Sam Rosen (born August 12, 1947) is an American sportscaster and Hockey Hall of Famer, best known as the lead play-by-play announcer for NHL's New York Rangers games on MSG Network. On June 8, 2008, Rosen was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. On November 14, 2016, Rosen was enshrined as the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner for outstanding contributions as a broadcaster by the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Rosen's current responsibilities include Rangers telecasts, Chicago Bears preseason football for WFLD, and Sunday NFL games for Fox. He is paired with John Davidson or Joe Micheletti on Rangers broadcasts, Jim Miller on Bears broadcasts, and David Diehl on national Fox broadcasts.
| Sam Rosen | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 12, 1947 (age 70) Ulm, Germany |
| Residence | New City |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Spouse | Jill L. Eisenberg |
| Children | Matthew Rosen
Garrett Rosen |
Early history[]
Rosen was born in Ulm, Germany, to Polish parents of Jewish descent just after World War II. The Rosenblum family moved to Brooklyn, New York when Rosen was 2 years old. As a New York Yankees fan Rosen became a fan of their broadcaster Mel Allen. Rosen attended Stuyvesant High School and the City College of New York. At both schools Rosen was the captain of the baseball team and played catcher. Rosen also played intramural basketball, and was on the track team in high school. Rosen grew up with an older brother, Stephen.
Broadcasting career[]
New York Rangers[]
From childhood on Rosen attended numerous New York Rangers games and taped himself doing play by play. Rosen was mentored by veteran Rangers broadcaster Jim Gordon. From 1982 to 1984, he was the studio host on Ranger broadcasts, but was promoted to play-by-play in 1984, succeeding Gordon. Rosen's first partner was ex-Bruin and Ranger star Phil Esposito. Starting in 1986–87, when Esposito left to become Rangers General Manager, Rosen was paired with former Rangers goaltender John Davidson (nicknamed J.D.). The team would last over 20 years together. Together, Sam and J.D. would be the longest-serving NHL broadcast team.
Rosen's most famous call comes every time the Rangers score a goal on the power play. The call is simply the name of the player, followed by, "It's a power play goal!", but Sam uses a unique inflection which has been widely popular among Rangers fans and a staple of any Rangers broadcast.
However, his most memorable call was in 1994 when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years:
"The waiting is over—the New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup Champions! And this one will last a lifetime!"
Rosen's call is usually the most often-played of that moment. It is still the highest-rated game in MSG Network history.
Rosen was recognized before the Rangers-Islanders game on March 21, 2014 for thirty years of service with the MSG Network. They then did a special called "This One Will Last a Lifetime: 30 Years of Sam Rosen", which was announced at intermission as a surprise to Rosen by longtime partner and friend John Davidson.
Rosen has been told by the Rangers he can continue his position as long as he wishes. He has asked his family to inform him if they feel he is losing his edge due to age but is encouraged that Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully is still considered a top broadcaster at age 88.
Other broadcasting areas[]
While still in college Rosen worked in the news department at WINS.
Prior to taking the Rangers play-by-play job in 1984, Rosen also served as a studio host for New York Knicks basketball telecasts on MSG.
Rosen was employed by ESPN from 1979 to 1988, calling a variety of sports for the network including hockey, college football, boxing, table tennis, Australian rules football, college baseball, collegiate wrestling and NASL soccer.
Rosen has also been a play-by-play announcer for The NFL on Fox since 1996. Sam also calls preseason NFL games for the Chicago Bears and previously did this for the New York Giants for several seasons. Rosen's broadcasting partners have included Heath Evans, Kirk Morrison, Bill Maas, Brian Billick, Tim Ryan, Matt Millen, Ronde Barber, Chad Pennington, Daryl Johnston, and John Lynch.
Rosen was also the lead boxing announcer for the MSG Network until 1993. In 1989, he won the Sam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcasting journalism.
Rosen has most recently joined the NHL crew at Versus (now the NBCSN) calling games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the past 2 years.
Rosen was also a radio play-by-play announcer for the New York Cosmos. His call "It's a Cosmos Goal" predated and could be considered as the basis for his trademark power play call.