Sam Rosen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samuel Rosenblum (1947-08-12)August 12, 1947 (age 78) Ulm, Germany |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Spouse | Jill L. Eisenberg |
| Children | Matthew Rosen Garrett Rosen |
Sam Rosen (born Samuel Rosenblum, August 12, 1947)[1] is a German-born American retiredsportscaster and Hockey Hall of Famer, best known as the former primaryplay-by-play announcer for theNational Hockey League'sNew York Rangers games onMSG.[2] In 2008, Rosen was inducted into theNational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016, Rosen was enshrined as theFoster Hewitt Memorial Award winner for outstanding contributions as a broadcaster by theHockey Hall of Fame.[3] In 2024 Rosen was named the recipient of theLester Patrick trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.[4] At the time of his retirement in 2025, Rosen was the longest-tenured active broadcaster in the NHL.
Rosen was born Samuel Rosenblum inUlm, Germany, to Polish parents Louis Rosenblum (1915–1987) and the former Gitel Reiner (1915–2006) of Jewish descent just afterWorld War II. His mother was born inChełm, Poland. The Rosenblum family moved to Brooklyn, New York, when Rosen was 2 years old. As aNew York Yankees fan, Rosen became a fan of their broadcasterMel Allen. Rosen attendedStuyvesant High School and theCity College of New York. At both schools, Rosen played catcher and was the captain of the baseball team.[5] He also played intramural basketball, and was on the track team in high school. Rosen grew up with an older brother, Stephen.
From childhood on, Rosen attended numerousNew York Rangers games and taped himself doing play-by-play.[2] He was mentored by veteran Rangers broadcasterJim Gordon, eventually succeeding him in the fall of 1984.[5] From 1982 to 1984, he was the studio host on Ranger broadcasts. Rosen's first partner was ex-Bruin and Ranger starPhil Esposito.[6][7] Starting in1986–87, when Esposito left to become Rangers general manager, Rosen was paired with former Rangers goaltenderJohn Davidson (nicknamed J.D.). Sam and J.D. lasted 20 years together, the longest-serving NHL broadcast team, before Davidson left for a management position with theSt. Louis Blues[8] and later with theColumbus Blue Jackets[9][10] Davidson returned to take over duties as the President of the Rangers on May 17, 2019[11][12] and return to Columbus on May 20, 2021.[13]
Beginning with the2006–07 NHL season, Rosen partnered withJoe Micheletti,[14] who wasNew York Islanders TV color analyst with former Rangers radio announcerHowie Rose onFox Sports Net New York.
Rosen's most famous call comes every time the Rangers score a goal on the power play. The call is simply the name of the player, followed by, "It's a power play goal!", but Rosen uses a unique inflection which has been widely popular among Rangers fans and a staple of any Rangers broadcast.
However, his two most memorable calls came during the Rangers run to thefirst Stanley Cup in 54 years. First, he calledStéphane Matteau's double overtime goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals with:[15]
Matteau moves with the puck. Matteau around the net. Matteau puts it, Score! Score! The Rangers win! The Rangers win! They're going to the Finals! The Rangers win!"[16]
Then when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, the highest-rated game in MSG Network history:[15]
The waiting is over! The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup Champions! And this one will last a lifetime!"
He was recognized before the Rangers-Islanders game on January 31, 2014, for 30 years of service with the MSG Network. They did a special called "This One Will Last a Lifetime: 30 Years of Sam Rosen", which was announced at intermission as a present to him by longtime partner and longtime friend John Davidson.[17]
Rosen has been told by the Rangers that he can continue in his position as long as he wishes. He has asked his family to inform him if they feel he is losing his edge due to age but is encouraged thatLos Angeles Dodgers play-by-play announcerVin Scully was still considered a top broadcaster when he retired at age 88.[5] He also called national Rangers game onradio.[18][19]
On August 13, 2024, Rosen announced that he would retire from broadcasting the Rangers after the2024-25 NHL season, his 40th with the team.[20][21]
Following Rosen's retirement announcement, Rosen was awarded theLester Patrick Trophy on October 9, 2024 for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.[22]
While still in college Rosen worked in the news department atWINS.[5]
Before taking the Rangers play-by-play job in 1984, Rosen also served as a studio host forNew York Knicks basketball telecasts on MSG. By 1975, he was a full-time sportscaster forUnited Press International's 1000-station radio network ("UPI Audio") and was appointed its Sports Director in 1979. He not only worked a daily morning shift beginning with a 5:45 AM sportscast, but also assigned coverage by UPI's stringers at games in every city with a major league sports franchise, and supervised two junior sportscasters. The first hire he had a hand in was a 20-year-old with no previous full-time professional experience, namedKeith Olbermann.
While at UPI, Rosen traveled to and covered most major sporting events, from theSuper Bowl to theWorld Series. The duo covered the1980 Winter Olympics for UPI, and between them reported all the breaking news coverage and produced a half-hour special report, when Yankees catcher and captainThurman Munson was killed in a plane crash in August 1979.[23][24] Even though the UPI position was a full-time responsibility, while he held it Rosen continued his other part-time positions: back-up voice of the Rangers and Knicks on radio and television, Cosmos soccer play-by-play announcer and weekend news anchor on WNEW-AM radio, and spot television boxing assignments for ESPN and USA Network. Olbermann claimed that when he worked for him Rosen held as many as 11 different jobs, while Rosen says he didn't think it was that many but admitted he worked so often that he could easily have forgotten some of them. He left UPI in 1981 when his ESPN workload and compensation became a living wage by itself.
Rosen was employed byESPN from 1979 to 1988, calling a variety of sports for the network including non-Rangers hockey withMickey Redmond,[25][26][27] college football, boxing,[28]table tennis,Australian rules football,college baseball,[29]collegiate wrestling, andNASLsoccer.[30]
He handled play-by-play forNHL Radio, a partnership between the NHL andWestwood One. He has called theStanley Cup playoffs on the radio for many years, as well as the2002 and2006 Winter Olympic Men's Hockey Tournaments. In addition, he has also worked forVersus (now theNBC Sports Network) calling games in the first round of theStanley Cup Playoffs and 12 Stanley Cup Finals onNHL Radio from1996 to2008.[2]
Rosen was a play-by-play announcer forNFL on Fox from 1996 through 2019. He stepped back from full time work with the NFL on FOX after the 2011 season. From 2012 through 2019 he worked a handful of games each season, primarily during the MLB playoffs when regular NFL on FOX announcers were covering baseball. His broadcasting partners have includedHeath Evans,Kirk Morrison,Ron Pitts,Ray Bentley,Jerry Glanville,Tim Green,Brady Quinn,Matt Millen,Bill Maas,Brian Billick,Tim Ryan,Ronde Barber,Chad Pennington,Daryl Johnston,Cris Carter,John Lynch andCharles Davis.
Rosen also called preseason NFL games for theChicago Bears from 2009 to 2017, when he was replaced by Adam Amin, and previously did this for theNew York Giants for several seasons.
Rosen was also the lead boxing announcer for the MSG Network until 1993. In 1989, he won theSam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcasting journalism.[31]
Rosen was also a radio play-by-play announcer for theNew York Cosmos. His call "It's a Cosmos Goal" predated and could be considered as the basis for his trademark power play call.
Links to related articles | |
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| Preceded by | Stanley Cup FinalsAmerican network television play-by-play announcer 1986 (withKen Wilson; Rosen called Games 1-2) | Succeeded by |
