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Johnny Most | |
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.jpg) Most in 1984 | |
| Born | John M. Most (1923-06-15)June 15, 1923 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 3, 1993(1993-01-03) (aged 69) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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John M. Most (June 15, 1923 – January 3, 1993) was an American sportsannouncer, known primarily as the raspyradio voice of theBoston Celtics of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) from1953 to1990.
Most's radio call during the final moments of Game 7 of the1965 NBA Eastern Division Finals has been dubbed "the most famous radio call in basketball history" by the NBA.[1] The call is now simply known as "Havlicek stole the ball!"
Born toJewish parents inNew York City, he was named after his paternal grandfather, theGerman-Americananarchist newspaper editor and oratorJohann Most.[2] Johnny Most was one of the many successful graduates ofDeWitt Clinton High School in theBronx. After distinguished Air Force service inWorld War II (see below), he began his basketball broadcasting career in the late 1940s as a protégé ofNew York Knickerbockers announcer (and 1936 Olympics track star)Marty Glickman. He was hired in 1953 by Boston Celtics ownerWalter Brown and coachRed Auerbach to replaceCurt Gowdy as the team's radio play-by-play man on the Celtics radio network. He also served as sports director forWCOP radio in Boston at that time.
In addition to his work with the Celtics, he served as host of a rudimentaryBoston Red Sox baseball post-game show onWHDH-TV, sister station to WHDH radio which carried Celtics games. Sponsored byWheaties andBlackstone cigars, this short scoreboard program consisted of Most reading the scores and rattling off pitching changes and home runs. It began in 1958 and ended when WHDH-TV lost its license just before the 1972 season and the telecasts were moved to WBZ-TV. Most also teamed with Marty Glickman to callNew York Giants football in the early 1950s.
In the early 1970s, Most hosted an evening sports talk show on WORL radio which lasted from 5 to 7 PM. WBZ, owner of the Celtics' radio rights, allowed Most to appear only on the first hour of the program, which was broadcast live from a Boston nightspot, so as not to compete with WBZ'sCalling All Sports broadcast.
As an aerial gunner on aB-24 Liberator he flew 28 combat missions with the15th Air Force inWorld War II, earning seven medals.
Shortly afterVE Day, as his unit broke camp in centralItaly, Johnny wandered up a nearby hillside to a graveyard filled with American flags, his final visit to fallen comrades before returning home to the Bronx. A prolific poet, he penned these lines:
I stood among the graves today and swept the scene with sight.
And the corps of men who lay beneath looked up to say good night.
The thunder still, the battle done, the fray has passed them by;
And as they rest forever more, they must be asking, 'Why?'
Most always referred to his perch or radio booth at theBoston Garden (the Celtics' arena) as "high above courtside" at the opening of his broadcasts, and to his usual perch near the scorer's table on most Celtics road games as "directly at courtside".
Unlike his long-time contemporaryChick Hearn, who criticized hisLos Angeles Lakers when he felt warranted, Most was an outspoken "homer" who rarely criticized the Celtics during game play but was not shy about criticizing other teams' players or fans (calling them "hysterical with joy" when cheering Celtics losses). For example, during the1985 season, he nicknamed Laker star point guardMagic Johnson "Crybaby Johnson" after Johnson successfully challenged areferee's call. He called Magic this negative nickname throughout the remainder of the 1980s, announcing lines like"Cry with the no-look pass!" and"Crybaby with the rebound!"[3] He also nicknamedWashington Bullets playersRick Mahorn andJeff Ruland as "McFilthy" and "McNasty", interchanging the two at his whim, and he also referred toPhiladelphia 76ers playersSteve Mix,Bobby Jones andAndrew Toney as "The Hatchet Brothers". Most was also very critical of theDetroit Pistons for their physical play during the late 1980s. He was particularly hard onBill Laimbeer (whom he memorably called "Counterfeit Bill"),Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, andIsiah Thomas, whom he referred to asLittle Lord Fauntleroy.
From 1963 to 1966, Most was the track announcer at theNorwood Arena Speedway, aNASCAR-sanctioned quarter mile oval. Among the winners of races during his tenure includeNASCAR Hall of Fame memberGlenn Roberts, Daytona 500 champion Pete Hamilton, and short track legends Bob Santos (whose grandson Bobby Santos III is a 21st-century Modified racer), and Ed Flemke Sr. (Modified racing family;son-in-law was aMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winner; his grandchildren own a car dealership in Fitchburg).[4]
In 1965, Most served as a color commentator for oneBoston Bruins game when play-by-play announcerFred Cusick was sick and color commentatorBob Wilson filled in on play-by-play.[4]
In the summer of 1978, Most called races at Plainfield Greyhound Track inPlainfield, Connecticut.[4]
A heavy smoker for his entire adult life, Most was plagued with health problems beginning in 1983, when he suffered a stroke that left his right hand permanently paralyzed.[5] In 1989, he underwent triple-bypass surgery, and in January 1992 had to have both legs amputated above the knee due to circulation problems. In his later years he also suffered hearing problems and was often dependent on an oxygen mask to help him breathe. Most nonetheless kept up his two-pack-a-day cigarette habit, even after smoking was banned inside Boston Garden.[6]
On October 10, 1990, Most announced his retirement due to failing health. On December 3 of that year, Most was honored with permanent installation of his personal microphone atBoston Garden, silver-plated and encased in a Celtic-green frame and attached to the façade of the vantage point Most had always described as "high above courtside". On January 3, 1993, he died at 69 of aheart attack inHyannis, Massachusetts in Cape Cod. He is buried in theBaker Street Jewish Cemeteries, West Roxbury, Massachusetts.
Shortly after his death, he was awarded the prestigiousCurt Gowdy Media Award by the trustees of theBasketball Hall of Fame inSpringfield, Massachusetts for his on-air contributions to basketball. On October 4, 2002, he was inducted into the media sector of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame at theUniversity of Rhode Island.
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