Al Michaels added another honor to his legendary broadcasting career Wednesday, strengthening his case as perhaps the greatest announcer in sports history.
Michaels was named the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award winner, meaning he'll be part of the 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame class. Michaels edged out seven other very qualified finalists; Joe Buck, Dan Schulman, Buddy Blattner, Dave Campbell, Dizzy Dean, Don Drysdale and Ernesto Jerez.
Though a certain generation may only know him as the voice of Monday and Sunday Night Football, Michaels' illustrious broadcasting career got its first major break in 1971, when he became the play-by-play voice for the Cincinnati Reds.
Michaels joined ABC Sports in 1976, remaining with the network in a variety of roles until 2006. Michaels was one of the television voices of the World Series in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1995.
Perhaps most famously, Michaels was on the call of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series when the telecast was interrupted by an earthquake during his open. When he and Tim McCarver came back on air, Michaels called it "the greatest open in the history of television, bar none:"
When you add this latest honor to the legacy of Michaels, the 76-year-old has built a compelling case as the most accomplished sports broadcaster of all-time. He was on the call for the iconic 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game where the United States upset the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Olympics, and remains one of the best football announcers going. It's long been speculated that he'll retire from broadcasting after Super Bowl LVI in February of 2021, when he and Cris Colinsworth are slated to be on the call in Michaels' home town of Los Angeles.
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