Kenny Albert facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kenny Albert
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Albert in 2015
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| Born |
Kenneth Gary Albert
February 2, 1968 New York City, U.S.
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Barbara Wolf
(m. 1996) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Marv Albert Benita Oberlander |
| Relatives | Al Albert (uncle) Steve Albert (uncle) |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre(s) | Play-by-play |
| Sports | NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL |
Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is a famous American sportscaster. He is the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert. His uncles, Al Albert and Steve Albert, are also sportscasters.
Kenny Albert is special because he is the only sportscaster right now who does "play-by-play" for all four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. This means he describes the action live for games in the NFL (football), NBA (basketball), MLB (baseball), and NHL (hockey).
Contents
Early Life and First Steps in Sports
Kenny Albert loved sports broadcasting from a very young age. For his fifth birthday, his parents gave him a tape recorder. He used it to practice announcing games!
When he was six, his dad took him to a New York Rangers hockey game. A statistician had to leave, and Kenny got to help out with the stats for the rest of the game. This was his first real job in sports!
At 14, he became the official statistician for the Rangers on the radio. By 16, he was writing content for the Rangers' game programs. He looked up to Vancouver Canucks announcer Jim Robson. Kenny also covered high school sports for a local newspaper while growing up in Sands Point, New York.
He went to New York University and graduated in 1990. He studied broadcasting and journalism. While at college, he worked at the school's radio station, WNYU. This helped him learn to react quickly while announcing local games.
Kenny Albert's Broadcasting Career
Kenny Albert is well-known for his "play-by-play" announcing. This is when a sportscaster describes the action of a game as it happens. He is the main radio voice for the New York Rangers. He also sometimes announces their games on TV.
He works for Fox, where he announces baseball and football games. He used to announce the Sugar Bowl college football game too.
Early Announcing Jobs
Before working for big networks, Kenny announced for the American Hockey League's Baltimore Skipjacks from 1990 to 1992. He also did TV play-by-play for the Washington Capitals (hockey) and the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards, basketball). In 2005, he was a part-time announcer for the Washington Nationals baseball team. He also calls preseason games for the Washington Commanders (football). He even called the international broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI!
Hockey and the Olympics
Kenny Albert has a long history with hockey. He worked on Fox NHL Saturday in the 1990s. He also announced games for NHL on NBC and Versus (now NBCSN). In 2014, he even filled in for famous announcer Mike Emrick for Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals.
He has also been a play-by-play announcer for men's and women's ice hockey at the Winter Olympic Games. He has done this for every Winter Olympics since 2002 in Salt Lake City.
After Mike Emrick retired, Kenny became NBC's main play-by-play announcer for the 2020–21 NHL season. When NBC lost the NHL rights, Kenny and his partner Eddie Olczyk moved to Turner Sports. They now announce hockey games there.
Other Sports and Big Moments
Kenny Albert has also announced college basketball games for ESPN Plus. He sometimes fills in as a play-by-play announcer for New York Knicks basketball games on MSG Network. In 2011, he announced for two New York playoff teams at the same time: the Rangers (hockey) on radio and the Knicks (basketball) on TV!
In 2015, he called an exciting baseball game during the 2015 American League Division Series. He helped explain a tricky rule about a throw that led to a run. Then, he called Jose Bautista's amazing go-ahead home run in the same game!
In 2016, Kenny was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award for his play-by-play announcing. This is a very important award in sports broadcasting.
He has been an announcer for the NFL on Fox since 1994. In October 2024, he became the first play-by-play broadcaster to call 500 regular season or postseason games for the same network!
Four Sports in Four Days
One amazing thing Kenny Albert did was announce four different sports in just four days!
- On October 25, 2009, he called an NFL football game for Fox. Later that night, he hosted the New York Yankees' celebration after they won the American League Championship Series.
- The next night, he announced a New York Rangers hockey game on the radio.
- On October 28, he called the New York Knicks basketball season opener on TV.
This shows how talented and busy he is!
Kenny Albert's Personal Life
Kenny Albert lives in New Jersey with his wife, Barbara, and their two daughters, Amanda and Sydney. He met his wife through a friend.
Kenny loves all sports, especially hockey and basketball. He has said that baseball is the hardest sport to announce.
In 2023, Kenny Albert wrote his first book, an autobiography called "A Mic For All Seasons." The book shares stories from his 30 years in broadcasting. It talks about how he became successful, his relationships with other broadcasters and athletes, and his family.
Career Timeline
- 1990–1992: Baltimore Skipjacks – play-by-play
- 1992–1995: Washington Capitals – play-by-play on NBC Sports Washington
- 1993–1994: NHL on ESPN2 – play-by-play
- 1994–1995, 2016–2020: NHL Radio – lead play-by-play
- 1994–present: NFL on Fox – play-by-play
- 1995–1999: NHL on Fox – play-by-play
- 1995–present: New York Rangers – radio play-by-play
- 1999–2000: NTRA on Fox – host
- 2001–2019, 2022–present: Major League Baseball on Fox – play-by-play
- 2002: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
- 2005: Washington Nationals – fill-in television play-by-play
- 2005–2006: NHL on Versus – play-by-play
- 2006: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
- 2007–2009: Sugar Bowl – play-by-play
- 2009–present: New York Knicks – fill-in television play-by-play
- 2010: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
- 2010–2023: Washington Redskins/Commanders Broadcast Network – preseason play-by-play
- 2011: NHL on Versus – playoffs play-by-play
- 2012–2021: NHL on NBC – secondary play-by-play and then lead play-by-play
- 2014: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
- 2016: Summer Olympics – track and field play-by-play
- 2018: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
- 2021: Summer Olympics - baseball and volleyball play-by-play
- 2021–present: NHL on TNT - Lead play-by-play
- 2022: Winter Olympics - hockey play-by-play
- 2024: 2024 Summer Olympics - Water polo play-by-play
Books
- A Mic For All Seasons (2023)
