Mike Gorman

Last updated

Mike Gorman
2008-04-17 celtics 01web (Mike Gorman 1 cropped).jpg
Gorman at the Massachusetts State House in 2008
Born (1947-11-24) November 24, 1947 (age 76)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater Boston State College
Years active1970s–2024
Sports commentary career
Team Boston Celtics
Genre Play-by-play
Sport Basketball
Employer NBC Sports Boston

Mike Gorman (born November 24, 1947) is an American former sports commentator. After returning from the United States Navy in the 1970s, he began working at radio and television stations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with the help of fellow commentator Gil Santos. Starting in 1981, Gorman began providing play-by-play commentary for local television broadcasts of the Boston Celtics, doing so alongside color commentator and Celtics legend Tom Heinsohn. The duo called games together until 2020, with Gorman later retiring from broadcasting in 2024.

Contents

Outside of the Celtics, Gorman also worked with CBS, ESPN, NBC, and TNT, providing play-by-play for events like Big East basketball games, NCAA basketball tournament games, the NBA playoffs, and the Summer Olympic Games. Gorman was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 as a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award.

Early life

Gorman was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, on November 24, 1947, as the youngest of three children. [1] [2] He attended Boston Latin School and played basketball for the school as a guard. [2] He graduated from Boston State College, now known as the University of Massachusetts Boston, in 1969, studying to become a teacher and coach. [2] Shortly after graduating, however, Gorman was drafted into the United States Navy and became an aviator specializing in reconnaissance as part of the VP-44 squadron operating out of Naval Air Station Brunswick. [2] [3] Gorman was originally due to take part in an air mission near the coast of Spain in 1972 that eventually crashed into a mountain while operating in poor weather, killing all 14 crewmen onboard; he had been redirected to handle paperwork at the last minute. [2] The guilt Gorman felt from not being able to assist his squadron during the mission led to him never flying again and later retiring from the Navy in 1973, returning to live with his parents in Dorchester afterward. [2]

Career

Early work

While looking for work after returning from the Navy, Gorman became interested in the radio and television industries after a fellow Navy crewman discussed his past experience in the fields with him. [2] As a result, he attempted to seek advice from Boston-based broadcaster Gil Santos at WBZ. After being initially turned away by the WBZ security guard, the guard allowed Gorman into the building after learning that he was a fellow Navy veteran. [3] Though WBZ did not have any open positions, [2] Santos assisted Gorman in being hired at the New Bedford-based WNBH station by fabricating Gorman's background in radio. [2] [3] After selling advertisements and rotating elevator music tapes at WNBH, Gorman went on to work at WPRO in Providence, Rhode Island, and also became the sports director for WPRI-TV, serving as the play-by-play commentator for the Providence Friars men's basketball team. [2] [3]

Boston Celtics

In 1981, Gorman began calling television broadcasts of Boston Celtics games on PRISM New England alongside color commentator and Celtics legend Tom Heinsohn; together they formed one of the longest-tenured broadcast tandems in professional sports, lasting 39 years. [4] Gorman's trademark calls during Celtics games would be occasionally exclaiming "got it!" or "takes it... makes it!" whenever a Celtics player made an important shot. [5] Gorman's partnership with Heinsohn came to an end when Heinsohn passed away in November 2020. [4] Former Celtics player and 2008 NBA champion Brian Scalabrine took over Heinsohn's role as the color commentator. [6]

Prior to the 2023–24 season, Gorman announced his intention to retire as the play-by-play commentator for the Celtics television broadcast following the season's conclusion. [7] During the final game of the Celtics' regular season on April 12, 2024, the courtside broadcasting table for TD Garden was renamed to the "Mike Gorman Broadcast Table" in a halftime ceremony honoring Gorman. [8] Gorman's final game came on May 1, 2024, in which the Celtics eliminated the Miami Heat from the playoffs in the fifth game of the first round. His tenure with the Celtics lasted 43 years. [6] Gorman's last game came one day before the final broadcast for longtime Boston Bruins play-by-play commentator Jack Edwards, who also announced his retirement during the Bruins' season. [9]

Other sports

Outside of working with the Celtics, Gorman was also the primary announcer for ESPN's "Big Monday" Big East Game of the Week, serving alongside color commentator Bill Raftery. [2] He additionally called some NCAA basketball tournament games on CBS [10] as well as the NBA playoffs on TNT. [11] Gorman also worked with NBC to provide commentary at multiple Summer Olympic Games. He first called tennis matches at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. [11] He later provided commentary for handball at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and called men's basketball games at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, doing the latter alongside Fran Fraschilla. [12]

Personal life

Gorman has been married twice, having a daughter, Kristen, from his first marriage. [2] He has been married to his second wife, Teri, since 1988; the two met while she had been a television stage manager for college basketball games and Gorman had been calling Big East basketball games. [2] Gorman's wife would go on to produce Big East basketball broadcasts, with the two of them collaborating on editing game highlights. [2]

Boston mayor Michelle Wu declared April 12, 2024, as "Mike Gorman Day" to honor Gorman's final regular season game with the Celtics. [10]

Accolades

Gorman is a five-time recipient of the Sports Emmy Award. [13] He was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004. [13] In 2021, he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after receiving the Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award for his contributions as a basketball commentator. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marv Albert</span> American sportscaster

Marv Albert is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks". Albert worked for Turner Sports as the lead announcer for NBA games on TNT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Heinsohn</span> American basketball player and coach (1934–2020)

Thomas William Heinsohn was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. He played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, and also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He spent over 30 years as the color commentator for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman. He is regarded as one of the most iconic Celtics figures in the franchise's history, known during his lifetime for his charisma and loyalty to the team and its traditions. From this, he earned the nickname "Mr. Celtic".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curt Gowdy</span> American sportscaster (1919–2006)

Curtis Edward Gowdy was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the nickname "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the Rose Bowl Game, taking the moniker from the Cheyenne Frontier Days in his native Wyoming.

Kenneth Robert Coleman was an American radio and television sportscaster for more than four decades (1947–1989).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Santos</span> Portuguese-American sports announcer (1938–2018)

Gilbert A. Santos was an American radio play-by-play announcer based in the Boston area. He called games for the New England Patriots of the National Football League and the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association, served as the morning sports reporter for WBZ radio in Boston. He was an inductee of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Collins (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1951)

Paul Douglas Collins is an American basketball executive, former player, coach and television analyst in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1973 to 1981 for the Philadelphia 76ers, earning four NBA All-Star selections. He then became an NBA coach in 1986, and had stints coaching the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. Collins also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcast shows. He is a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award. In April, 2024, Collins was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2024 by the Contributors Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Most</span> American sportscaster

John M. Most was an American sports announcer, known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Breen</span> American sportscaster

Michael Breen is an American play-by-play sports commentator. He has been the lead announcer for NBA games on ABC and ESPN since 2006, including the NBA Finals. He is also the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen previously called NFL regular season games for both NFL on Fox and NFL on NBC, as well as New York Giants preseason games.

Richard Edward Stokvis, known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV. In Boston, he called Celtics games for WBZ-TV and Red Sox games for WSBK-TV before transitioning to national broadcasting, which included calling the 1975 World Series for NBC and later, the NBA Finals for CBS. In a career that spanned over five decades, Stockton worked for several different networks, most prominently CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and Turner Sports.

Theodore Robinson is an American sportscaster. Since 2000, Robinson has been with NBC Sports as a play-by-play announcer for tennis and Olympic swimming/diving and with NBC Sports Network calling college football and basketball. He also works for the Tennis Channel and the Pac-12 Network and was the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers from 2009 until 2018.

<i>NBA on NBC</i> US television program

The NBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1954 to 1962 and again from 1990 to 2002. During NBC's partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. Although the main NBC network no longer airs NBA broadcasts, NBA games currently air on the NBC Sports Regional Networks in the form of game telecasts that air on a regional basis, featuring local NBA teams that each of the regional networks have respective broadcast rights to air in their designated market.

Nationally television broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games first aired on ABC from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to ABC as part of a contract signed with the league, along with cable sister network ESPN. After the ABC Sports division was merged into ESPN Inc. by parent company Disney in 2006, broadcasts have since been produced by ESPN, and have primarily used the NBA on ESPN branding and graphics instead of the NBA on ABC branding.

Don Criqui is an American sportscaster.

Sean David Grande is an American television and radio sportscaster. He is primarily known as the voice of the Boston Celtics, but has called virtually every sport over a 25-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Edwards (sportscaster)</span> American sportscaster and television commentator

Jack Edwards is an American former sports commentator and reporter. From 2005 to 2024, he provided play-by-play commentary for Boston Bruins games on NESN television. From 1991 to 2003, he worked for ESPN as an anchor for their sports news program SportsCenter, as well as a play-by-play commentator for their NHL, MLS, Little League Baseball, and 2002 FIFA World Cup broadcasts. Edwards provided commentary for the Konami soccer video game MLS Extra Time 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports Boston</span> Sports television network in Boston, U.S.

NBC Sports Boston is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout New England with a major focus on Boston area teams, as well as several original analysis, magazine and entertainment programs. It is available on cable providers throughout Massachusetts, eastern and central Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Celtics accomplishments and records</span>

This is a comprehensive list of the accomplishments and records of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are an American professional basketball team currently playing in the National Basketball Association.

"Havlicek stole the ball" is a quote by radio broadcaster Johnny Most, as a jubilant reaction to a steal made by the Boston Celtics' John Havlicek against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1965 NBA Eastern Division championship game seven. Most's call of the play has been dubbed by the NBA as "the most famous radio call in basketball history".

As one of the major sports leagues in North America, the National Basketball Association has a long history of partnership with television networks in the US. The League signed a contract with DuMont in its 8th season (1953–54), marking the first year the NBA had a national television broadcaster. Similar to NFL, the lack of television stations led to NBC taking over the rights beginning the very next season until April 7, 1962 - NBC's first tenure with the NBA. After the deal expired, Sports Network Incorporated signed up for two-year coverage in the 1962–63, 1963–64 season. ABC gained the NBA in 1964, the network aired its first NBA game on January 3, 1965, but lost the broadcast rights to CBS after the 1972–73 season with the initial tenure ending on May 10, 1973.

References

  1. ↑ Finn, Chad (October 21, 2023). "Tipping off one final season with Mike Gorman on Celtics broadcasts, and paving the way for Drew Carter". Boston.com . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Himmelsbach, Adam (May 1, 2019). "'Got it!' The winding, improbable journey of Celtics voice Mike Gorman". The Boston Globe . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Roche, Conor (March 16, 2024). "How Gil Santos and a security guard helped start Mike Gorman's career". Boston.com . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Finn, Chad; Dzen, Gary (November 10, 2020). "Longtime Celtics player, coach, and broadcaster Tom Heinsohn dies at 86". Boston.com . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  5. ↑ Deb, Sopan (June 15, 2022). "Longtime Voice of the Celtics Hopes He Cheered On a Championship Run" . The New York Times . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Gardner, Steve (May 2, 2024). "Legendary Celtics announcer Mike Gorman signs off for the final time". USA Today . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ "NBC Sports Boston and legendary Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman announce his farewell season". NBC Sports Boston . July 27, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  8. ↑ Dalzell, Noa (April 15, 2024). "After 43 years on the mic, Celtics' announcer Mike Gorman honored in his final regular season game". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  9. ↑ Couture, Jon (May 2, 2024). "Watch Jack Edwards wrap his '19-year joyride' with Game 6 loss, declaring 'long live the Boston Bruins'". The Boston Globe . Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Cloutier, Eli (April 12, 2024). "Mayor Wu designates Sunday as 'Mike Gorman Day' in Boston". The Boston Globe . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 "Mike Gorman, Mel Greenberg and George Kalinsky Named Recipients of Basketball Hall of Fame's 2021 Curt Gowdy Media Award". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  12. ↑ Bird, Hayden (August 17, 2016). "Celtics announcer Mike Gorman weighs in on calling Olympic basketball". Boston.com . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Celtics Broadcasters". fsnnewengland.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.