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Greatest Sports Broadcasting Calls Of All-Time
There are always a few that stand-out in the minds of sports fans everywhere - the calls that rang out either a championship or an amazing play that will remain forever frozen in time.
The list at the linked article is from the New York Post, so it won't surprise you that most of their choices surround American - and especially Big Apple - teams.
But I wonder what those in Canada or Ontario would pick as the greatest broadcast sports calls of all time. I'm guessing most here would put Tom Cheek's famous "Touch 'em all Joe" of Joe Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run for the Jays as one of their highlights.
Foster Hewitt's "Henderson has scored for Canada!" during the finale of the Russia-Canada hockey series can still send chills up your spine if you were around back then.
I've written before about Vin Scully's incredible long silence after a hobbled Dodger Kirk Gibson hit the game winning homer in the playoffs against the ace closer of the Oakland A's. ("In a season that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!")
Then there's Ralph Branca's classic Bobby Thompson "shot heard round the world" from 1951. ("The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! And they're going crazy!")
Those are some of my favourites. Are there any in your memory bank that stand out for you?
Greatest sports broadcasting calls of all-time
- dieter
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Re: Greatest Sports Broadcasting Calls Of All-Time
Ralph Branca threw the pitch to Thomson. The call came from Giants announcer Russ Hodges.
Others? Maybe Chris Cuthbert's call of Sidney Crosby's Golden Goal in the 2010 Olympic men's hockey final in Vancouver.
Vern Lundquist's call of Tiger Woods' chip-in for birdie on 16 in the 2005 Masters. Never mind that Davis Love III and Arnold Palmer had made similar shots in previous years -- fewer people saw them.
Jim Nantz's "Are you serious?" call as Nick Taylor's 74-foot putt won the playoff at this year's Canadian Open in Toronto, ending Canada's 69-year wait for a home-country win.
Expos announcer Dave Van Horne's "El Presidente, El Perfecto" call as Dennis Martinez completed his perfect game for Montreal vs the Dodgers in Los Angeles in 1991.
I'll throw in the calls by the late great Don Wittman of Donovan Bailey winning the Olympic men's 100 metres in Atlanta, then being part of Canada's fantastic triumph in the men's 4x100 metre relay later in the Games.
Last edited by dieter (August 9, 2023 9:17 pm)
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Re: Greatest Sports Broadcasting Calls Of All-Time
dieter wrote:
Ralph Branca threw the pitch to Thomson. The call came from Giants announcer Russ Hodges.
You're right and I actually knew that. My typing fingers, however, appear to have a mind of their own.
The history behind that call, by the way, is great. Here's the story from Wikipedia:
"Broadcasts were not routinely taped in 1951, and no one at any of the local radio or television stations was recording the game. The WMCA call survives only because a Brooklyn-based fan named Lawrence Goldberg asked his mother to tape-record the last half-inning of the radio broadcast while he was at work. In later years, Hodges told interviewers that Goldberg was a Dodgers fan who made the tape "so he could hear the voice of the Giants weep when Brooklyn won". In fact, Goldberg had been a Giants fan since childhood."
Luckily, he never erased it and the call is preserved for posterity and for many, it's the greatest baseball radio highlight of all time.
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Thread Starter- dieter
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Re: Greatest Sports Broadcasting Calls Of All-Time
Two more classic World Series calls:
Jack Buck's radio call after Kirk Gibson's HR in 1988 -- "I can't believe what I just saw!"
Red Barber's "Oh, doctor" after Brooklyn's Al Gionfrido stole a game-tying HR from Joe DiMaggio in Game 6 in 1947.
- turkeytop
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I was in a bar the night of Ben Johnson's win in 88. The place went wild. It was followed by a huge letdown a few days later.
Last edited by turkeytop (August 10, 2023 12:55 am)
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Re: Greatest Sports Broadcasting Calls Of All-Time
On Vin Scully's call of Gibson's homer - "high fly ball into right field, she is GONE!"
Some other favourites of mine are Cheek's "Touch 'em all, Joe!", Chris Cuthbert on Sid's "Golden Goal", Rick Jeanneret's "May Day! May Day!", and Joe Bowen's "DOWN GOES BROWN!"
Talking about RJ, a CD was released years ago with some of his most famous calls, and the whole thing is on YouTube: