Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2022: Joe Buck - The Voice of the Modern Generation

08/12/2022

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2022: Joe Buck - The Voice of the Modern Generation By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, December 8, 2022 - 3:45 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Leading up to the 2022 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony on Dec. 13 at the New York Hilton, SVG is profiling the nine inductees in this year's class. For more information, CLICK HERE.

What makes a play-by-play man generational?

Is it longevity? Joe Buck checks that box: a fixture in broadcasting since 1989, when he first called baseball games for the Louisville Redbirds, a minor-league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Is it having a special collection of all the right tools? Again, check.

His voice was butterscotch, recalls Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer David Hill, former president of Fox Sports. Magnificent timbre, mellow but magisterial, good breath control, and his use of the pause was masterly.

Is some part of it luck? Being in the right place at the right time for some of the most memorable moments in modern sports: Mark McGwire's 62nd home run. The David Tyree Catch in Super Bowl XLII. The final out of the Boston Red Sox World Series Championship in 2004 and the Chicago Cubs' in 2016. The Minneapolis Miracle.

In my opinion, he's the Curt Gowdy of this generation - doing it all from the Super Bowl, World Series, and U.S. Open to bass fishing, horse racing and everything in between, says longtime Fox Sports producer Pete Macheska. His voice is synonymous with some of the biggest moments and brightest spotlights, entertaining without ever getting in the way of the story unfolding on our screens. An industry-defining broadcaster and exceptional person. There aren't many like Joe Buck.

Or is it something more? Maybe what makes a play-by-play man generational is being just the right voice to meet the moment, however wild or unpredictable those moments may be.

Joe is an amazing talent and one of the greatest play-by-play guys in sports television, says Rich Russo, a veteran director at Fox Sports who was at the front bench for many of Buck's NFL broadcasts. When you turned on a game on Fox and heard his voice, you just knew it was a huge game and a big event. Joe has had some of the most iconic calls in the history of sports television. He has an incredible ability to know and understand the moment and when to make a call and when to just lay out and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Buck got the call-up to the big leagues in 1991, joining his father, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Jack Buck, in the radio and television booths for the Cardinals. But it was when Fox Sports launched in 1994 that he got his big break.

Hill and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer and former Fox Sports Vice Chairman Ed Goren had already secured their squad, bringing in a team of Hall of Famers, the legendary Pat Summerall and John Madden, to lead its first foray into football. They had even signed another iconic veteran of the business, Dick Stockton. Now they wanted that younger voice, someone who would take the brand into the next generation.

[When we were starting Fox Sports,] I wanted young, fresh voices, says Hill. I knew of Jack Buck by repute, and I'm a great believer in bloodlines. Even though Secretariat sired winners like Rising Star and Lady's Secret, none of his progeny came close to emulating his remarkable career. So it was with some trepidation that I [watched Joe's] tape. Boom. This kid knew his stuff.

At just 25 years old, Buck became the youngest man to ever call a regular slate of NFL games, and both Fox Sports' legacy and Buck's career were headed to the moon.

In 1996, Fox Sports landed the rights to Major League Baseball, and Buck became the lead voice on the package, following in his father's footsteps and calling baseball, the sport most closely associated with his father. Joe Buck and baseball became similarly linked. Over the next quarter century, his voice accompanied every marquee moment for the sports, including 22 MLB All-Star Games and 24 World Series. He was the youngest person ever to call a World Series game for a broadcast network.

And there was Mark McGwire's 62nd homerun in 1998. The Yankees dynasty of the late '90s. The breaking of the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. The first championships for two long-suffering fanbases in Chicago. Even an unforgettable throwback to his father in the 2011 World Series: when David Freese's walk-off home run sailed out of Busch Stadium to win Game 6, Joe summoned the words bellowed by his father when Kirby Puckett won Game 6 of the 1991 World Series with a home run: We'll see you tomorrow night!

In 2002, he doubled up his duties and became the lead voice of the NFL on Fox, partnered from the get-go with Super Bowl-winning former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. For more than two decades, the pair has called 280+ regular-season games, 40 playoff games, 18 NFC Championship Games, and six Super Bowls.

Joe does every aspect of the job while never missing a moment, says Aikman, always having a keen sense of timing and elevating every meaningful situation. Simply, he is the best I've ever seen.

From annual Thanksgiving Games to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history - the New England Patriots' win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI - Buck has become a regular guest in the homes of Americans, taking them through the biggest nights of their falls and winters - at times under-appreciated, at others just the voice you wanted calling a play destined for the history books. Through it all, he has won the Sports Emmy for Best Play-by-Play a record-tying eight times.

Buck is currently in his 29th season calling NFL games, which has been marked by a monumental shift to ESPN and the iconic Monday Nig
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2022/12/08/sports-broadcasting-hall-of-fam...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

10/07/2026

N.Y. State Broadcasters Association Selects Hall of Fame Class of 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/07/2026

Chyron's PRIME 5.4 Brings Template Experience to More Newsrooms

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/07/2026

Registration Opens for 2026 NAB Show New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/07/2026

IAB Releases Redefining Media Types' Standard for Public Comment

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/07/2026

Wedotv FAST Channels Launch on TiVo Platforms in Europe

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/07/2026

Sage Offers Guidance on EAS Password Changes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/07/2026

Omaha Productions Goes All-In as World Series of Poker Main Event Returns to ESPN

With 50+ cameras, three trucks, 60+ EVS channels, RFID hole-card workflows, and ...

09/07/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Dana Shearer, Syracuse University

A recent graduate from Westchester, NY, this experienced technician has already started her first gig in the industry, as a REMI A2 Comms Specialist at ESPN In...

09/07/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lightcasts Andreas Kisslinger on the Role of Automation, Cloud-Based Workflows in Streaming

Live sports production is a fast-paced industry with no signs of slowing down. W...

09/07/2026

TV Skyline, thinXpool, DMC Production Collaborate on Deutsche Telekom's World Cup From NYC

From a rooftop studio in Manhattan, multiple Germany-based companies share respo...

09/07/2026

FOX One and Overtime Announce Creator Series Race to Glory for FIFA World Cup 2026

Overtime has announced a content partnership with FOX One to produce Race to Glo...

09/07/2026

Ross Production Services Standardizes on Clear-Com Intercom Across Mobile Production Fleet

Clear-Com has announced that Ross Production Services (RPS) has standardized on ...

09/07/2026

NetApp Returns as Presenting Partner of 2026 NFL Madrid Game

The NFL has announced that NetApp will return as Presenting Partner of the NFL Madrid Game, featuring the Atlanta Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals at the ...

09/07/2026

The R&A and Cisco Announce Multi-Year Network Infrastructure Partnership

The R&A and Cisco have announced a multi-year partnership making Cisco the Official Network Supplier of The R&A and its Championships. Cisco will deploy AI-read...

09/07/2026

Fox Television Stations, Extreme Reach, and LTN Complete Live Syndication of 25 Words or Less LIVE

Fox Television Stations, Extreme Reach (XR), and LTN have announced the completi...

09/07/2026

Wynn Records Launches Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Platform Powered by Kiswe

Kiswe has announced a partnership with Wynn Records to launch the Wynn Records Network streaming platform, debuting Saturday, July 11 with a Salita Promotions b...

09/07/2026

NEP Europe Announces Multi-Year Agreement as Wimbledon Broadcast Services Provider

NEP Europe has announced a new multi-year agreement with Wimbledon Broadcast Ser...

09/07/2026

Thropic Games Raises Pre-Seed Round Led by The Famous Group

Thropic Games, a company offering casual mobile games tied to fan fundraising for sports programs, has announced a pre-seed funding round led by The Famous Grou...

09/07/2026

Game Creek Video Purchases 10 Grass Valley K-Frame Switchers for Fleet Expansion

Game Creek Video has reached an agreement with Grass Valley to purchase 10 K-Frame production switchers as part of a two-year fleet expansion. Two systems have ...

09/07/2026

Gravity Media Powers ITVs FIFA World Cup Coverage with Three-Hub Remote Production

Gravity Media is delivering a three-hub remote production workflow for ITV's...

09/07/2026

Report: North American Broadcast Journalists Spend Up to 75% of Time on Technical Workflows

A new report from Quickplay and Caretta Research, The Broadcaster Revolution Wi...

09/07/2026

DAZN to Broadcast Esports World Cup Free to Global Audiences

DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation to serve as t...

09/07/2026

YES Networks Mike Webb on Finding Opportunity for Innovation in Live Regional Sports Production

The regional sports network is staying busy this summer with broadcasts of the N...

09/07/2026

Universal Audio Black Box HG-2 & elysia karacter

Latest analogue-emulation plug-ins revealed Universal Audio have just added two new analogue-emulation plug-ins to their DSP-powered UAD line-up. Developed ...

09/07/2026

Neumann launch U 47 FET Bon Scott Edition

Limited-edition mic celebrates rock icon Neumann have partnered with the Bon Scott Estate to create a limited-edition version of the U 47 FET that honours b...

09/07/2026

Plugin Station: Plug-in management software

Handles organisation, updates, troubleshooting & more Created by pro-audio software developer Julian Worden, Plugin Station from Julian Michael Technologies...

09/07/2026

LANDR expand Fair Trade AI programme

Introduces new $1 million advance programme LANDR have just announced the next phase of their Fair Trade AI programme, a pioneering opt-in music-licensing p...

09/07/2026

Spitfire Audio expand low-cost Originals range

Four new titles now available Spitfire Audio have just introduced four new titles in their Originals range, bringing the total count of libraries in the low...

09/07/2026

SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion

SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion 9 July, 2026 Media releases SBS acknowledges the gravity of the matters before the Roy...

09/07/2026

Press Release: NFVF Sixth Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP6) Status Update

08 July 2026, Johannesburg - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...

09/07/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces New UltraStudio Express 3G

Blackmagic Design Announces New UltraStudio Express 3G Brie Clayton July 9, 2026 0 Comments New extremely portable capture and playback models with 3G...

09/07/2026

Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card Management Platform for NetConnect+ Plans

Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card Management Platform for ...

09/07/2026

Hong Kong Jockey Club Expands Intercom Infrastructure Wit...

Riedel Communications today announced that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), one of Asia's most prestigious horse racing organizations, has significantly up...

09/07/2026

Game Creek Video Switches On Next-Gen Production with K-F...

Leading North American mobile production facility provider standardizes on Grass Valley's fully IP-native K-Frame production switchers for its fleet of next...

09/07/2026

Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card M...

Miri Technologies Inc. is rolling out a new online portal that provides customers and resellers with self-serve management tools and usage analytics for the com...

09/07/2026

Beeble Introduces AI-Driven SwitchHDR Converter

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/07/2026

DP Aakash Subramaniam Chooses ZEISS Supreme and Nano Prim...

Cinematographer Aakash Subramaniam, WICA faced a conceptual challenge: how could he make a film about dying that doesn't feel like one? The film, Our Weird...

09/07/2026

The Search for Leah Croucher: A Parent's Nightmare for U and U&W

Years in the making, this intimate documentary draws on rare access to Leah Crouchers family to tell the story behind one of Britains most high-profile missing ...

09/07/2026

Enjoy Gigafast speeds and Ultimate TV pack for less

Thursday 9 July 2026 Enjoy Gigafast speeds and Ultimate TV pack for less The latest deals have dropped from Sky TV and Sky Broadband, the award-winning provid...

09/07/2026

Local campaigns with impact

Hands up who would like to dress up as a giant crisp packet? The call that went out across the agency as our anti-litter campaign, Wish you weren't here fo...

09/07/2026

GeForce NOW Turns Up the Heat With New GeForce RTX 5080-Powered Toronto Server

This GFN Thursday brings more games, more power and more ways to play on GeForce NOW. The cloud gaming service is expanding with a new GeForce RTX 5080-powere...

08/07/2026

Aqueduct Racetrack Goes Silent

The end of the Big A' marks the demise of one more iconic sports venue and its signature sound After 132 years as one of the preeminent horse-racing track...

08/07/2026

Memphis Athletics, Learfield Continue Long-Term Partnership

Memphis Athletics and Learfield have signed a long-term renewal to their 25-year relationship, which sees Learfield's Tiger Sports Properties continue repre...

08/07/2026

T-Mobile Brings ABS Challenge System, 5G Batting Practice Cams to 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia

MLB All-Star Week returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 30 years as Amer...

08/07/2026

SVG Enterprise Launches Inaugural Enterprise Video Summit, Oct. 19 in New York

Former Wall Street Video event expanded to include all Enterprise sectors SVG Enterprise has announced the inaugural Enterprise Video Summit, taking place Oct....

08/07/2026

Wrigley Field Revamp: Chicago Cubs Upgrade LED Videoboards To Match New 1080p Control Room

An offseason project enhanced eight video displays around the venue in time for ...

08/07/2026

A Beacon on Biscayne Bay: Miami Heat Reflect on Ambitious Renovation at SVG Venues & Teams Summit

Kaseya Center has a ton of new features that weren't available to the indust...