Nominations for best Boston area Play by Play and Color Commentators ALL TIME

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Guys... Johnny Most was an AWFUL play-by-play guy. He had signature moments, and to be fair, I only started listening to him in 1980 so I'm sure I missed his best stuff. But my god unless all you wanted was OVER the top Celtics fanboy announcing, he was horrendous, at least in his later years. And from much of what I've heard otherwise, then too.

Gil Santos was, in contrast, a GREAT play-by-play guy, until the very end. Great voice, really was a wonderful pro.

I love Eck as a color commentator. Funny, insightful, just what you want.
 

bankshot1

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Most called a non-stop game by himself, sitting in a small open metal mesh box high above courtside, and did so in a vivid manner for decades. He did both PbP and color. And gave you nick-names in his spare time. As a listener you understood the ball movement and where the players were on the court listening to him on a tinny transistor radio. And he was entertaining as hell. Comparing Most's work in the 60s or 70s to far slower paced games like football and baseball with a dedicated color guy getting feeds with info and data from spotters, is comparing apples to Spaldings.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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That's helpful to know. Like I said, I only caught him starting in 1980, and by then, he was almost impossible to listen to. So he must have been a lot better in his younger days.

And I've done radio PBP for football and basketball. Of course basketball is much faster and much harder.
 

Phil Elliott

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Aug 12, 2020
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Most called a non-stop game by himself, sitting in a small open metal mesh box high above courtside, and did so in a vivid manner for decades. He did both PbP and color. And gave you nick-names in his spare time. As a listener you understood the ball movement and where the players were on the court listening to him on a tinny transistor radio. And he was entertaining as hell. Comparing Most's work in the 60s or 70s to far slower paced games like football and baseball with a dedicated color guy getting feeds with info and data from spotters, is comparing apples to Spaldings.
Thanks. Most was an excellent PBP announcer. In the days before most games were on TV, he verbally created a mental visual that was just outstanding.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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PBP: Gorman, Castiglione, Santos
Color: Tommy, Eck, Sanderson

I had forgotten how good Johnny Peirson was until he died last week and I watched replays on YT. But Derek Sanderson picked up the reigns just as the Neely era and was terrific. He at least deserves a nomination.

FWIW, I never thought much of Ned Martin as a TV guy. My dad tells me he was amazing on the radio with Coleman and Wood but I was too young then – and by the time I heard him snd Montgomery on WSBK he was stiff and the team was terrible.

This thread reminds me how good we’ve had it in Boston. Like the local news, most commentators and color guys in other towns when I’ve had to hear them are almost unbearable.
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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PBP: Gorman, Castiglione, Most

Color: Tommy Heinsohn, Gino Cappalletti, Johnny Pierson

Toughest omissions (do not count these as votes): Gil Santos, Fred Cusick, Ned Martin, Ken Coleman, Curt Gowdy, Jerry Remy, Bob Wilson, Bob Sosi, Andy Brickley

Easiest omissions: Glenn Ordway, Ken Harrelson, Bob Montgomery, Scott Zolak, Brian Scalabrine
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
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Leaders so far, and I'm going to leave this open to the weekend:
PBP:

Most
Santos
McDonough
Castiglione
Gorman

CC:
Eckersley
Heinsohn
Remy
Capelletti
Brickley

Ordway wasn't terrible with Johnny Most. And if you were a middle aged woman during Monty's time in Boston you would have loved him
 
Last edited:

cshea

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PBP: Dave Goucher, Gil Santos
Color: Andy Brickley, Gino, Remy

Figured I'd toss a nomination Goucher's way. I only skimmed so perhaps I missed it but I didn't see a nomination for him yet. I think he is excellent is is one of the very best hockey PbP guys out there. I wish NESN canned Edwards and hired Goucher when Goucher was pursuing the Vegas TV job.
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
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Have to say I'm shocked the thread's gone this far without a single nomination for Ken Coleman, so I'm going to add his name. There were so many nights when I was a kid where I fell asleep with a transistor radio under my pillow listening to Coleman and Castig (then Castig and Bob Starr).

And since I'm on the subject of the Red Sox when I was a kid, Bob Montgomery deserves some love on the color side.
You must have me on ignore :)
 

ColdSoxPack

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Jul 14, 2005
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Simi Valley, CA
PBP: Dave Goucher, Gil Santos
Color: Andy Brickley, Gino, Remy

Figured I'd toss a nomination Goucher's way. I only skimmed so perhaps I missed it but I didn't see a nomination for him yet. I think he is excellent is is one of the very best hockey PbP guys out there. I wish NESN canned Edwards and hired Goucher when Goucher was pursuing the Vegas TV job.
Forgot about Goucher. He is great.
 

runnels3

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Leaders so far, and I'm going to leave this open to the weekend:
PBP:

Woods
Santos
McDonough
Castiglione
Gorman

CC:
Eckersley
Heinsohn
Remy
Capelletti
Brickley

Ordway wasn't terrible with Johnny Most. And if you were a middle aged woman during Monty's time in Boston you would have loved him
I haven't seen a single vote for Jim Woods. Surely you mean Martin!
 

Doug Beerabelli

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I feel safe my personal nominations will make the poll, but wanted to observe we Boston fans have been pretty lucky/blessed with good announcers over the years. Quality ones that hung around for awhile. And I agree a team broadcaster can, and should, be a bit of a homer. But how that manifests itself is the harbinger of quality vs. non quality.
 

LoweTek

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I know he wasn't here for very long but Jon Miller's stint alongside Coleman was tremendous and I think the best radio combination the Red Sox ever had. I never really cared for Castiglione as a PBP guy. I find his voice tone and high pitched, high volume excitement mode a little irritating. I do like a lot of the New England sports knowledge he has. His anecdotal stories between are often very interesting. He is a good color man when Flemming is doing PBP. I can listen to Joe's PBP and enjoy it but GOAT would be a stretch for me.

In no particular order:

PBP: Jon Miller, Ken Coleman, Fred Cusick
Color: Eckersley, Pierson, Sanderson

A lot of people I guess didn't like Sanderson. I thought he was great. Bob Wilson is definitely an honorable mention - I did radio hockey PBP and he was an important role model for me. He taught me painting a verbal picture of what was happening on the ice was the key to good radio PBP in hockey.

McDonough is also very good and he is definitely a PBP honorable mention. Remy seems to have received a lot of nominations and I think he's ok but I wanted to recognize some of the other guys.
 

PedroKsBambino

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PBP: McDonough, Gorman, Santos (for football, he was awful for Celtics),

Color: Eck, Tommy
 

runnels3

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Most of us think of Curt Gowdy as a national broadcaster of all sports, very good at what he did. Sean McDonough is the Curt Gowdy of our time, excellent at everything. Both cut their teeth in Boston sports. Both have that gravitas that made them so attractive to national networks. It's too bad Curt isn't as familiar on a local level. He was voice of the Sox for 15 years. What a treat to have grown up with him as an every day PBP guy from March to September! I think he would be at the top of this poll but for so many other great options. Perhaps he set the stage for the parade of highly talented Boston sports announcers who have come after him over the years.
 

RSN Diaspora

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Jul 29, 2005
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That's helpful to know. Like I said, I only caught him starting in 1980, and by then, he was almost impossible to listen to. So he must have been a lot better in his younger days.
Maybe it depends on age and media access. As a young kid in the early-to-mid-80s in Cambridge (which had no cable provider, and thus no C's games on SportsChannel), Johnny Most was who I counted on to paint the picture most nights in the Bird/Parish/McHale era. And God, did I delight in how much he hated the Pistons.

Also, glad to see some Ken Coleman love. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's because I really don't care for Castiglione's cadence, or maybe because I didn't have NESN, but he makes my list.

For me:

PBP: Santos, Most, Coleman
Color: Brick, Eck, Tommy
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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FWIW, there was an article in the Northeastern alumni magazine several years back about Don Orsillo. Don't have it anymore, but it mentioned how he got his first exposure while a student in Joe Castiglione's broadcasting class at NU. He had a lot of great things to say about Joe, Remy, and Sean McDonough.
 

Harry Hooper

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Bob Wilson doing Bruins games on the radio is the top PBP talent in any sport that I've heard/viewed.
 

Ralphwiggum

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I like Zolak as a personality and enjoy his “unicorns, showponies!” enthusiasm, but he’s terrible in terms of adding anything of actual value as a color guy. Tough to narrow it to three of each. My nominees:

PBP: Ned Martin, Fred Cusick, Sean McDonough
CC: Eck, Gino, Sanderson
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Going to close this over the weekend, probably Sunday.

Nominees as of now (anyone with more than 2 votes) are:

PBP:
Castiglione
Orsillo
Gorman
Most
Santos
Martin
Cusick
McDonough
Coleman

With Goucher, Socci, Gowdy and Wilson tied for 10th with 2 votes each. If none of them get another vote none of them make the poll

CC:
Brick
Eck
Heinsohn
Zolak
Remy
Capelletti
Harrelson
Pierson
Sanderson

With Woods, Scal, and Cousy tied for 10th with 2 votes each

Surprised that no one voted for Trupiano
 

bellowthecat

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Jul 18, 2010
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Sean Grande is the best play by play broadcaster in the market right now and it isn't close. I am shocked to see him only mentioned here as someone's honorable mention.

I'll to with Eck for color. He is tremendously insightful and fun at the same time.
 

Humphrey

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Aug 3, 2010
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Leaders so far, and I'm going to leave this open to the weekend:
PBP:

Most
Santos
McDonough
Castiglione
Gorman

CC:
Eckersley
Heinsohn
Remy
Capelletti
Brickley

Ordway wasn't terrible with Johnny Most. And if you were a middle aged woman during Monty's time in Boston you would have loved him
Monty would go on and on about the cause and/or blame of any passed ball or wild pitch. Like he had to prove to everyone his catching career. Beat them to death.