Al Trautwig | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alan Trautwig (1956-02-26)February 26, 1956 Oceanside, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 2025(2025-02-23) (aged 68) Glen Cove, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Adelphi University |
| Occupation | Sports broadcaster |
| Years active | 1978–2019 |
| Spouse | Cathleen Trautwig |
| Children | 1 |
Alan Trautwig[1] (February 26, 1956 – February 23, 2025) was an American sports commentator who worked withMSG Network,ABC,NBC,NBC Sports Network, andUSA Network. He later didpre-game and post-game shows for theNew York Knicks andNew York Rangers, as well as fill-inplay-by-play for both teams.
Trautwig was born on February 26, 1956, inOceanside, New York, and grew up in nearbyGarden City South.[2][3] He was a stick boy for theNew York Islanders of theNHL and a ball boy for theNew York Nets of theABA when they both played at theNassau Coliseum. He graduated fromH. Frank Carey Junior-Senior High School, inFranklin Square. He was a 1978 graduate ofAdelphi University, where he majored in business. He was also a 1991 Inductee into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame. His first broadcasting experience was callingNew York Apollo soccer matches onWBAU during the summer of 1978 and subsequentlyWMCA.[4]
In the 1980s, Trautwig hostedUSA Network's coverage of theNational Hockey League; one off-beat feature that he did was to interview awater fountain. He also occasionally would do the sponsor plugs forWWF shows that would air on the USA Network in the mid-'80s. He occasionally guest hosted theNHL on Versus studio programHockey Central. He also anchored severalMISL games from 1978 to 1992. In summer of 1988, Trautwig hostedSportsNite forABC Sports, leading former network personalityHoward Cosell to quip toThe Washington Post'sNorman Chad, "I don't even know, as God is my witness, or have ever even heard of an Al Trautwig."[5]
Trautwig was one of the original hosts forClassic Sports Network when it was founded in 1996.
The 2000 New York Sportscaster of the Year, Trautwig covered eightOlympic games, and won New York Sports Emmys for his coverage of theYankees,Knicks, andRangers.[2] From1991 to2001, Trautwig was host of the New York Yankees' pre- and post-game shows onMSG Network, and also was in the booth for a few innings per game. In 2006, he hosted the newMSG show calledAl Trautwig's MSG Vault, which featured vintage and sometimes discovered lost footage of the Knicks and Rangers from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
At the beginning of the2006 football season Trautwig became aradio host as well, hosting the radio version of NBC'sFootball Night in America forWestwood One, which co-produces the show (calledNBC NFL Sunday) with the network. However, Trautwig left the show in the middle of the season. After a 2019 broadcast in which viewers noted that Trautwig appeared unwell, he took a leave of absence and did not appear on television after that year; his MSG contract expired in 2021 and was not renewed.[3][6] In 2024, Trautwig said he was working on a book about his career.[3]
He also hosted NBC's coverage of theFord Ironman World Championship,Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 andING New York City Marathon.
Trautwig was a television pit reporter alongsideJim McKay for ABC Sports'coverage of the1986-1987 Indianapolis 500, and provided play-by-play commentary for the 1987CART Indy car broadcasts of theGrand Prix of Cleveland and theMichigan 500, shorty beforePaul Page joined the ABC Sports team.
He co-anchored coverage of theTour de France (from 2004 to 2007 onVersus (formerlyOLN) and in the 1980s forABC), theOlympics, andNBC's coverage of theArena Football League. Despite his years of experience as a broadcaster, he was sometimes criticized by cycling fans, for his occasionally uninformed commentary, and his tendency to compare the Tour to various mainstream sports he covered.[7]
From 2005 to 2008, he also co-anchoredUSA Network's coverage of theUS Open tennis tournament. Trautwig also had a cameo in the movieCool Runnings as an announcer for the bobsled competition. He co-anchored the US Open's live feed during the tournament.
In 2000, Trautwig replacedJohn Tesh as play-by-play announcer of U.S. national and internationalgymnastics competitions for NBC, including the2000,2004,2008,2012, and2016 Olympic games. Trautwig's color commentators included former Olympic gold medalistTim Daggett, formerCanadian champion gymnastElfi Schlegel, three-time OlympianJohn Roethlisberger and 2008 Olympic championNastia Liukin.
Trautwig stated that, at the urging of NBC producers, his gymnastics commentary focused on the personal stories of the gymnasts.[8][9] During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he described a gymnast's pre-Olympics injury as "like having a tear in your wedding dress right before you walk down the aisle."[10]
His most notable controversy involved repeatedly referring to the fact thatSimone Biles's adoptive parents are her biological grandparents during the 2016 Rio Olympics, refusing to refer to them as her parents. He publicly doubled down on these sentiments on Twitter despite widespread backlash, tweeting, "they may be mom and dad, but they are not her parents." His commentary has resulted in some in the gymnastics community criticizing Trautwig long before the Biles controversy at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Shortly after the conclusion of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Trautwig was permanently removed from gymnastics commentary duty.[11][12][13]
Trautwig and his wife, Cathleen, had a son.[2] After the end of his broadcasting career, he taught for a time at Adelphi.[3] He was a resident ofGlen Cove, New York.[3]
Trautwig died at home from cancer on February 23, 2025, at the age of 68.[14]