Al Michaels

Al Michaels earned his first major recognition as Hawaii’s ‘Sportscaster of the Year’ in 1969 for his work as a sports anchor and play-by-play announcer for local teams, following his professional broadcasting debut with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1967. He then served as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds starting in 1971, where he covered his first network World Series broadcast for NBC Sports in 1972. Michaels continued to build his career with the San Francisco Giants in 1974, also covering UCLA basketball, before commencing a nearly three-decade association with ABC Sports in 1976, officially joining full-time in 1977. During his tenure at ABC, he covered a wide array of major sports, including Major League Baseball, college football, college basketball, horse racing, and the Olympic Games, notably delivering the iconic call of the ‘Miracle on Ice’ at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

His continued excellence led to his induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2013 and being awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio & Television Award the same year. In 2014, Michaels added ‘New York Times Best Seller’ to his accolades with the publication of his memoir, ‘You Can’t Make This Up: Memories and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television’. Michaels is a five-time Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Sports Personality (Play-by-Play Host) and has been named Sportscaster of the Year by the American Sportscasters Association (ASA). In 2022, he joined Amazon Prime Video as the full-time play-by-play announcer for ‘Thursday Night Football,’ maintaining his position at the forefront of professional sports broadcasting.

Most recently, Al Michaels received the IIHF Media Award in 2024, further solidifying his enduring legacy and impact in sports media.