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Al Michaels
Al Michaels (37443740985).jpg
Michaels at FedExField in September 2017
Born
Alan Richard Michaels

(1944-11-12) November 12, 1944 (age 80)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Alma mater Arizona State University
Occupation Sports commentator
Years active 1964–present
Spouse(s)
Linda Anne Stamaton
​
(m. 1966)​
Children 2
Sports commentary career
Genre(s) Play-by-play
Sports

Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is a famous American television sportscaster. He is known for describing the action in many sports games, especially National Football League (NFL) games. He has worked on TV since 1971.

Michaels was the main voice for ABC Monday Night Football from 1986 to 2005. Then, he moved to NBC Sunday Night Football from 2006 to 2021. He is also famous for his exciting calls in other sports. These include the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics and the earthquake during the 1989 World Series. Today, he calls Thursday Night Football for Amazon Prime Video.

Early Life and School

Alan Richard Michaels was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on November 12, 1944. He grew up loving the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. In 1958, his family moved to Los Angeles. This was the same year the Dodgers also moved to Los Angeles.

He finished Alexander Hamilton High School in 1962. Michaels then went to Arizona State University. There, he studied radio and television. He also wrote about sports for the school newspaper. He called games for the school's radio station too.

Starting His Career

Michaels' first TV job was helping to choose people for a show called The Dating Game. His first sports job was in 1967. He worked for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. He helped with public relations and talked about the games on the radio. However, he only worked a few games before leaving.

In 1968, he moved to Honolulu. He became a sports reporter for a TV station. He also called games for the Hawaii Islanders baseball team. He was named Hawaii's 'Sportscaster of the Year' in 1969. In 1970, he even appeared in an episode of the TV show Hawaii Five-O.

In 1971, Michaels moved to Cincinnati. He became the radio announcer for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. In 1972, the Reds made it to the World Series. Michaels helped cover the series for NBC Sports. He also called hockey games at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan.

In 1974, he joined the San Francisco Giants as an announcer. He also covered UCLA basketball. In 1975, he announced NFL games for CBS Sports. In 1976, he started working part-time for ABC Sports. He called some of their Monday Night Baseball games.

Working at ABC Sports (1977–2006)

In 1977, Al Michaels started working full-time for ABC Sports. In 1983, he became their main baseball announcer. He had covered the World Series for ABC since 1979.

For the next 30 years, Michaels covered many different sports for ABC. These included baseball, college football, college basketball, and the Indianapolis 500 car race. He also covered ice hockey, horse racing, golf, and boxing. He was also a big part of ABC's Olympic Games coverage.

He also hosted the Stanley Cup Finals from 2000 to 2002. Michaels was also the host for the yearly Tiger Woods golf specials.

The Miracle on Ice

One of Michaels' most famous broadcasts was the 1980 Winter Olympics ice hockey game. It was between the United States and the Soviet Union. The U.S. team was made up of college players. The Soviet team was very strong and professional. The game was played on February 22, 1980. The crowd in Lake Placid, New York was very excited.

As the game ended, Michaels made a famous call. He shouted, "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" The U.S. team won 4–3. This game became known as the The Miracle on Ice.

The game was not shown live in most of the U.S. It was broadcast later that night. Even so, it was one of the most-watched hockey games ever on American TV.

Michaels and his broadcast partner, Ken Dryden, even re-recorded their commentary for the 2004 movie Miracle. The director used Michaels' original "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" call for the end of the movie. Michaels later said that the "Miracle on Ice" was the highlight of his career.

Michaels called another important game two days later. The U.S. team beat Finland to win the gold medal. He ended that game by saying, "This impossible dream comes true!"

Memorable Baseball Moments

Michaels had many exciting baseball moments.

1972 National League Championship Series

In the 1972 National League Championship Series, Michaels called a thrilling Game 5. The Pittsburgh Pirates were playing the Cincinnati Reds. In the ninth inning, the Pirates were ahead. But the Reds scored runs and won the game. Michaels' call of the winning play was very exciting.

1986 American League Championship Series

In 1986, Michaels called another unforgettable game. It was Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series. The California Angels were close to winning the series against the Boston Red Sox. The Angels were leading in the ninth inning. But the Red Sox hit a home run to take the lead. Michaels famously yelled, "Unbelievable!!!!!" The Red Sox won that game and then the series.

1989 World Series Earthquake

On October 17, 1989, Michaels was in San Francisco. He was getting ready to cover Game 3 of the 1989 World Series. The game was between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Just before the game, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit.

As the ground shook, Michaels was on air. He started to say, "I'll tell you what, we're having an earth—" before the TV signal cut out. When the signal came back, Michaels famously said, "Well folks, that's the greatest open in the history of television, bar none!" He then reported on the earthquake from outside the stadium. He was even nominated for an Emmy Award for his news reporting.

Michaels later said he was very scared during the earthquake. He believed he would have been hurt if it had lasted longer.

The Baseball Network (1994–1995)

In 1994, ABC started showing Major League Baseball games again. They worked with NBC on something called The Baseball Network. Michaels was back as the main announcer. He worked with Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver.

However, a player's strike in August 1994 stopped the season. The World Series was canceled that year. In 1995, The Baseball Network ended. Michaels called his last Major League Baseball game for ABC in October 1995.

Monday Night Football

Michaels was the main announcer for ABC's Monday Night Football for 20 seasons, starting in 1986. He called his first Super Bowl in 1988. Three years later, he called the exciting Super Bowl between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills.

He worked with different partners over the years. For a long time, he worked with Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gifford. Later, he teamed up with John Madden in 2002. This team was very popular.

NBA on ABC

In 2003, Michaels became the main announcer for the NBA on ABC. He worked with Doc Rivers for a short time. Then, he teamed up with Hubie Brown in 2004. They called the 2004 NBA Finals and the 2005 NBA Finals. Michaels did not call many regular season NBA games. He mostly called big games like the Christmas Day matchups.

Moving from ABC to NBC

ABC Loses NFL Rights

In 2005, it was announced that Monday Night Football would move from ABC to ESPN. Michaels' partner, John Madden, decided to join NBC Sports. NBC had won the rights to Sunday Night Football.

At first, Michaels said he would stay with ESPN. But many people thought he would join Madden at NBC. NBC's Sunday Night Football was becoming the top NFL prime-time show.

The Oswald the Lucky Rabbit "Trade"

On February 9, 2006, NBC announced that Michaels would join Madden for Sunday Night Football. To let Michaels out of his contract with ABC and ESPN, NBCUniversal made a special deal. They gave Disney the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was an old cartoon character created by Walt Disney himself.

Michaels thought the "trade" was funny. He said, "Oswald is definitely worth more than a fourth-round draft choice. I'm going to be a trivia answer someday."

NBC Sports (2006–Present)

Sunday Night Football

Michaels and Madden started their work at NBC on August 6, 2006. They called Sunday Night Football together until 2009. Then, Cris Collinsworth joined Michaels as the new analyst.

Michaels has called many Super Bowls for NBC. These include Super Bowl XLIII (2009), Super Bowl XLVI (2012), Super Bowl XLIX (2015), Super Bowl LII (2018), and Super Bowl LVI (2022). He has called the most Super Bowls as a play-by-play announcer, tying Pat Summerall.

Even though he officially left Sunday Night Football after the 2021 season, Michaels still calls some NFL playoff games for NBC.

NBC Olympic Daytime Host

In 2009, Michaels became the daytime host for NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This was his first time working on the Olympics since 1988. He also co-hosted the Closing Ceremony.

He continued to host Olympic coverage for NBC. He was a co-host for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He also hosted daytime coverage for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

MLB Network (2011)

On July 8, 2011, Michaels called a baseball game for MLB Network. He worked with Bob Costas. It was Michaels' first time calling a baseball game since 1995.

Thursday Night Football (2016, 2022–Present)

Michaels first called Thursday Night Football in 2016 for NBC. In 2022, he became the full-time play-by-play announcer for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video. He works with Kirk Herbstreit.

Some viewers have said Michaels seems less excited during these games. Michaels has joked about it, saying he can't "oversell" games that might not be the most exciting.

Awards and Honors

Al Michaels has received many awards for his work.

  • He has won five Sports Emmy Awards for being an outstanding play-by-play announcer.
  • He has been named National Sportscaster of the Year three times.
  • He received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2002.

Halls of Fame

His old high school in Los Angeles, Alexander Hamilton High School, named its football stadium Al Michaels Field.

Personal Life

Al Michaels lives in Los Angeles. He married his wife, Linda, in 1966. They have two children, Jennifer and Steven. His son, Steven, works in the film industry. Al's younger brother, David, is also a TV producer.

In 2014, Michaels released his autobiography. It was called You Can't Make This Up: Memories and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television. It became a best-seller.

Notable Broadcasts

Michaels was the play-by-play announcer for these events unless noted.

Career Timeline

  • 1968–1970: Hawaii Islanders Play-by-play
  • 1971–1973: Cincinnati Reds Radio Play-by-play
  • 1971–1974: NFL on NBC Play-by-play
  • 1972, 1980–1988: Winter Olympics Hockey Play-by-play
  • 1974–1976: San Francisco Giants TV & Radio Play-by-play
  • 1975: NFL on CBS Play-by-play
  • 1976–1989, 1994–1995: Major League Baseball on ABC Play-by-play
  • 1986–2005: ABC Monday Night Football Play-by-play
  • 2000–2002: NHL on ABC Stanley Cup Finals host
  • 2003–2005: NBA on ABC Play-by-play
  • 2006–2021: NBC Sunday Night Football Play-by-play
  • 2016: Thursday Night Football on NBC/NFL Network Play-by-play
  • 2022–present: Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video Play-by-play
  • 2022–present: NBC Sports Emeritus role

Broadcast Partners

Al Michaels has worked with many different people during his career, including:

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