Al McCoy (announcer)

Al McCoy, "The Voice Of The Suns", has been the radio broadcast announcer of Phoenix Suns NBA basketball games since 1972 [http://www.nba.com/features/mccoy_070306.html] , which makes him the longest tenured broadcaster in the NBA. In his entire tenure, he has missed only one game due to illness(December 31, 2005 at the Chicago Bulls). He is a resident of Arizona, but a native of Williams, Iowa.

McCoy is a graduate of Drake University. His first job in radio was at KJFJ in Webster City, Iowa. He later worked for three years at WHO (AM) in Des Moinescite episode
title="Two Guys Named Jim"
url=http://whoradio.com/pages/twoguysnamedjim.html
station=WHO (AM)
city=Des Moines, Iowa
airdate=2007-07-15] , and he is still a frequent guest on "Two Guys Named Jim," [http://whoradio.com/pages/twoguysnamedjim.html] a sports-talk show on WHO.

Prior to joining the Phoenix Suns on September 27, 1972, McCoy was the broadcaster for the Triple-A Phoenix Giants baseball club, and "One of the Good Guys," a DJ on KRUX 1360 AM.

In 2006, Phoenix Magazine named McCoy the best play-by-play announcer in their annual "Best of the Valley" issue.

The Suns paid tribute to McCoy on March 2, 2007, distributing talking bobbleheads to fans at US Airways Center and renaming the Suns' press room the Al McCoy Media Center.

His famous phrases include "Shazam!" every time a player makes a 3 point shot, and "Heartbreak Hotel!" whenever a player misses a shot by little or the Suns lose a very close game.

For example, "Shazam! A Bell Ringer from Raja Bell!" is a common phrase that McCoy expresses every time Raja Bell makes a 3-point shot.

He also has nicknames for individual players such as The Nash Rambler for Steve Nash and the Matrix for Shawn Marion.

McCoy received the 2007 Curt Gowdy Media Award Thursday during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Family Reunion Dinner in Springfield, Mass. in September of 2007. Named in honor of the late legendary sports broadcaster and former Basketball Hall of Fame President Curt Gowdy, the prestigious awards are given annually to one member of the print and one member of the electronic media whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.

Curt Gowdy Media Award Winners:

1990 Dick Herbert, Curt Gowdy
1991 Dave Dorr, Marty Glickman
1992 Sam Goldaper, Chick Hearn
1993 Leonard Lewin, Johnny Most
1994 Leonard Koppett, Cawood Ledford
1995 Bob Hammel, Dick Enberg
1996 Bob Hentzen, Billy Packer
1997 Bob Ryan, Marv Albert
1998 Larry Donald, Dick Vitale, Dick Weiss
1999 Smith Barrier, Bob Costas
2000 Dave Kindred, Hubie Brown
2001 Curry Kirkpatrick, Dick Stockton
2002 Jim O’Connell, Jim Nantz
2003 Sid Hartman, Hot Rod Hundley
2004 Phil Jasner, Max Falkenstien
2005 Jack McCallum, Bill Campbell
2006 Mark Heisler, Bill Raftery
2007 Al McCoy, Malcolm Moran

References

The nickname "The Matrix" for Shawn Marion is generally attributed to former NBA star and TNT analyst Kenny Smith, not McCoy.

External References

* [http://www.nba.com/features/mccoy_070306.html NBA.com's Feature on Al McCoy]