“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” The 80’s Olympic fans could not forget this final-second exclamation.
The line was delivered by one of the greatest sportscasters of the generation Al Michaels at the 1980 Winter Olympic hockey game between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
The American sportscaster is also the first to cover all four top sports competitions in the U.S., NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB.
After having approximately three decades of tenure with ABC Sports, Michaels now serves at NBC.
Many National Football League fans may know him for calling play-by-play at Monday Night Football at ABC and Sunday Night Football at NBC.
Likewise, Michaels is also known for famous calls in other sports, including the earthquake-interrupted Game 3 of the 1989 World Series and the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Although his voice is familiar to almost every NFL fan over the past three decades, many of them may want to read all the pages of his career.
In this article, we have shed light on his personal and professional life. So follow through to the end to know everything about this wonderful personnel.
Quick Facts:
| Full Name | Alan Richard Michaels |
| Birth Date | November 12, 1944 |
| Birth Place | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. A |
| Nick Name | Al Michaels |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Education | Alexander Hamilton High School Arizona State University |
| Horoscope | Scorpio |
| Father’s Name | Jay Leonard Michaels |
| Mother’s Name | Lila Roginsky |
| Siblings | Two |
| Age | 77 Years Old |
| Height | 5 feet 8 inches (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 81 kg (178 lbs) |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Hair Color | Light Brown |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Build | Chubby |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Linda Anne Stamaton (m. 1966) |
| Children | Jennifer Michaels, Steven Michaels |
| Profession | Sportscaster, Commentator |
| Active years | 1964–present |
| Net Worth | $30 million |
| Salary | $6 million |
| Broadcasting Affiliations | NBC, ABC, CBS |
| Social Media | |
| Merch | Books, Autographs |
| Last Update | July, 2022 |
Al Michaels is from where? Childhood, Family, and Education
Michaels, Alan Richard Al Michaels was born to parents Jay Leonard Michaels and Lila Roginsky in Brooklyn, New York.
Al grew up with his parents, his brother David Michaels, and his sister Susan Michaels.
The Brooklyn Dodgers fan attended Elmsford, New York’s Alexander Hamilton High School. Due to economic insecurity, the family was forced to relocate to Los Angeles.
Michaels attended Arizona State University after graduating from high school. His majors were radio and television, with journalism as a minor.
Michaels worked as a sportswriter for the university’s independent student newspaper, The State Press, during his college years.
In addition, Michaels called for the campus radio station during Sun Devils (the university’s athletic team) football, basketball, and baseball games.
Early Career | Al Michaels
Michael began his sportscasting career as a color commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1967. For a short time, he worked on the team’s radio broadcast with Chick Hearn. A year later, he relocated to Honolulu to work as a sports anchor for KHVH-TV.
The 1969 Hawaii “Sportscaster of the Year” called play-by-play for the Hawaii Islanders baseball team, the University of Hawaii football and basketball teams, and a few other local high school football games.
Michaels was the play-by-play commentator for NBC Sports’ hockey coverage of the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan in 1972.
In addition, he assisted in the network’s coverage of MLB’s Cincinnati Reds’ Fall Classic of the World Baseball Series. Similarly, Michaels did play-by-play for the San Francisco Giants and UCLA basketball games in 1974. After leaving NBC, he joined CBS Sports as a regional NFL announcer in 1975.
ABC Sports | Al Michaels’ Professional Career
Michaels joined ABC Sports in 1976 as a backup announcer for Monday Night Baseball. He joined ABC in 1983 as the lead baseball announcer and covered a variety of sports for the next three decades.
For the past 26 years, ABC Sports has been my professional home.
Winter Olympics in 1980
Michael was in charge of broadcasting the ice hockey match between the United States and the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
He was chosen for the game because of his previous participation in a similar game during the 1972 Winter Olympics.
Michael’s most memorable call came during this game: “Do you believe in miracles?” YES!”
The line was appropriate given that an unknown group of college lads from the US team had to win the Gold Medal against the favorites, the Soviet team. Michaels went on to say,
Looking back, Lake Placid would undoubtedly be the pinnacle of my career. Nothing could ever top it in my opinion. Because of Michaels’ famous words, the game is known as “The Miracle on Ice.”
Baseball telecasts
In 1985, Michaels covered Major League Baseball games. He co-called Game 5 of the American League Championship Series between the California Angels and the Boston Red Sox with Jim Palmer.
He also appeared as a guest commentator on ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball in 2003. The earthquake occurred during the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. While reporting, Michaels and his partner Palmer were left with bruises.
Because of his dedication, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for news broadcasting.
Football on Monday Nights
Since 1986, Michaels has worked as a play-by-play announcer for ABC Sport’s Monday Night Football broadcast. In 1988 and 1991, he presided over the Super Bowl.
Until the 1997 season, he was assisted by Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gifford. Boomer Esiason took over for Frank Gifford on September 7, 1998, and remained with him until 1999.
Furthermore, after Madden joined the show in 2002, the duo of John Madden and Michaels became extremely popular.
NBA telecasts
In the 2003-04 season, Michaels became the NBA’s lead broadcaster on ABC.
Doc Rivers worked with him until Hubie Brown took over after the Shaquille O’Neal vs. Kobe Bryant game on Christmas Day 2004, when he was replaced. Later, the pair rose to prominence as ABC’s top broadcast team.
Michaels, on the other hand, was chastised for not being “a basketball guy” and for lacking enthusiasm and confidence. Some claimed he gave lengthy explanations and was thus well-suited for baseball and football broadcasts.
NBC Sports Network
Before the 2006 season, MNF switched from ABC to ESPN. Thus, Michaels left ABC after 30 years and MNF after 20 years to join Madden on Sunday Night Football on NBC.
He was “traded” for the rights to the cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit by NBC and ESPN’s parent company Disney.
Michaels-Madden called each other until 2009. After that, Cris Collinsworth took over for Madden. For NBC, Michaels called Super Bowls XLII, XLVI, XLIX, and LII. Identical to his telecast, he eats his dinner.
Olympic Games host
Michaels was the daytime host for NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage in 2010 and co-hosted the closing ceremony.
He was given a similar role in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Similarly, he hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics on NBCSN during the week and during the day on weekends.
He also hosted daytime coverage of the Summer Olympics in 2016. In addition, Michaels hosted the Premier Boxing Championship on NBC on Saturday nights.
The MLB Network
In 2011, Michaels and Bob Costas called a baseball game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants for MLB Network.
Al Michaels | Awards and Recognition
The five-time Emmy Award winner has three times been named National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
In 1998, he was inducted into the NSSA Hall of Fame, and in 2013, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. He has also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Pete Rozelle Radio & Television Award was given to him in addition to being named Sportscaster of the Year by the American Sportscasters Association and the Washington Journalism Review.
On August 2, 2013, he received the Rozelle Award at the annual Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner in Canton.
Surprisingly, the Hall of Fame Class of 2013 also received their gold Pro Football Hall of Fame jackets at that event.
Michales was also honored with the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2002.
Not to mention that Al Michaels Field, the football stadium at Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, is named after him.
Al Michaels | Movies
Michaels appeared in a Hawaii Five-O episode. He also appeared in the films Jerry Maguire and BASEketball, as well as television shows such as Coach and Spin City.
In the film Miracle, Al’s voice can be heard during his call for the recreation of the United States hockey team’s 1980 Olympic game victory.
In addition, he played the older cousin of sports agent Arliss Michaels in two episodes of the cable television series Arliss.
Similarly, Michaels appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2015. From 2003 to 2009, his voice can be heard in the computer game Hardball 3 and the Madden NFL series.
Al Michaels’s Salary and Net Worth
Al Michaels is easily among the highest-paid people in sports television. With a long career in broadcasting at ABC and NBC, Michaels has amassed a substantial amount of health and rightfully so.
As of 2022, Al Michaels’ net worth is estimated to be around $30 million.
According to his contract, Michaels has two years left on NBC. He reportedly earns more than $6 million per year.
In 2014, Michaels released his autobiography, “You Can’t Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television.” The book made The New York Times Bestseller List.
Al Michaels and his family
In August 1966, Michaels married Linda Anne Stamaton. Linda and Al met in the tenth grade and have been friends since they were fifteen.
Linda and Al met at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, where they both attended. Al is not only the best sportscaster, but also a loving husband and father. Jennifer Michaels and Steven Michaels are the couple’s two children.
His two children are already married. Steven Michaels is the president and CEO of Asylum Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based independent film company.
Furthermore, Al and Linda are currently residing in Los Angeles. The majority of their time is spent with their grandchildren.
They were recently seen taking their grandchildren to a hockey game. They do, however, have a 13-year-old grandson who is obsessed with hockey.
Social Media Presence:
Al Michaels has an unverified Twitter account as his only social media handle.
Twitter: 1,129 Followers
Minnesota vs Green Bay#SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/HvbkgphaqK
— Al Michaels (@alrmichaels) December 24, 2017
Some FAQs:
Is David Michaels a brother of Al Michaels?
David Michaels is Al’s younger brother. He is a television producer who produced NBC’s Coverage of the Olympic Games, Fox Sport’s Beyond the Glory series, and other sports shows.
Why was Al Michaels arrested?
Al Michaels was arrested in April 2013 and was charged with driving under the influence. The police released him after five hours.
What is Al Michaels’s role in the movie Miracle?
In the 2004 movie Miracle, Michaels recreated the legendary 1980 Olympics commentary with his broadcasting partner Ken Dryden. In the movie, the director used the last 10 seconds of the original call, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!
What is Al Michaels’s food habit?
Al Michael is a vegetarian. He also takes alcohol but does not smoke.
Why was Al Michaels pulled from Sunday Night Football in week 15?
Al Michaels was pulled from Sunday Night Football in week 15 due to NBCUniversal covid-19 safety protocols.
Who did Disney trade for Oswald?
Al Michaels did the Disney trade for Oswald. Oswald is a cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney for Universal Pictures. Likewise, it belonged to Universal for a long time, until 2006.
In February 2006, Disney CEO Bob Iger decided to get Oswald back and initiated a trade with NBC Universal. The trade involved sending sportscaster Al Michaels from ABC/ESPN to NBC Sports.
About the trade, Al Michaels said, “I’m going to be a trivia answer someday.”
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