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Q&A with Marv Albert Posted: Thursday April 24, 2003 11:16 AMBy Pete McEntegart
Albert: It's a tie between the Rangers winning their first Stanley Cup in 54 years in 1994 and the Dream Team taking the floor in the 1992 Olympics. SI: You've broadcast for a lot of teams. To which do you feel the greatest emotional tie? Albert: I would have to say the 1969-70 New York Knicks because of the outstanding players -- Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Dave DeBusschere, that whole group. That team was very emotionally received in New York because this was a franchise that had never won an NBA championship. It also really had a lot to do with the NBA making its mark on the national scene. SI: Who's the greatest athlete you've seen in person? Albert: It's hard to select between Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. Both were such compelling figures. SI: You called your first Knicks game in '63 after play-by-play man Marty Glickman said he was caught in a Paris snowstorm. Does it even snow in Paris? Albert: I think Marty did it to give me an opportunity. Or he just didn't want to do that game. SI: Your brothers [Al and Steve] and son [Kenny] are also sportscasters. Are the Alberts the Bushes or the Kennedys of sports broadcasting? Albert: We're closer to the Marx Brothers. SI: Who is your favorite czar of alltime? Albert: It's very close among the Czar of the Telestrator, Mike Fratello; former drug czar William Bennett; and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. But I would give the Czar of the Telestrator a slight edge because once a week he comes over to water my house plants. SI: You've won the New York State Sportscaster of the Year award 20 times. Did you run out of people to thank in your acceptance speeches? Albert: No. But we stuffed the ballot box. SI: Growing up in Brooklyn, you and your brothers used to "broadcast" the Hamster Olympics. What's the greatest hamster athletic feat you can recall? Albert: There was a hamster by the name of Emory that had an amazing spin move that would lead to a crossover. SI: As a youth you were president of the fan club for Knicks forward Jim Baechtold and Cardinals infielder Solly Hemus. If you could start a fan club for any current sports personality, who would it be? Albert: I usually selected someone who was not so popular, a person who would really like the attention. So I'd choose someone like Mike Fratello. Mike would be at every function, too. SI: You worked on Howard Cosell's national radio show as a teenager. As a boss, did Howard tell it like it is? Albert: This was early Howard, so he was very different. He would always call my house and talk to my parents, and it would be a very charming phone call to make sure that I would show up. SI: How did Yessss!!! become your trademark? Albert: There was an official in the NBA in the '50s named Sid Borgia. He was a very animated official who would go through gyrations when someone scored a basket. He would say, 'Yes!,' and if a guy was fouled, 'And it counts!' I remember early in my career during a Knicks playoff game Dick Barnett hit what was was called a fallback baby jumper that banked in at the buzzer at the end of a quarter and I just happened to say, 'Yes!' People started to repeat it back to me and I started to incorporate it. It just seemed natural. SI: What's more challenging to broadcast: Game 7 of the NBA Finals or an elevator race on The Late Show with David Letterman? Albert: Well, the elevator races were extremely challenging. I would say they could possibly be the best test for people who want to do play-by-play. Those races probably should be part of the curriculum at broadcast and journalism schools. SI: Who has the best hair among all sports broadcasters? Albert: When I was very young, God came to me and said, 'Marv, I'm going to give you a choice; you can have good hair or an exciting sports announcer voice.' And I said I'd take the good hair. But I don't feel qualified to make that judgment. SI: Dick Stockton insists he was a year behind you at Syracuse, but, according to your bio, he's somehow several years older than you. Have you found a secret for maintaining youth? Albert: When you get older, there are memory lapses. Dick has probably suffered more than anyone I know. SI: Is it true that when doctors woke you from your car accident last April and asked if you knew what season it was, you answered "baseball"? Albert: Yes. SI: You once split a best-of-10 ping-pong series with Dr. J. Why didn't you play a best of 11? Albert: Julius just had enough. The problem with Julius was that he was a great guy, and I was using my Brooklyn street tactics. At one point I said, 'Julius, would you just look behind you for a second and fix that picture frame?' He looked, and I was able to whip a serve by him, which was really bad on my part. But he went for it. SI: Who won when you played NBA commissioner David Stern? Albert: He beat me four games to three. He's very tricky. A lot of spin. I hate to admit it, and I am seeking a rematch. SI: Precisely what kind of M.D. was fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco? Albert: He was actually a normal house-to-house physician down in Miami. The crew and I always felt very safe because if we took a glancing blow to the face, he was there at all times to help us. SI: Are you glad you consented to this interview? Albert: I'm thrilled. SI: I was fishing for a "Yesss!!!" Albert: All right: Yesss!!!
Issue date: April 28, 2003
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