DOG COMMENTARY:
This 1986 MLB All Star Game was a game of historic proportions giving the fact that it was played in the 8th Wonder of the World….the Houston Astrodome….a place where Bone Daddy saw the Houston Astros play many times, especially when Nolan Ryan toed the rubber….a place where he saw Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones & The Who live….a place where he saw a game between UCLA vs University of Houston play an NCAA Men’s Basketball Game featuring two of the greatest college scorers of all time….Kareem Abdule Jabbar (Lew Alcindor, Jr. at gametime) and Elvin Hayes put on a show to remember…..and a place where Bone Daddy saw the Houston Rodeo & Livestock show up close and personal…..while we have this wonderful video of the 2nd part of the game. Any way you cut the pie…the Houston Astrodome is near and dear to Bone Daddy….which makes it near and dear to me….as Imasportsphile will feature many moments at the Astrodome.
I also want to give props to the announcers of this MLB All Star Game telivised by ABC Sports featuring the broadcasting crew of Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver.
Alan Richard “Al” Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster….who is presently employed by NBC Sports…after spending nearly three decades (1977–2006) with ABC Sports….where he is perhaps best known for his many years calling play-by-play of National Football League games….including nearly two decades with Monday Night Football. He is also known for famous calls in other sports….including the Miracle on Ice victory by the USA Hockey team over the Russian Hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics….along with his call of the earthquake-interrupted Game 3 of the 1989 World Series at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA.
Michaels initially joined ABC as the back-up announcer on Monday Night Baseball in 1977. The following year, he was promoted to the network on a full-time basis….where he became the lead announcer replacing Keith Jackson in 1982. Over the next three decades, Michaels covered a wide variety of sports for ABC….including Major League Baseball, college football, college basketball, ice hockey, track and field events, horse racing, golf, boxing….like the Marvin Hagler/Thomas Hearns fight in 1985, figure skating, road cycling, and many events of the Olympic Games as well as the Olympic trials. While at ABC, he aired many prominent events including serving as the studio host for the Stanley Cup Finals….while also serving as host for the yearly Tiger Woods Monday night specials that aired in July or August.
James Alvin “Jim” Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is a retired American right-handed pitcher who played all of his 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles (1965–67, 1969–84)….while being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. Palmer was the winning pitcher in 186 games in the 1970s….which was the most wins in that decade by any MLB pitcher. He also won at least twenty games in each of eight seasons and received three Cy Young Awards and four Gold Gloves during the decade. His 268 career victories are currently an Orioles record. A six-time American League (AL) All-Star….as he was also one of the rare pitchers who never allowed a grand slam in any major league contest. Palmer appeared in the postseason eight times and was a vital member of three World Series Champions….six AL pennant winners….and seven Eastern Division titleholders. He is the only pitcher in the history of the Fall Classic with a win in each of three decades. He is also the youngest to pitch a complete-game shutout in a World Series just nine days short of his 21st birthday in 1966….plus he was one of the starters on the last rotation to feature four 20-game winners in a single season in 1971 with Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, Dave McNally and Palmer..
Since his retirement as an active player in 1984,,,,Palmer has worked as a color commentator on telecasts of MLB games for ABC and ESPN and for the Orioles on Home Team Sports (HTS), Comcast SportsNet (CSN) Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). He has also been a popular spokesman, most famously for Jockey International for almost twenty years. He was nicknamed Cakes in the 1960s because of his habit of eating pancakes for breakfast on the days he pitched.
James Timothy “Tim” McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American sportscaster and former professional baseball catcher….who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and Boston Red Sox between 1959 and 1980….as he appeared in the MLB All-Star Game in 1966 and 1967….and was the starting catcher for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 and 1967….catching the likes of Bob Gibson.
McCarver was the recipient of the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting….as he has enjoyed prominence as a color commentator on the network level….winning three Emmy Awards for Sports Event Analyst. He began his broadcasting career at WPHL-TV (Channel 17) in Philadelphia….where he was paired with Richie Ashburn and the great Harry Kalas for Phillies games….before co-hosting HBO’s Race for the Pennant in 1978 and working as a backup Game of the Week commentator for NBC in 1980.
McCarver has called baseball for all four major U.S. television networks. His work at NBC was followed by stints with ABC….where he teamed with Don Drysdale on backup Monday Night Baseball games in 1984….and Al Michaels and Jim Palmer from 1985–1989 and again from 1994–1995 under the “Baseball Network” umbrella….and CBS where he teamed with the equally great Jack Buck from 1990–1991….and Sean McDonough from 1992–1993. McCarver was paired with Joe Buck (Jack’s son) on the Fox network’s MLB telecasts, a role he held from 1996 to 2013.
McCarver called his first World Series in 1985 for ABC as a last minute replacement for Howard Cosell….who had been removed from the broadcasts altogether after excerpts from his controversial book I Never Played the Game in which Howard was critical of his co-workers at ABC Sports….which appeared in TV Guide. Perhaps McCarver’s most notable assignment for ABC prior to the 1985 World Series was as a field reporter for the 1984 National League Championship Series.
In 2003, McCarver set a record by broadcasting his 13th World Series on national television by surpassing legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy….when actually in all, he called 24 Fall Classics for ABC, CBS, and Fox. Also, from 1984 to 2013….McCarver never missed commentating on at least one League Championship Series per year.
With all of that in mind….enjoy this 1986 MLF All Star Classic.
