Spencer Ross (born July 19, 1940) is an

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n sportscaster. With the exception of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, Ross has called

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

for every professional

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

sports franchise, including the Yankees of

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, the Nets and Knicks of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, and Jets and

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

of the NFL. He has also called games for the Americans of the ABA and, in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

and the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. Outside of New York, he has called games for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. Nationally, he has worked for the ''

NFL on NBC ''NFL on NBC'' is an American television sports presentation show broadcast by NBC. It aired from October 22, 1939 to January 25, 1998. The show returned since August 6, 2006. The branding is used for the presentation of the National Football Le ...

'', ''

Major League Baseball on CBS Radio ''Major League Baseball on CBS Radio'' was the de facto title for the CBS Radio Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. Produced by CBS Radio Sports, the program was the official national radio broadcaster for the All-Star Game and the p ...

'', the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

, and was the lead play-by-play announcer for the 1992 USA Olympic Dream Team with

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

. Ross's mentor was

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman ...

, who tutored Ross at around the same time as his better-known pupil,

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...

. Discussing his two star pupils (Albert and Ross), Glickman once noted that Ross was one of the best, if not the best radio play-by-player ever to call a game citing his distinctive voice and ability to make smooth transitions during game play. Further,

Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto ( ; September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "the Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to ...

, one of Ross's broadcasting partners during the latter's three-year tenure with the Yankees, was once quoted as saying that Ross was "The Best Broadcaster" he had ever worked with. Ross attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

on a basketball scholarship and, while there, called baseball and basketball games for the Seminoles and hosted a jazz show on WTNT in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. He currently does weekend sports updates for WINS-AM. In 2009, he was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame. Ross was inducted into both the New York State Baseball and New York State Basketball Halls of Fame, becoming one of the first to be a dual New York State Hall of Fame inductee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Spencer 1940 births Living people American Basketball Association announcers American sports announcers American sports radio personalities Boston Celtics announcers College basketball announcers in the United States Florida State University alumni Florida State Seminoles baseball Florida State Seminoles basketball Major League Baseball broadcasters Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators Mass media people from Brooklyn National Hockey League broadcasters NBA broadcasters New Jersey Devils announcers New York Islanders announcers New Jersey Nets announcers New York Jets announcers New York Knicks announcers New York Rangers announcers New York Yankees announcers NFL announcers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators World Football League announcers World Hockey Association broadcasters