Al Michaels

Al Michaels Speaker Biography

Al Michaels, one of television's most respected journalists, has covered more major sports events than any sportscaster since joining ABC Sports in 1976. Michaels has been widely acclaimed: for his knowledgeable and insightful reporting in his primary assignment for ABC Sports, as play-by-play announcer for ABC's NFL Monday Night Football, the most successful sports series in television history.

Al Michaels has also earned praise as a journalist and became just the second sportscaster in history to receive a News Emmy nomination for his coverage of the San Francisco earthquake during the 1989 World Series.

Al Michaels has earned many accolades. He has twice (1983 and 1986) been selected as the national Sportscaster of the Year by his peers in the electronic and print media. In 1989, he also captured his second Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality -- Host.

Al Michaels garnered his first Sportscaster of the Year award in 1980. This was the year he made his memorable calling of the U.S.A. hockey team's successfully dramatic quest for the gold medal in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. Michaels reputation for Olympic acumen grew with his coverage of figure skating and hockey at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, and track and field and road cycling at the Summer Games in Los Angeles. Michaels also covered hockey during ABC's 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics coverage.

Al Michaels has announced baseball for ABC since the network's most recent coverage began in 1976, including the 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989 World Series 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988 All-Star Games and the 1976-78-80-82-84-86-88 League Championship Series.

Michaels served as play-by-play announcer during ABC Sports' coverage of the Stanley Cup in 1993.

Michaels also has worked on ABC's NCAA Football' and college basketball telecasts, in addition to covering a variety of ABC's Wide World of Sports events and The Superstars.

An all-around sports enthusiast, Michaels was born in Brooklyn, where he grew up as a Dodger fan. When the Dodgers left New York, coincidentally Michaels' family did too, and settled in Los Angeles.

A baseball and football player at L.A.'s Hamilton High School, Michaels decided before college that he would like to remain in sports as a broadcaster. He majored in radio and television and minored in journalism at Arizona State University.

Al Michaels began broadcasting games of the Hawaii Islanders in the Pacific Coast League in 1968. He also called the football and basketball play-by-play for the University of Hawaii Rainbows. At the same time, Michaels reported on high school sports and hosted three television sports shows daily.

Michaels' minor league baseball career did not last long. He went to Cincinnati in 1971, when at 26 years old he became the number one broadcaster for the Reds, whom he covered in the 1972 World Series for NBC Radio and Television.

By 1974, Al Michaels was the number 1 sportscaster for the San Francisco Giants on KSFO Radio and KTVU-TV, a position he held until signing on with ABC Sports in January of 1977.

Al Michaels has been honored as Sportscaster of the Year in both Ohio and Hawaii. For two seasons (1973 through 1975) he was the TV play-by-play announcer for UCLA basketball and for four years (1972-76) he was used as a basketball announcer for TVS, handling a variety of Pacific Eight Conference games.