Not sure when The American Sportscasters Association put out its list of the top 50 sportscasters of all time, but here it is. Berman's in there! And Joe Buck!
And I'm not sure what greatest sportscaster list would have Bill Walton included in the top 40, unless one was going by height. Oh wait, he's on the ASA board. OK. Anyway, Vin Scully was voted No. 1, and he just found out about it, so it must be fairly recent. Right? What the voting criteria was is a mystery, and play-by-play guys seem to be mixed in with color analysts, and Terry Bradshaw (honorable mention!). Plus, gratuitous Joe Morgan.
From Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News:
The Dodgers finally caught wind of this list and sent out a press release Monday afternoon. As for Vin Scully being named No. 1, he emailed to us: "The sportscasters' vote is news to me. I never voted but I am humbled to be in front of Mel Allen, Red Barber and Curt Gowdy. The longevity part must have been the decider."
Dick Enberg, who made the top 10 and is also the Chairman of the Board for ASA, also emailed back before heading out to Melbourne to cover the Australia Open tennis championships starting next week on ESPN: "Frankly, there's plenty of room for argument, which is common with any of the suspect 'Best of All-Time' lists. It never helps your chances if deceased. (Check: Husing, Brickhouse, Dunphy, Stern, and of course, Chick Hearn.) With the exception of yours truly, the top 10 is pretty solid."
There's nothing at all about this on the ASA web site. All in all, a very odd endeavor.
And Marv Albert is on the Advisory Board. Oh good.
The Whole Top 50 ASA list, From Scully To Collins And Beyond [Farther Off The Wall]
Scully No. 1, This Is News? [Farther Off The Wall]