At least 119 sports voices, many big names, are 70+; Sportscasting is no longer a young person’s game
22 announcers are 80+ and 26 are 75-79; No play-by-play announcer on network television has survived over 80

Some broadcasters think they’re beyond reproach. They refuse to recognize that the clock winds down inexorably, that shelf lives are limited and that their broadcast styles become obsolete.
Some ignore the constellation of symptoms; swelling shortcomings generated irrepressibly by age. Some think that seniority comes with a lifetime license, one of a tenured professor or a Supreme Court justice. Others have self-distorted views of themselves after years of being awash with glamorous exposure.
Younger broadcasters talk in hushed tones about their elder and esteemed colleagues, “We want him to leave at the top of their games,” not thinking ahead to when they themselves will face similar predicaments.
Passion can be our most powerful enemy. We, people of all walks of life, believe what we want to believe. It can turn us delusional. Some announcers think they’ll go on forever, getting nodding but unbinding assurances from the powers that be. Locally, some voices have built formidable community capital, the kind they conveniently interpret for lifelong entitlement. No referendums.
Is sports broadcasting a meritocracy or a gerontocracy? There are many in the broadcast booth much older than 70, an age at which the government mandates seniors to draw down their retirement accounts. Think of law firms where partners have required retirement ages. Pilots can fly commercial aircraft up to a fixed age. No such rules for broadcasters.
Some seniors haven’t lost an iota of their vocal speed, some have. Al McCoy and Hubie Brown, both 86, are blessed. Hubie is still as self-assured on ESPN as he was on Turner thirty years ago. McCoy travels the NBA 82-game circuit calling games on radio from the nosebleeds, doing so with preternatural eyes. Al says proper rest is required to facilitate imperturbable focus while on-air. It’s a discipline that doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. Genes dictate a lot too. Both Al’s parents lived to over 90.
Announcers sometimes get away with overstaying their welcome, even when their voices quiver or their hands move unsteadily when holding a stick mic. They proceed by maintaining a taut smile or inoculating themselves by harshly dismissing their critics.
There are those who recognize the power of social media. Some conveniently dismiss it. A few submit to the imperative of reality and the handwriting on the wall. They retire.
There are voices who maintain their word retention and others who don’t. There are those who can still spin spontaneous yarns. Others just talk less to elude unnavigable pitfalls. Some move on when it’s time, others can’t. Some justify their mistakes, not many make plans for retirement. Their identity is their work. They can’t give it up. They’d feel like a carpenter without tools. A few scale back but don’t give up the booth entirely.
My hat’s off to Rick Peckham, 64, Voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who’ll retire at the end of the NHL season when he’s 65. He’s sticking by his plans of years ago. Steve Albert retired in his mid-sixties as did his brother Al before him. Oldest brother Marv, 78, a basketball broadcast icon, shows no signs of wanting to shed the mic.
If baseball had its Sandy Koufax and the NFL had Jim Brown, both of whom retired at 30, basketball on radio had Kentucky’s beloved and talented Cawood Ledford. He was 66 and gave it up on his own. He took heed to the recordings of his work. They were still great but not as great as they were. He didn’t wait for anyone to blow the whistle.
I think of the wonderful Chick Hearn in his final few years when he and his toupee looked propped up. But his adrenalin was uncontainable. He bolted a hospital emergency room in Houston to keep his attendance streak alive on Lakers broadcasts.
Chick was a man who cared so much about his job that he used a walker to get to the broadcast booth. It was odd, yet eyepopping. Fans loved him even when on rare occasions he mistook a Rick Fox for Magic Johnson.
But no one in their 80s has held a play-by-play job on network television. As they approach 80, they’re gone. They no longer call major team sports on network TV. Think Keith Jackson, Dick Enberg, Verne Lundquist, Tom Hammond, Mike Patrick, Don Criqui, Brent Musburger and others.
Broadcasters are exposed. It’s a public domain. Just check social media to see how many announcers take verbal lashings on football weekends. Whether they represent the minority or majority, many of the points made or the mistakes listed are still reality.
What resonates is what Dick Enberg shared with budding broadcasters, “You sit on the chair, you don’t own it.” Sports broadcasting was once a young man’s game. It ain’t anymore. Just look at this list. Some pace themselves. Others don’t.
Because it’s TV, no one sees beneath the makeup of what Laura Hillenbrand described and I liberally paraphrase, “Faces are scratched with lines mapping out the miles of their lives.” Broadcasts are live. Announcers face crucibles every time their microphones are turned on. It goes with the territory. (Updated 12.23.19- to 121)
Alphabetical Order
1. | Richie | Adubato | 81 | Orlando Magic Radio Network |
2. | Marv | Albert | 78 | Turner/NBA |
3. | Jerry | Allen | 71 | Oregon F/B Radio |
4. | Bill | Baker | 71 | Northern Illinois |
5. | Jim | Barnett | 75 | Golden State Warriors Radio |
6. | Gary | Barnett | 73 | Colorado Football Network |
7. | Dan | Belluomini | 78 | Pac-12 Network |
8. | Len | Berman | 72 | WOR Radio + Various |
9. | George | Blaha | 74 | Detroit Pistons / Mich State Football |
10. | Bucky | Bockhorn | 86 | Dayton Basketball Radio |
11. | Ron | Boone | 73 | Utah Jazz Radio Network |
12. | Terry | Bradshaw | 71 | Fox Sports |
13. | Gil | Brandt | 86 | SiriusXM/NFL |
14. | Hubie | Brown | 86 | ESPN/NBA |
15. | P. J. | Carlesimo | 70 | ESPN/Westwood One |
16. | Austin | Carr | 71 | Cleveland Cavaliers TV |
17. | Charley | Casserly | 71 | NFL Network |
18. | Joe | Castiglione | 72 | Boston Red Sox Network |
19. | Al | Challis | 71 | Southern Utah Univversity |
20. | Jim | Chones | 70 | Cleveland Cavaliers Radio |
21. | Rich | Chvotkin | 74 | Georgetown Radio |
22. | Larry | Clisby | 72 | Purdue F/B Radio |
23. | Lee | Corso | 84 | ESPN |
24. | Terry | Crisp | 76 | Nashville Predators |
25. | Tom | Davis | 71 | Baltimore Orioles TV Pre/Post |
26. | Gene | Deckerhoff | 74 | T.Bucs/Florida State F/B Radio |
27. | Harry | Donahue | 71 | Temple F/B |
28. | Jacques | Doucet | 79 | Toronto Blue Jays/ French |
29. | Cliff | Drysdale | 78 | ESPN |
30. | Mike | Emrick | 73 | NBC / NHL |
31. | Phil | Esposito | 77 | Tampa Bay Lightning Radio |
32. | Ed | Farmer | 70 | White Sox Radio |
33. | Don | Fischer | 73 | Indiana University F/B |
34. | Ray | Fosse | 72 | A’s Radio/TV |
35. | Mike | Fratello | 72 | NBA TV |
36. | Walt | Frazier | 74 | MSG Network / NY Knicks |
37. | Neil | Funk | 73 | Chicago Bulls TV |
38. | Pete | Gammons | 74 | MLB Network |
39. | Gary | Gerould | 79 | Sacramento Kings Radio Network |
40. | Peter | Gillen | 72 | CBS Sports Network |
41. | Butch | Goring | 70 | Islanders TV |
42. | Mike | Gorman | 72 | Celtics TV |
43. | Ray | Goss | 82 | Duquesne Basketball |
44. | Bob | Griese | 74 | Miami Dolphins Radio Network |
45. | Tom | Grieve | 71 | Texas Rangers TV |
46. | Al | Groh | 75 | ESPN |
47. | Greg | Gumbel | 73 | CBS Sports |
48. | Bryant | Gumbel | 71 | HBO |
49. | Dale | Hansen | 71 | Dallas- TV |
50. | Fran | Healy | 73 | MSG Network |
51. | Tommy | Heinsohn | 85 | Boston Celtics TV |
52. | Jim | Hill | 73 | CBS Affiliate – Los Angeles |
53. | Bill | Hillgrove | 79 | Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt Network |
54. | Norm | Hitzges | 75 | The Ticket – Dallas TV/Radio |
55. | Johnny | Holliday | 82 | Maryland Radio Network |
56. | Tommy | Hutton | 73 | Marlins TV – Host |
57. | Jaime | Jarrin | 83 | Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish Radio |
58. | Rick | Jeanneret | 77 | Buffalo Sabres Radio/TV |
59. | Jimmy | Johnson | 76 | Fox Sports – NFL |
60. | Jim | Kaat | 81 | MLB Network |
61. | Mike | Kennedy | 70 | Wichita State Basketball Radio |
62. | Tony | Kornheiser | 71 | ESPN |
63. | Mike | Krzyzewski | 72 | SiriusXM |
64. | Bob | Kurtz | 72 | Minnesota Wild Radio |
65. | Mike | Lange | 71 | Penguins Radio |
66. | Stu | Lantz | 73 | Lakers TV |
67. | Ted | Leitner | 72 | San Diego Padres and San Diego State |
68. | Slick | Leonard | 87 | Indiana Pacers Radio Network |
69. | Verne | Lundquist | 79 | CBS Sports |
70. | Buck | Martinez | 71 | Blue Jays TV |
71. | Denny | Matthews | 77 | Kansas City Royals Radio Network |
72. | Tim | McCarver | 78 | St. Louis Cardinals TV |
73. | Al | McCoy | 86 | Phoenix Suns Radio Network |
74. | Shep | Messing | 70 | MSGN/Bulls Soccer |
75. | Al | Michaels | 75 | NBC Sports |
76. | Rick | Monday | 73 | Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network |
77. | Brent | Musburger | 80 | SirusXM |
78. | Dave | Nitz | 77 | Louisiana Tech Radio Network |
79. | Wayne | Norman | 71 | UConn F/B |
80. | Tony | Oliva | 81 | Minnesota Twins Spanish Radio |
81. | Woody | Paige | 73 | ESPN |
82. | Jim | Palmer | 74 | Baltimore Orioles TV Network |
83. | Kent | Pavelka | 70 | Nebraska Basketball |
84. | Bill | Polian | 77 | SiriusXM/NFL |
85. | Ross | Porter | 81 | Cal State Northridge Baseball |
86. | Mike | Pratt | 71 | Kentucky Color |
87. | Jim | Price | 78 | Detroit Tigers Radio Network |
88. | Bill | Raftery | 76 | CBS Sports / Fox Sports |
89. | Judy | Rankin | 74 | Golf Channel |
90. | Ahmad | Rashad | 70 | Various |
91. | Larry | Rawson | 77 | ESPN |
92. | Mickey | Redmond | 72 | Red Wings TV |
93. | Merrill | Reese | 77 | Philadelphia Eagles Radio Network |
94. | Tom | Reid | 73 | Minnesota Wild Radio |
95. | Sam | Rosen | 72 | New York Rangers TV |
96. | Brad | Sham | 70 | Dallas Cowboys Radio |
97. | Mike | Shannon | 80 | St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network |
98. | Ken | Singleton | 72 | Yankees TV |
99. | Steve | Somers | 72 | WFAN Radio |
100. | Dave | South | 74 | Texas A&M Baseball |
101. | Ken | Squier | 84 | WDEV Radio/NASCAR |
102. | Joe | Starkey | 78 | Cal Berkeley Football Radio Network |
103. | Charley | Steiner | 70 | LA Dodgers Radio |
104. | John | Sterling | 81 | New York Yankees Radio Network |
105. | Dick | Stockton | 77 | Fox Sports- NFL |
106. | Steve | Stone | 70 | Chicago White Sox TV |
107. | Don | Sutton | 74 | Atlanta Braves Radio Network |
108. | Bobby | Taylor | 73 | Tampa Bay Lightning TV Studio |
109. | Joe | Theismann | 70 | Redskins TV (pre-season) |
110. | John | Thompson | 78 | Westwood One/NCAA Network |
111. | Gary | Thorne | 71 | Orioles TV |
112. | Barry | Tompkins | 79 | Mountain West Network |
113. | Roger | Twibell | 70 | ESPN3 /ESPN+ |
114. | Bob | Uecker | 85 | Milwaukee Brewers Radio |
115. | Joel | Utley | 80 | Kentucky Wesleyan Radio |
116. | Dave | Van Horne | 80 | Miami Marlins Radio Network |
117. | Dick | Vitale | 80 | ESPN |
118. | Suzyn | Waldman | 73 | New York Yankees Radio Network |
119. | Larry | Ward | 72 | Chattanooga Lookouts |
120. | Bill | Worrell | 72 | Houston Rockets TV |
121. | Sam | Wyche | 74 | ESPN3 or ESPN+ |
By age- oldest first
1. | Slick | Leonard | 87 | Indiana Pacers Radio Network |
2. | Bucky | Bockhorn | 86 | Dayton Basketball Radio |
3. | Gil | Brandt | 86 | SiriusXM/NFL |
4. | Hubie | Brown | 86 | ESPN/NBA |
5. | Al | McCoy | 86 | Phoenix Suns Radio Network |
6. | Tommy | Heinsohn | 85 | Boston Celtics TV |
7. | Bob | Uecker | 85 | Milwaukee Brewers Radio |
8. | Lee | Corso | 84 | ESPN |
9. | Ken | Squier | 84 | WDEV Radio/NASCAR |
10. | Jaime | Jarrin | 83 | Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish Radio |
11. | Ray | Goss | 82 | Duquesne Basketball |
12. | Johnny | Holliday | 82 | Maryland Radio Network |
13. | Richie | Adubato | 81 | Orlando Magic Radio Network |
14. | Jim | Kaat | 81 | MLB Network |
15. | Tony | Oliva | 81 | Minnesota Twins Spanish Radio |
16. | Ross | Porter | 81 | Cal State Northridge Baseball |
17. | John | Sterling | 81 | New York Yankees Radio Network |
18. | Brent | Musburger | 80 | SirusXM |
19. | Mike | Shannon | 80 | St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network |
20. | Joel | Utley | 80 | Kentucky Wesleyan Radio |
21. | Dave | Van Horne | 80 | Miami Marlins Radio Network |
22. | Dick | Vitale | 80 | ESPN |
23. | Jacques | Doucet | 79 | Toronto Blue Jays/ French |
24. | Gary | Gerould | 79 | Sacramento Kings Radio Network |
25. | Bill | Hillgrove | 79 | Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt Network |
26. | Verne | Lundquist | 79 | CBS Sports |
27. | Barry | Tompkins | 79 | Mountain West Network |
28. | Marv | Albert | 78 | Turner/NBA |
29. | Dan | Belluomini | 78 | Pac-12 Network |
30. | Cliff | Drysdale | 78 | ESPN |
31. | Tim | McCarver | 78 | St. Louis Cardinals TV |
32. | Jim | Price | 78 | Detroit Tigers Radio Network |
33. | Joe | Starkey | 78 | Cal Berkeley Football Radio Network |
34. | John | Thompson | 78 | Westwood One/NCAA Network |
35. | Phil | Esposito | 77 | Tampa Bay Lightning TV |
36. | Rick | Jeanneret | 77 | Buffalo Sabres Radio/TV |
37. | Denny | Matthews | 77 | Kansas City Royals Radio Network |
38. | Dave | Nitz | 77 | Louisiana Tech Radio Network |
39. | Bill | Polian | 77 | SiriusXM/NFL |
40. | Larry | Rawson | 77 | ESPN |
41. | Merrill | Reese | 77 | Philadelphia Eagles Radio Network |
42. | Dick | Stockton | 77 | Fox Sports- NFL |
43. | Terry | Crisp | 76 | Nashville Predators |
44. | Jimmy | Johnson | 76 | Fox Sports – NFL |
45. | Bill | Raftery | 76 | CBS Sports / Fox Sports |
46. | Jim | Barnett | 75 | Golden State Warriors Radio |
47. | Al | Groh | 75 | ESPN |
48. | Norm | Hitzges | 75 | The Ticket – Dallas TV/Radio |
49. | Al | Michaels | 75 | NBC Sports |
50. | George | Blaha | 74 | Detroit Pistons Network / Mich State Football |
51. | Rich | Chvotkin | 74 | Georgetown Radio |
52. | Gene | Deckerhoff | 74 | Tampa Bay Bucs/Florida State F/B Radio |
53. | Walt | Frazier | 74 | MSG Network / NY Knicks |
54. | Pete | Gammons | 74 | MLB Network |
55. | Bob | Griese | 74 | Miami Dolphins Radio Network |
56. | Jim | Palmer | 74 | Baltimore Orioles TV Network |
57. | Judy | Rankin | 74 | Golf Channel |
58. | Dave | South | 74 | Texas A&M Baseball |
59. | Don | Sutton | 74 | Atlanta Braves Radio Network |
60. | Sam | Wyche | 74 | ESPN3 or ESPN+ |
61. | Gary | Barnett | 73 | Colorado Football Network |
62. | Ron | Boone | 73 | Utah Jazz Radio Network |
63. | Mike | Emrick | 73 | NBC / NHL |
64. | Neil | Funk | 73 | Chicago Bulls TV |
65. | Greg | Gumbel | 73 | CBS Sports |
66. | Fran | Healy | 73 | MSG Network |
67. | Jim | Hill | 73 | CBS Affiliate – Los Angeles |
68. | Tommy | Hutton | 73 | Marlins TV – Host |
69. | Stu | Lantz | 73 | Lakers TV |
70. | Rick | Monday | 73 | Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network |
71. | Woody | Paige | 73 | ESPN |
72. | Tom | Reid | 73 | Minnesota Wild Radio |
73. | Bobby | Taylor | 73 | Tampa Bay Lightning TV Studio |
74. | Suzyn | Waldman | 73 | New York Yankees Radio Network |
75. | Don | Fischer | 73 | Indiana University F/B |
76. | Len | Berman | 72 | WOR Radio + Various |
77. | Joe | Castiglione | 72 | Boston Red Sox Network |
78. | Larry | Clisby | 72 | Purdue F/B Radio |
79. | Ray | Fosse | 72 | A’s Radio/TV |
80. | Mike | Fratello | 72 | NBA TV |
81. | Peter | Gillen | 72 | CBS Sports Network |
82. | Mike | Krzyzewski | 72 | SiriusXM |
83. | Bob | Kurtz | 72 | Minnesota Wild Radio |
84. | Ted | Leitner | 72 | San Diego Padres and San Diego State |
85. | Mickey | Redmond | 72 | Red Wings TV |
86. | Sam | Rosen | 72 | New York Rangers TV |
87. | Ken | Singleton | 72 | Yankees TV |
88. | Steve | Somers | 72 | WFAN |
89. | Bill | Worrell | 72 | Houston Rockets TV |
90. | Mike | Gorman | 72 | Celtics TV |
91. | Larry | Ward | 72 | Chattanooga Lookouts |
92. | Jerry | Allen | 71 | Oregon F/B Radio |
93. | Bill | Baker | 71 | Northern Illinois |
94. | Terry | Bradshaw | 71 | Fox TV |
95. | Austin | Carr | 71 | Cleveland Cavaliers TV |
96. | Charley | Casserly | 71 | NFL Network |
97. | Al | Challis | 71 | Southern Utah |
98. | Tom | Davis | 71 | Baltimore Orioles YV pre/post |
99. | Harry | Donahue | 71 | Temple F/B |
100. | Tom | Grieve | 71 | Texas Rangers TV |
101. | Bryant | Gumbel | 71 | HBO |
102. | Dale | Hansen | 71 | Dallas- TV |
103. | Tony | Kornheiser | 71 | ESPN |
104. | Mike | Lange | 71 | Penguins Radio |
105. | Buck | Martinez | 71 | Blue Jays TV |
106. | Wayne | Norman | 71 | UConn F/B |
107. | Mike | Pratt | 71 | Kentucky color |
108. | Gary | Thorne | 71 | Orioles TV |
109. | PJ | Carlesimo | 70 | ESPN/Westwood One |
110. | Jim | Chones | 70 | Cleveland Cavaliers Radio |
111. | Ed | Farmer | 70 | White Sox Radio |
112. | Butch | Goring | 70 | Islanders TV |
113. | Mike | Kennedy | 70 | Wichita State Basketball Radio |
114. | Shep | Messing | 70 | MSGN/Bulls Soccer |
115. | Kent | Pavelka | 70 | Nebraska Basketball |
116. | Ahmad | Rashad | 70 | Various |
117. | Brad | Sham | 70 | Dallas Cowboys Radio |
118. | Charley | Steiner | 70 | LA Dodgers Radio |
119. | Steve | Stone | 70 | Chicago White Sox TV |
120. | Joe | Theismann | 70 | Redskins TV Pre-Season |
121. | Roger | Twibell | 70 | ESPN3 / ESPN+ |
Oldest on-air voice by network
CBS | Bill | Raftery | 76 |
ESPN/ABC | Hubie | Brown | 86 |
Fox Sports | Jimmy | Johnson | 77 |
MLB Network | Jim | Kaat | 81 |
NBA Network | Mike | Fratello | 72 |
NBC Sports | Al | Michaels | 75 |
NHL Network | Barry | Melrose | 63 |
NFL Network | Charlie | Casserly | 71 |
Turner Sports | Marv | Albert | 78 |
Gang of 70+ broadcasters retired or separated in last decade
Eddie | Andelman | Boston Sports Talk |
Joe | Angel | Orioles Radio |
Steve | Blass | Pirates TV |
Marty | Brennaman | Reds Radio |
Don | Cherry | NHL Canada |
Don | Criqui | Notre Dame Football |
Len | Dawson | Chiefs Radio |
Stan | Fischler | MSG Network |
Ron | Franklin | ESPN |
Dick | Groat | Pitt Basketball Radio |
Ken | Harrelson | White Sox Television |
Bob | Harris | Duke Radio |
Jim | Henderson | Saints Radio |
Jerry | Howarth | Blue Jays Radio |
Sonny | Jurgensen | Redskins Radio |
Peter | Kostis | CBS Golf |
Bob | Lamey | Colts Radio |
Jim | Lampley | HBO |
Ralph | Lawler | Clippers TV/Radio |
Fred | Manfra | Orioles Radio |
Gary | McCord | CBS Golf |
Jon | McGlocklin | Bucks |
Bob | Miller | Kings Hockey |
Mike | Patrick | ESPN |
Jerry | Reynolds | Kings TV |
John | Robinson | Sports USA |
Warner | Wolf | WABC Radio |
Vin | Scully | Dodgers R/TV |
Random comments:
Hubie | Brown | 86 | Has temerity not to age and not to break |
Mike | Emrick | 73 | Card him. Doc sounds half his age |
Greg | Gumbel | 73 | Gentle and assuring in the studio |
Slick | Leonard | 87 | An avuncular curmudgeon with an apt story |
Al | McCoy | 86 | Indestructible – even with Kryptonite |
Al | Michaels | 75 | Seemingly Flawless |
Brent | Musburger | 80 | Strong opinions keep you forever young |
Woody | Paige | 73 | A tousled, impassioned professor |
Bill | Raftery | 76 | Hasn’t lost his spunk yet |
Dick | Vitale | 80 | Irrepressible energy who remains relevant |
There might be a few more NOT on a national scale but a decades long career just the same, including yours truly (50 years broadcasting sports/38 years professional baseball/three decades of college sports and other sports venues now at age 72+) Could make for another good column. Just sayin!!!
Well, 80 may be the new 40! Or something like it. As I think about it, Chick Hearn had lost a step, but was still really good. Vin Scully did make more minor mistakes in his later years, but, even then, he was still the best. I think of Red Barber talking about being the “Old Redhead” in his thirties, and thinking he was older in his fifties!
It always comes down to what they have left in the tank. I think of Lindsey Nelson talking about how the network radio pioneers burned out when they were young while team announcers lasted forever, then noticing how many team announcers were then dragged out kicking and screaming. Then I think of how there are announcers on that list I never liked anyway, so I suspect I wouldn’t think they’d slipped at all, and Ross Porter, who I have heard on college baseball sounding as great as ever. I guess it comes down to genes, and I don’t mean Deckerhoff!
There may be hope for me yet! I’m 60 and I’ve reported on almost every sport imaginable, in the USA and overseas. But my goal has always been and continues to be play-by-play.