Jim Gordon (sportscaster)
Encyclopedia
Jim Gordon was an American
television
and radio
newscaster and play-by-play sportscaster
in the New York City
area for nearly 40 years.
He delivered the first newscast for New York's WINS
radio when it switched from a Top 40 rock music
format to all-news in 1965 and also had long tenures as the television "voice" of the NHL New York Rangers
and radio voice of the NFL New York Giants
.
Later in life, he was also active in local politics in Putnam County, New York
.
, NY. In the mid 50's he moved to his native New York City and over the next four decades worked at several major radio stations in various sports and news capacities, including WMGM
and its successor, WHN
, WINS
, WABC
, WNEW-AM
and WOR
. In addition to his broadcasting roles, he served as news director
of WABC and WNEW.
Early in his New York radio career, he hosted pre and post-game programs on WMGM broadcasts of Brooklyn Dodgers baseball games. He also called college sports and boxing
matches.
As a news reporter, he covered riots and blackouts in New York and anchored WINS' coverage of the Apollo 11
moon landing mission on July 20, 1969.
Gordon began calling New York sporting events when he was hired by Madison Square Garden
in 1955 to be the radio voice of the Rangers
and Knicks
. He worked in those capacities on-and-off in both radio and television over the next three decades, occasionally alternating with other New York sportscasters like Marty Glickman
, Les Keiter
, Bob Wolff
, Win Elliot
, Tim Ryan
, Don Criqui
and Marv Albert
.
In between Knicks and Rangers assignments, Gordon appeared on CBS Sports
network TV coverage of the NHL in the late 1960's and also was the original television voice of the New York Islanders
, calling games in the 1972 season
.
Returning to the Rangers in the mid 70's, he called their cable and broadcast TV games until 1984, when he was replaced by Sam Rosen
. During some of those hockey seasons, he also called games on the syndicated NHL Network.
In 1977
, Gordon was hired to replace Marv Albert as the radio voice of the New York Giants
football team. For 18 seasons (ending in 1994) Gordon called games on both WNEW and WOR alongside Dick Lynch
and (later) Karl Nelson
. He was fired by WOR after the 1994 season
and replaced by Bob Papa
, effectively ending his broadcasting career.
's 47-yard field goal attempt with eight seconds left in Super Bowl XXV
, which would have won the game for the Buffalo Bills
:
A near-iconic expression that Gordon used almost nightly while calling Rangers games:
"Loose puck in front! (pause, followed by) No Ranger there."
and served as a volunteer firefighter and in several elective positions. That included a decade as a Democratic
member of its county legislature from 1986 to 1996. He was its chairman from 1990 to 1993.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
newscaster and play-by-play sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area for nearly 40 years.
He delivered the first newscast for New York's WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
radio when it switched from a Top 40 rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
format to all-news in 1965 and also had long tenures as the television "voice" of the NHL New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
and radio voice of the NFL New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Later in life, he was also active in local politics in Putnam County, New York
Putnam County, New York
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Putnam county formed in 1812, when it detached from Dutchess County. , the population was 99,710. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of Carmel...
.
Career
Gordon's career began in SyracuseSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, NY. In the mid 50's he moved to his native New York City and over the next four decades worked at several major radio stations in various sports and news capacities, including WMGM
WEPN
WEPN is a 24-hour sports talk formatted radio station in New York City featuring national and local sports talk programs and live broadcasts of sports matches. It is the New York affiliate for ESPN Radio...
and its successor, WHN
WEPN
WEPN is a 24-hour sports talk formatted radio station in New York City featuring national and local sports talk programs and live broadcasts of sports matches. It is the New York affiliate for ESPN Radio...
, WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
, WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
, WNEW-AM
WBBR
WBBR is a radio station broadcasting at 1130 AM in New York City. It airs Bloomberg Radio, a service of Bloomberg L.P. WBBR's format is general and financial news, offering local, national and international news reports along with financial market updates and interviews with corporate executives,...
and WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
. In addition to his broadcasting roles, he served as news director
News Director
A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers,...
of WABC and WNEW.
Early in his New York radio career, he hosted pre and post-game programs on WMGM broadcasts of Brooklyn Dodgers baseball games. He also called college sports and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
matches.
As a news reporter, he covered riots and blackouts in New York and anchored WINS' coverage of the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
moon landing mission on July 20, 1969.
Gordon began calling New York sporting events when he was hired by Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in 1955 to be the radio voice of the Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
and Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. He worked in those capacities on-and-off in both radio and television over the next three decades, occasionally alternating with other New York sportscasters like Marty Glickman
Marty Glickman
Martin "Marty" Glickman was a Jewish American track and field athlete and sports announcer, born in The Bronx, New York. His parents, Harry and Molly Glickmann, immigrated to the United States from Jassy, Romania....
, Les Keiter
Les Keiter
Les Keiter , also known as the "General", was a newscaster and sports director of Honolulu, Hawaii television station KHON-TV. Keiter, who also lived in New York and San Francisco, also called some of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.- Early career :Keiter was raised in Seattle and...
, Bob Wolff
Bob Wolff
Robert "Bob" Wolff , in New York City, New York is an American sportscaster. He was the radio and TV voice of the Washington Senators from 1947 to 1960, continuing with the team when they relocated and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. In 1962, he joined NBC-TV...
, Win Elliot
Win Elliot
Win Elliot, was an American television and radio sportscaster and game show host who was best-known for his long tenures as a play-by-play broadcaster of NHL New York Rangers and NBA New York Knicks games and host of Sports Central USA on the CBS Radio Network.Born Irwin Elliot Shalek in Chelsea,...
, Tim Ryan
Tim Ryan (sportscaster)
Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
, Don Criqui
Don Criqui
Don Criqui is an American sportscaster, currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports. Criqui's duties include occasional television coverage of National Football League games, women's and men's college basketball, occasional college football and radio play-by-play of ISP Sports'...
and Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
.
In between Knicks and Rangers assignments, Gordon appeared on CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
network TV coverage of the NHL in the late 1960's and also was the original television voice of the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, calling games in the 1972 season
1972-73 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:-Leading goaltenders:Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts-Debuts:...
.
Returning to the Rangers in the mid 70's, he called their cable and broadcast TV games until 1984, when he was replaced by Sam Rosen
Sam Rosen (sportscaster)
Sam Rosen is an American sportscaster, best known as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Rangers games on MSG. On June 8, 2008, Rosen was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame....
. During some of those hockey seasons, he also called games on the syndicated NHL Network.
In 1977
1977 New York Giants season
The 1977 New York Giants season was the 53rd season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants had a 5–9 record in 1977 and finished in a tie for last place with the Philadelphia Eagles.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:...
, Gordon was hired to replace Marv Albert as the radio voice of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
football team. For 18 seasons (ending in 1994) Gordon called games on both WNEW and WOR alongside Dick Lynch
Dick Lynch
Richard Dennis "Dick" Lynch was an American football defensive back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. He was a one-time Pro Bowler in 1963, when he led the NFL in interceptions...
and (later) Karl Nelson
Karl Nelson
Karl Stuart Nelson was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the New York Giants. He was a member of the 1986 Giants team that won Super Bowl XXI. He missed the 1987 season due to illness . Nelson played college football at Iowa State University...
. He was fired by WOR after the 1994 season
1994 New York Giants season
-Schedule:-References:...
and replaced by Bob Papa
Bob Papa
Bob Papa is an American sportscaster. Papa is employed by NFL Network, HBO, and the New York Giants.-Biography:Papa grew up in Dumont, New Jersey and graduated from Bergen Catholic High School in nearby Oradell...
, effectively ending his broadcasting career.
Notable calls
Gordon is best known for his call of Scott NorwoodScott Norwood
Scott Allan Norwood is a former American football placekicker in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. Norwood was an integral part of its offense during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and kicked in Buffalo's first two Super Bowl appearances...
's 47-yard field goal attempt with eight seconds left in Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
, which would have won the game for the Buffalo Bills
1990 Buffalo Bills season
The 1990 Buffalo Bills season was the 31st season for the team in the National Football League. The Buffalo Bills finished the National Football League's 1990 season with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, and finished first in the AFC East division. The Bills were 8–0 at home for the second time in...
:
A near-iconic expression that Gordon used almost nightly while calling Rangers games:
"Loose puck in front! (pause, followed by) No Ranger there."
Politics
Gordon was a resident of Putnam County, New YorkPutnam County, New York
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Putnam county formed in 1812, when it detached from Dutchess County. , the population was 99,710. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of Carmel...
and served as a volunteer firefighter and in several elective positions. That included a decade as a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of its county legislature from 1986 to 1996. He was its chairman from 1990 to 1993.