, which he had narrated and dubbed the "Albert Achievement Awards." He was placed as number 14 on David J. Halberstam's list of Top 50 All Time Network Television Sports Announcers on Yahoo! Sports.



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