One of the members of the Albert family broadcasting dynasty is hanging up the mic. No, it’s not Marv. It’s his younger brother Steve Albert who is retiring after 45 years in the broadcast industry.
Steve, along with his brothers Marv and Al, have all been professional broadcasters for a number of years with Marv gaining the greatest fame as the voice of the NBA. Steve and Al both called sporting events nationally and locally and worked for many years in the association. Then there’s Marv’s son Kenny who has called a number of sports including the NFL and MLB for Fox Sports and the NHL for NBC.
Albert steps down most recently as the voice of the Phoenix Suns for the last five seasons. Here’s more from the team’s announcement:
Phoenix Suns television play-by-play voice Steve Albert announced his retirement today following an award-winning 45-year broadcasting career. Albert has called the action for all Suns broadcasts on FOX Sports Arizona the past five seasons.
“We were very fortunate five years ago to bring in someone of Steve’s caliber and experience, and in the time since, his tireless preparation and infectious personality brought Suns fans watching on TV much closer to the action,” said Suns President, Jason Rowley. “While we will miss his superb talent and witty delivery, our Suns family congratulates Steve on an extraordinary career and we wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.”
Albert joined the Suns in 2012 following an extensive television and radio career that spanned multiple sports. The accomplished broadcaster spent 13 years as the voice of the New Jersey Nets, five years as the television play-by-play announcer for the Golden State Warriors and a season with the New Orleans Hornets. Albert is also well known for his work as one of boxing’s top play-by-play announcers, having called some of the biggest fights in the history of the sport, including both Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson fights, during 24 years on the microphone for Showtime Championship Boxing.
Albert was also a presence on the New York sports landscape for decades, having done play-by-play for Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, pro football’s New York Jets and the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.
It’s crazy to think that for a good chunk of the NBA’s existence, 10% of the play-by-play broadcasters from around the league have been from one family. But while Steve Albert spent many years in the NBA, he might be best known as the longtime voice of Showtime boxing where he called megafights like Tyson-Holyfield for the network. Here’s his call of the infamous Tyson-Holyfield fight where Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwTu3vmErEQ
[NBA.com]
