Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by-blow" action for over 2,000 fights, including historic bouts like the 1971

Fight of the Century Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as ''The Fight Of The Century'' or simply ''The Fight'', was a heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and former undisputed heavyweight champ ...

between

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

and

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure ...

. The ''

Friday Night Fights The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier ...

'' were broadcast every Friday evening from (radio and television (1939–1981) 9 P.M. to 10:45 P.M on ABC.

Biography

He was born in New York City, and was a graduate of Manhattan College. At the beginning of his career, he was a

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for the

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publ ...

and the newspaper '' PM'' While Dunphy was best known as a boxing expert, he also broadcast the evening sports report on WINS in New York, and in mid-July 1943, he was chosen by the BBC to give a summary of the All-Star game that was relayed to American troops stationed in England and North Africa. Dunphy's broadcast was well-received, and the BBC then asked him to broadcast summaries of the 1943

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

. In 1944, Dunphy was selected to do the New York Yankees play-by-play over WINS, assisted by

Al Schacht Alexander Schacht (November 11, 1892 – July 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and, later, restaurateur. Schacht was a pitcher in the major leagues from 1919 to 1921 for the Washington Senators. Early life Schacht w ...

. However, Schacht, best known as a comic, acknowledged that he was not comfortable doing play-by-play, and he was soon replaced by Bill Slater, a former announcer on WOR Radio. Dunphy and Slater shared play-by-play duties throughout the 1944 baseball season. In 1984, Dunphy was part of the

American Sportscasters Association The American Sportscasters Association (ASA) was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London (Hanna) and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non-profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of ...

Hall of Fame's inaugural class which included sportscasting legends Red Barber,

Ted Husing Edward Britt Husing (November 27, 1901 – August 10, 1962) was an American sportscaster. He was among the first to lay the groundwork for the structure and pace of modern sports reporting on television and radio. Overview Early life and caree ...

Graham McNamee Thomas Graham McNamee (July 10, 1888 – May 9, 1942) was an American radio broadcaster, the medium's most recognized national personality in its first international decade. He originated play-by-play sports broadcasting for which he was awa ...

and Bill Stern. He was also a member of the organization's Board of Directors. He was elected in 1986 to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. Dunphy was inducted into the

National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...

in 1988 and had a memorable cameo appearance in the 1971

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

movie ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distingui ...

''. He appears as the commentator in the 1977 biopic of

, "The Greatest". He also called all of the fights in the 1980

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

film ''

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'', which was directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

. In 1982, he won the Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism in boxing. He is a member of the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The ...

. Dunphy was a star track athlete and went on to graduate from

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was ...

in 1930. In 1984, he was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame. His son, Don Dunphy Jr., was an executive producer of ''

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast. History Pioneered by Westinghouse The earliest known use of the ''Eyewitness Ne ...

'' on

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neigh ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in its early years, and later became vice president of news services at ABC. His other son, Bob Dunphy, has been a director of Showtime Championship Boxing since 1989. In 2015 he directed the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, the highest-grossing pay-per-view event in history. He is buried in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, New York.

Selected filmography

*''Joe Frazier vs. Manuel Ramos'' (1968) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *''Mac Foster vs. Jerry Quarry'' (1970) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *''Dick Tiger vs. Emile Griffith'' (1970) – Himself – Ring Announcer *''

'' (1971) – Don Dunphy *''Floyd Patterson vs. Oscar Bonavena'' (1972) – Himself – Ring Announcer *''

vs. Joe Frazier III'' (1975) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *'' The Greatest'' (1977) – Commentator *'' Matilda'' (1978) – Ringside announcer *''Thomas Hearns vs. Pipino Cuevas'' (1980) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *''

'' (1980) – Himself – Radio Announcer for Dauthuille Fight *''The Last Fight'' (1983) – Radio Fight Announcer *''

The Fighter ''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American Biographical film, biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of profes ...

'' (2010) – Fight Announcer (final film role)

References

External links

*
Dunphy, Don – 1984 Hall of Fame Inductee
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunphy, Don 1908 births 1998 deaths American horse racing announcers American sports announcers Boxing commentators Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood College football announcers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Major League Baseball broadcasters Manhattan College alumni National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers New York Giants announcers New York Giants (NL) announcers New York Knicks announcers New York Yankees announcers Sportspeople from New York City