Table of Contents
12 Best Sports Hosts of all Time
You know you’re a sports fan when you like not just watching but also listening to the commentators. Can you picture a sporting event without the hosts cracking jokes and pumping up the crowd? No, no, no!
We cannot deny that these hosts are extremely gifted, therefore in honor of some of the best sports hosts of all time, we will explore the top 12 hosts we believe are the best at what they do.
So, if you’re looking for the top 12 sports hosts of all time, you’ve come to the correct place.
More Face About The 12 Greatest Sports Hosts of All Time
The following is a list of the 12 Best Sports Hosts of All Time. Continue reading until the end of the article to learn more about these presenters.
Ranking | Hosts | Primary Networks |
1 | Howard Cosell | ABC |
2. | Jim McKay | ABC |
3. | Bob Costas | NBC, HBO, MLB Network |
4. | AI Michaels | NBC, CBS, ABC |
5. | Jim Nantz | CBS |
6. | Keith Jackson | ABC |
7. | Vin Scully | CBS, NBC |
8. | Brain Moore | ITV, Sky Sports |
9. | Foster Hewitt | CBC Television |
10. | Pat Summerall | CBS, Fox Sports |
11. | Curt Gowdy | ABC, NBC |
12. | Jack Buck | ABC, CBS |
12. Jack Buck
Birthday: August 21, 1924
Death date: June 18, 2002
1954-1996: Career
Baseball and football
When it comes to the early 1950s, when Jack Buck got his big break announcing St. Louis Cardinals games on the radio in a booth, he ranks 12th on our list of the top sports hosts of all time.
It was fantastic for him to have his first break with Harry Caray and Joe Garagiola.
Buck was sacked, then rehired by the Cardinals after Caray was fired in 1969, and he rose to prominence as a club reporter.
For decades, he was a terrific NFL pundit who was also actively involved with MLB and the Cardinals.
Few have ever done a better job calling the game.
Buck passed away in 2002, at the age of 77.
11. Curt Gowdy
Birthday: July 31, 1919
Death Date: February 20, 2006
1949-1988: Career
MLB, NFL/AFL, NBA, Olympics, and College Basketball
Curt Gowdy is well known for his baseball coverage. Gowdy was the Boston Red Sox’s voice for 15 years, but it understates how outstanding he was at covering other sports.
Gowdy coined the phrase “The Granddaddy of Them All” for the Rose Bowl after visiting his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Ted Williams’ final at-bat home run in Super Bowl I, the Jets’ historic upset in Super Bowl III, the infamous “Heidi” game, and, most memorably, Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run in 1974 – Gowdy was on the call for some of sports history’s most memorable moments.
10. Pat Summerall
Birthday: May 10, 1930
Death date: April 16, 2013
1962-2002: Career
NFL, Golf, and Tennis
Pat Summerall was a strong kicker at the University of Arkansas before joining the Detroit Lions and winning an NFL title in 1952.
After retiring, he went right into the broadcast booth and had such a great career that future generations would have to be reminded that he had ever played the game.
Summerall delivered an outstanding performance in the booth.
He was the network television announcer for the most Super Bowls (16) in history.
It wasn’t just football either.
He was equally as good at golf and tennis, having called the Masters 26 times and the US Open 21 times.
9. Foster Hewitt
Birthday: November 21, 1902
Death date: April 21, 1985
Career span: 1921-1968
NHL is a sport.
Foster Hewitt was a radio beast, which is why he ranks ninth on our ranking of the 12 best sports hosts of all time.
In the 1920s, he began working as a radio announcer, and it is claimed that he and his father broadcast the first horse race ever broadcast in 1925.
Hewitt gave “vision,” which was much required at the time.
Conn Smythe, the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, built Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931, which contained a then-unheard-of broadcast booth termed a “broadcast gondola” made specifically for him.
Hewitt was the voice of Canadian hockey for 40 years, hosting Hockey Night in Canada throughout most of the 1950s and early 1960s.
8. Brain Moore
Date of birth: 28 February 1932
The date of death was September 1, 2001.
1961-1998: Career
Soccer is a sport.
Brian Moore began his career in newspapers in 1961 before going to BBC radio transmission, where he rose to notoriety as part of the commentary team during England’s 1966 World Cup victory.
Moore made the transition from radio to television when London Weekend Television became ITV, where he remained for the next three decades.
Moore has covered nine World Cups and over 20 FA Cup Finals in his career.
He resigned after France won the World Cup final in 1998 and died of acute heart failure in 2001 at the age of 69.
7. Vin Scully
Birthday: November 29, 1927 (Age: 94 Years Old)
Career span: 1950-2016
MLB, NFL, and Golf
Without a question, Vin Scully is the greatest pure baseball broadcaster of all time.
Scully grew up in the shadow of the Polo Grounds in New York and became obsessed with the game for the first time after witnessing his first true sports heartbreak when the New York Giants were lost in the 1963 World Series.
Scully began broadcasting for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, and at the age of 23, he became the youngest person ever to perform play-by-play in the World Series, a record he still retains.
He came to Los Angeles with the club in 1958, and his golden voice and beautiful story enchanted Dodgers fans for decades.
Scully remained in that role until 2016 when he announced his resignation from the show after 67 seasons.
6. Keith Jackson
Birthday: October 18, 1928
Death Date: January 12, 2018
Career span: 1952-2006
Sports include college football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, the United States Football League, and the Olympics.
Keith Jackson comes in at number six on our list of the top 12 best sports hosts of all time.
There is only one voice that stands out among all others in history, and that is Jackson’s.
According to Seattle Times columnist Steve Kelly, “Keith Jackson was never shrill.
” He didn’t yell every time a third-down conversion was made.
He didn’t make an 8-yard gain sound like a game-changing play.
You knew the game was crucial when Jackson lifted his voice.”
5. Jim Nantz
Date of birth: 17 May 1959 (Age: 63 Years Old)
1982 to the present
Sports include the NFL, college basketball, the NBA, and golf.
Few commentators have become as synonymous with a single event as Jim Nantz has with the Masters, where it’s difficult to imagine anybody else’s voice narrating the action, as he has done since 1989.
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But Nantz isn’t just concerned with the Masters.
In the last decade, he has become as well-known as the lead CBS NFL football game play-by-play announcer.
He is well-known for his interesting relationship with Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and color analyst.
4. Al Michaels
Birthday: November 12, 1944 (Age: 77 Years Old)
1971 to the present
Sports include the NFL, Olympics, MLB, NBA, NHL, horse racing, and boxing.
Al Michaels is responsible for at least two of the top five most famous moments in sports broadcasting history, and if we’re being honest, he owns the top spot.
Is there anything more unforgettable than his “Do you believe in miracles?!?” after the US overcame the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York?
There are too many remarkable moments in Michaels’ career to list here, but aside from the “Miracle on Ice” game, he was the one who guided viewers through the devastating earthquake in San Francisco.
3. Robert Costas
Birthdate: March 22, 1952 (Age: 70 Years Old)
1973 to the present
Everything about sports
Bob Costas received his first break as a radio commentator for the American Basketball Association’s St. Louis Spirits when he was only 22 years old.
Then, in 1980, NBC powerhouse Don Ohlmeyer hired him, observing that Costas, then 28, “looked like a 14-year-old.”
Over the next few decades, Costas would enjoy one of the most successful broadcasting careers in history.
During that time, there hasn’t been a noteworthy event that Costas hasn’t covered.
Costas spent 40 years at NBC, winning 29 Emmys along the way, and no game was ever too big for the Queens, New York native.
2. Jim McKay
Birthday: September 24, 1921
Death Date: June 7, 2008
Career span: 1955-2006
Everything about sports
One thing that many people overlook when working as a sports commentator is that you are still a journalist with journalism as your first loyalty. Jim McKay was never bothered by it.
McKay is largely regarded as the most well-known sports television journalist of all time, having covered the Olympics 12 times and being most remembered for his coverage of the 1972 Summer Olympics catastrophe in Munich.
He has worked as a studio presenter for the FIFA World Cup twice, displaying his global clout.
McKay passed away in 2006, at the age of 86.
1. Howard Cosell
Birthday: March 25, 1918
Death date: April 23, 1995
1953-1993: Career
NFL, Olympics, and Boxing
Finally, Howard Cosell is at the top of our list. Even after 25 years, Howard Cosell is the most well-known sports broadcaster.
His career path and influence can still be felt in today’s sports broadcasts.
Cosell chose to forsake a legal career (he graduated from NYU School of Law) in order to catch a growing star by covering Muhammad Ali in his youth.
Cosell rose to prominence as the face of Monday Night Football and an integral part of ABC’s Olympic coverage.
Cosell’s most memorable call came on Dec. 5, 1980, during an MNF game, when he informed the public that John Lennon had been shot to death in New York City.
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Conclusion
Watching sports is about more than simply your favorite player scoring; it’s about enjoying every second of it, and these legends know exactly how to achieve it. Tell us about your favorite host of all time.