The Pantheon of Boston announcers: Who you got?

[Ramon AC]

I still hear Celtics games in Johnny Most’s voice.

Sometimes I wonder how I’ll feel when Joe Castiglione retires. Hearing his voice in the summertime connects me to childhood. My god the Jeff Stone game. And lol the Matt Young no hitter.

 

[Ted Cox 4 president]

I started following the Sox in 1978 from afar, on the radio. Ken Coleman and Jon Miller are my all-time favorite team of broadcasters, followed Ken Coleman and Joe Castiglione.

 

[AB in DC]

I grew up listening to Ned Martin, but I really don't have many strong memories of him. I guess I think of him as being solid but unremarkable, which, upon reflection, is probably what we generally want from our pbp guy. Even more noticeable now, given how obtrusive I find O'Brien to be.

Same here. Most of the names on people's lists I would describe as good, competent, unremarkable...fine but not Mt Rushmore worthy.

Personally I only have three names.
1. Johnny Most (as mentioned upthread)
2. Sean McDonough (just light years better than any other PBP announcer I've heard)
3. Joe Castiglione

 

[TeddysBonefish]

Curt Gowdy
Tommy Heinsohn
Johnny Most
Mike Gorman
Jerry Remy

 

[Humphrey]

Too many people to evaluate, been listening/watching games since 1960. Some general comments, however.

1. Gowdy's work was good (or very good) enough to put him in a network role for many years, but when I think of him, I think of a pretty long and bad stretch of Red Sox baseball. Many announcers end up in the right place at the right time.
2. Castig came to mind the other night when the Indians balked in a run. Happened one of the first couple years he had the Sox radio gig, the Sox won a game on a walk-off balk (how many of those have there been in MLB history?).
Castig went crazy, screaming in that high-pitched (even higher 40 years ago) voice- "It's a Balk! It's a Balk!"
3. I hope NESN brings Goucher back, to me he's a worthy link to Cusick and Wilson. TV's got to pay more than radio these days, no?

 

[Humphrey]

Thank you
Thank you too!*
* - grumpy French drivers can't hold a candle to Johnny's disdain for McFilthy and McNasty...

"Back here at Convention Hall in the City of Brotherly Hate".

 

[LogansDad]

3. I hope NESN brings Goucher back, to me he's a worthy link to Cusick and Wilson. TV's got to pay more than radio these days, no?

Sadly, Goucher is the TV PBP guy for the Knights, not radio, and I doubt NESN will be willing to pay him enough to keep Vegas from matching the offer. He seems to really like it there, too.

 

[NewInTown]

I believe Alex Faust is the frontrunner for the NESN gig

 

[Sille Skrub]

There's Johnny Most and then everyone else.

This.

 

[Humphrey]

The Ken Harrelson who did color for the Red Sox was pretty good and even better if you compare him to the Ken Harrelson who had, in name only, the same job for the White Sox.

 

[richgedman'sghost]

The Ken Harrelson who did color for the Red Sox was pretty good and even better if you compare him to the Ken Harrelson who had, in name only, the same job for the White Sox.

I am just young enough to not have heard Hawk when he did the Red Sox games. When he was announcing Red Sox games did he use the hokey: You Can Put It on the Board .....YES!! " crap?
Was Harrelson as much of a homer with the Red Sox as he was with Chicago?

 

[pjheff]

I am just young enough to not have heard Hawk when he did the Red Sox games. When he was announcing Red Sox games did he use the hokey: You Can Put It on the Board .....YES!! " crap?
Was Harrelson as much of a homer with the Red Sox as he was with Chicago?

I think you mean the carmines.

 

[Humphrey]

I am just young enough to not have heard Hawk when he did the Red Sox games. When he was announcing Red Sox games did he use the hokey: You Can Put It on the Board .....YES!! " crap?
Was Harrelson as much of a homer with the Red Sox as he was with Chicago?

Down homey phrases for sure, but he was pretty frank with his assessments of what was going on with the team, especially in the years Haywood Sullivan was dismantling it.

The White Sox version of The Hawk would not have been well received in Boston.

 

[runnels3]

5 - no more no less. Boston's Rushmore. Kind of hard to rank though!

Ned Martin
Curt Gowdy
Johnny Most
Fred Cusick
Gil Santos

 

[runnels3]

I am just young enough to not have heard Hawk when he did the Red Sox games. When he was announcing Red Sox games did he use the hokey: You Can Put It on the Board .....YES!! " crap?
Was Harrelson as much of a homer with the Red Sox as he was with Chicago?

He was pure gold both with Stockton and then Martin, imho.

 

[catomatic]

If the play by play guy’s job is to carry the pulse of the game’s excitement in the timbre of his voice, one name stands out and that’s Fred Cusick.

Christ would do well to contract Cusick’s play by play for his second coming. Nobody better.

 

[runnels3]

If the play by play guy’s job is to carry the pulse of the game’s excitement in the timbre of his voice, one name stands out and that’s Fred Cusick.

Christ would do well to contract Cusick’s play by play for his second coming. Nobody better.

Then he is Matterhorn.

 

[ColdSoxPack]

Then he is Matterhorn.

for sure.