List of New York Giants broadcasters explained

, the New York Giants' flagship radio station is WFAN-AM/FM. Games that overlap with New York Yankees baseball broadcasts in the early season are carried strictly by WFAN’s AM signal at 660 AM while the Yankees broadcasts are carried strictly over the FM signal at 101.9 FM.

Preseason telecasts not seen nationally air in the area on WNYW FOX/5. Previously they had been on WNBC NBC/4.

Past

WFAN has produced the Giants' radio broadcasts since the mid-'90s, but has not always aired them on the station. The first year of production saw the games airing on the team's flagship station at the time, WOR. For the following season, the radio casts aired simultaneously on both WOR and WFAN, with the games moving solely to the latter the next year. In 1999 WFAN decided to begin airing the Giants broadcast on sister station WNEW-FM, a practice it ended after one season. The Giants' radio casts moved back to WFAN and has been there ever since.

The Giants' longtime radio home was WNEW-AM, where games aired from 1961 until 1993 when the station was bought by Bloomberg L.P. and changed its format. Marty Glickman teamed with Al DeRogatis for a long stretch beginning in the early 1960s on WNEW-AM. Chip Cipolla and later Sam Huff joined Glickman after DeRogatis left to join Curt Gowdy on NBC. After the WNEW split, games began airing on WOR. Glickman moved to the crosstown Jets in 1973 and was succeeded by Marv Albert. Jim Gordon succeeded Albert in 1977, beginning an 18-year tenure as the Giants' play-by-play voice. Meanwhile, Dick Lynch took over as color analyst in 1976 and continued in that role through the 2007 season, with his last game being Super Bowl XLII. Lynch did not return to the booth for 2008 due to illness (leukemia), which took his life in September 2008.

Eventually, Gordon and Lynch were joined by Karl Nelson, a former lineman for the Giants. Gordon and Nelson were fired after the 1994 season, after which Papa took over the play-by-play (after being studio host) and led a two-man booth with Lynch. The broadcast team would not have another third member until Dave Jennings was fired from his job as a radio analyst for the Jets in 2002. Jennings was moved to the pregame show after the 2006 season and was replaced by Carl Banks.

After WFAN began airing games Richard Neer served as pregame and postgame host. Eventually, Sid Rosenberg served as pregame and postgame host for home games. They were replaced by Chris Carlin, who in turn was replaced by Salzberg for 2008.

The Giants were carried on the DuMont Network, then CBS (New York's Channel 2) in the early TV days of the NFL, when home games were blacked out within a 75-mile radius of New York City. Chris Schenkel was their play-by-play announcer in that early era when each team was assigned its own network voice on its regional telecasts. At the time, there were few if any true national telecasts until the NFL championship game, which was carried by NBC. Schenkel was joined by Jim McKay, later Johnny Lujack through the 1950s and the early 1960s. As Giants players retired to the broadcast booth in the early and 1960s, first Pat Summerall, then Frank Gifford took the color analyst slot next to Schenkel. As the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL approached, CBS moved to a more generic announcer approach and Schenkel was off the broadcasts.

Giants regular-season Sunday telecasts moved to Fox when that network took over NFC telecasts in 1994.

Broadcasters by year

YearsFlagship stationPlay-by-PlayColor commentatorSideline reporter
1940WHNDick FishellBert Lee
1941WHNDick FishellBert Lee
1942WHNRed BarberAlan Hale
1943WHNRed BarberConnie Desmond
1944WHNRed BarberConnie Desmond
1945WHNRed BarberConnie Desmond
1946WHNRed BarberConnie Desmond
1947WHNConnie DesmondStan Lomax
1948WMGMConnie DesmondBert Lee
1949WMGMMarty GlickmanHarold Holtz
1950WMGMTed HusingMarty Glickman
1951WMGMMarty GlickmanErnie Harwell
1952-1953WMGMMarty GlickmanChris Schenkel
1954-1955WMGMMarty GlickmanJohnny Most
1956WINSLes KeiterTommy Henrich
1957WINSLes KeiterJohn Condon
1958WCBSLes KeiterJack Drees
1959WCBSLes KeiterTom Dowd
1960WCBSMel Allen
1961WNEWMarty GlickmanJoe Hasel and Al DeRogatis
1962–1963WNEWMarty GlickmanAl DeRogatis
1964–1966WNEWMarty GlickmanKyle Rote and Al DeRogatis
1967WNEWMarty GlickmanChip Cipolla and Al DeRogatis
1968WNEWMarty GlickmanChip Cipolla and Charlie Conerly
1969-1971WNEWMarty GlickmanChip Cipolla
1972WNEWMarty GlickmanChip Cipolla and Sam Huff
1973-1974WNEWMarv AlbertChip Cipolla and Sam Huff
1975WNEWMarv AlbertChip Cipolla and Dick Lynch
1976WNEWMarv AlbertDick Lynch
1977-1987WNEWJim GordonDick Lynch
1988-1992WNEWJim GordonKarl Nelson and Dick Lynch
1993WORJim GordonKarl Nelson and Dick Lynch
1994-1995WORBob PapaDick Lynch
1996-2001WFANBob PapaDick Lynch
2002–2006WFANBob PapaDick Lynch and Dave Jennings
2007WFANBob PapaDick Lynch and Carl BanksHoward Cross
2008–presentWFANBob PapaCarl BanksHoward Cross

[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Halberstam, David J.. Sports on New York Radio. 1999. McGraw-Hill.