Versatile FOX Sports Broadcaster Kenny Albert Continues to Pair with Biggest Names in Sports

With an ever-growing roster of nearly 250 teammates (complete list below) that includes iconic names like Joe Namath, Patrick Ewing, Jim Palmer, Jeremy Roenick and “Sugar Ray” Leonard, versatile FOX Sports play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert — the only announcer currently doing play-by-play for all four major U.S. sports (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) — certainly knows the importance of preparation and chemistry.

“The most important aspects of my job are definitely research and preparation,” said Albert, a second-generation broadcaster whose long-running career behind the sports microphone started in high school, and as an undergraduate at New York University in the late 1980s, he called NYU basketball games. “When the NFL season begins, it’s similar to what coaches go through. If I’m not sleeping, eating or spending time with my family, I’m preparing for that Sunday’s game.

“And when I first work with a particular analyst, researching their career is definitely a big part of it,” Albert added. “With (Daryl Johnston) ‘Moose,’ for example, there are various anecdotes from his years with the Dallas Cowboys that pertain to our games. When I work local Knicks telecasts with Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier on MSG, a percentage of our viewers were avid fans of Clyde during the Knicks’ championship runs in 1970 and 1973, so we weave some of those stories into the broadcasts.”

As the 2016 NFL season gets underway, Albert once again teams with longtime broadcast partner Johnston, with whom he has paired for 10 seasons, sideline reporter Laura Okmin and producer Barry Landis. His expertise in the booth, however, is not limited to the gridiron, as Albert — a 2016 Emmy Award nominee — has called a wide variety of major events, including post-season games in four major U.S. sports, BCS bowl games, Golden Gloves boxing and the Olympics (hockey and track & field).

“Kenny has been around sports his entire life and understands the flow of sporting events,” said Landis, who has worked with Albert for more than a decade. “When to be excited. When to be dramatic. When to provide a back story. But most importantly, when to let the moment breathe. Some announcers can get in the way of the game because they feel that they have something that just has to get into the show, but with Kenny the event is the star of the show. As they say, there is a time and place for everything. Well, Kenny can sense when the time is right.”

In fact, his first major opportunity to work with sports royalty was on the ice – “I was filling in for the regular play-by-play man, calling a New York Islanders radio broadcast with Bobby Nystrom in 1990. Bobby had scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal 10 years earlier.”

No matter the scale of the event or celebrity status of the analyst, Albert knows his job.

“The play-by-play man has many roles: the first is obvious — calling the play,” Albert said. “Also weaving in anecdotes, statistics, historical information, rules explanations, stories from meetings with players and coaches, while also serving as somewhat of a conversation ‘traffic cop.’”

And every bit as important is setting up the color analyst.

“I have been fortunate in that I have gotten along with — and ‘clicked’ with — just about all of the partners I have worked with,” Albert said. “You certainly develop a rhythm and flow with the partners you work with on a consistent basis; you learn each other’s cadence and tendencies from years and years of working together.”

“He approaches a broadcast with a team mentality,” Landis said. “He cares only about the broadcast and not about himself. What is best for the viewer dictates how he presents the game. Kenny isn’t considered versatile as a broadcaster just because he is adept at calling many different sports. He is versatile because he can adapt to his broadcast partner, to the sport, to the moment.”

It is those highly decorated analysts who often give the broadcast team a sense of credibility that is not lost on Albert.

“I remember working a Green Bay Packers game in 1995 with Anthony Munoz,” Albert said. “Reggie White stopped practicing and walked off the field to chat with Anthony. I could sense the immense amount of respect they had for each other. Also, I noticed a common thread working with icons such as Walt Frazier, Joe Namath and ‘Sugar Ray’ Leonard — how nice they were to the fans. I never witnessed any of the three turn down an autograph or photo request while I was with them.

“It has been an honor to work with so many superstars and Hall of Famers in the various sports,” Albert added. “Their anecdotes and personal stories from the big games they have played in have only enhanced the broadcasts. It brings viewers/listeners closer to the field, court or ice when they share these moments. And it makes my job a lot more fun.”

A complete list of Albert’s broadcast partners across nine major sports:

FOOTBALL: Ron Pitts, Anthony Munoz, Tim Green, Brian Baldinger, Sean Jones, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa, Bill Maas, Matt Robinson, Kellen Winslow, Joe Namath, Ron Jaworski, Mike Mayock, Terrell Davis, Dan Fouts, Todd Blackledge, Matt Millen, Marty Lyons, John Riggins, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw, Barry Alvarez, Troy Aikman, Tim Ryan, Joe Theismann, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, Gino Torretta, Boomer Esiason, Pam Oliver, Jay Glazer, John Lynch, Charles Davis, Charissa Thompson, James Lofton, Irving Fryar, Toi Cook, D.J. Johnson, Amy Van Dyken, Dan Jiggetts, Beasley Reece, Carl Reuter, Chris Myers, Antwan Randle-El, Clinton Portis, Pat Summerall, Lindsay Czarniak, Dave Spadaro, Mike Quick, Brad Sham, Ken Harvey, Mike Pereira, Walt Coleman, Byron Boston, Hugh Millen, Jack Ham, Laura Okmin

HOCKEY: Craig Laughlin, Sal Messina, Brian Mullen, Dave Maloney, Pete Stemkowski, Gary Green, Craig Simpson, Peter McNab, Terry Crisp, Denis Potvin, John Davidson, Sherry Ross, Joe Micheletti, Lisa Brown-Miller, Brian Hayward, Mickey Redmond, Darren Pang, Brian Engblom, Kevin Dineen, Dave Starman, Josh Lewin, Tim Taylor, Jeff Rimer, Steve Goldstein, Bobby Nystrom, Elyn Weinberg, Marv Albert, Mike Farrell, Barry Landers, Shawn Simpson, Neil Smith, Darren Eliot, Pierre McGuire, A.J. Mleczko, Billy Jaffe, Ed Olczyk, Daryl Reaugh, Martin Biron, Andy Brickley, Sam Rosen, Patrick Flatley, Jeremy Roenick, Brian Boucher, Nick Kypreos, Glenn Anderson, Barry Beck, Kevin Stevens, Ron Greschner, Don LaGreca, John Giannone, Steve Gelbs, Mike Emrick

BASKETBALL: Kevin Grevey, Dick Tarrant, Glenn Consor, Doris Burke, Jim Spanarkel, Tate George, Ron Perry, Bernard King, Dom Perno, George Blaney, Patrick Ewing, Mike Quick, Bucky Waters, Mark Plansky, Bob Wenzel, Phil Chenier, Jack Armstrong, Mike Rice, Terry Gannon, Tom Nissalke, Meghan Pattyson, Bernadette McGlade, Michael Kay, Dave Sims, Mark Jackson, Rolando Blackman, Earl Strom, Batt Johnson (movie-GameDay), Kevin Frazier (movie-Juwanna Mann), Matt Doherty, Dickey Simpkins, John Celestand, Mary Murphy, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Kelly Tripucka, Gary Williams, Wally Szczerbiak, Bill Raftery, Al Trautwig, Tina Cervasio, Rebecca Haarlow, Bill Pidto, Gene Golda

BASEBALL: Jeff Torborg, Kevin Kennedy, Tim McCarver, Steve Lyons, Ken Brett, Rick Cerone, Jay Johnstone, Fred Lynn, Jim Kaat, Steve Palermo, John Lowenstein, Suzyn Waldman, Mike Krukow, Ed Coleman, Gary Cohen, Darrin Jackson, Keith Hernandez, Bobby Murcer, Ray Fosse, Chris Welsh, Jerry Remy, Jose Mota, Rod Allen, Rex Hudler, Larry Andersen, David Cone, Al Hrabosky, Mark Langston, Rick Manning, Paul Molitor, Joe Magrane, Bob Walk, George Frazier, Duane Kuiper, Jim Palmer, Tommy Hutton, Ron Darling, Lou Piniella, Joe Girardi, Mark Grace, Eric Karros, Leo Mazzone, Joe Magrane, Kevin Millar, Bert Blyleven, Bill Ripken, Bob Brenly, Mark Gubicza, Tom Grieve, Tom Verducci, Cliff Floyd, Sean Casey, C.J. Nitkowski, F.P. Santangelo, Harold Reynolds, Ken Rosenthal, J.P. Morosi, Joe Buck, Bret Boone, Thom Brennaman, Mike Flanagan, Al Leiter, Mitch Williams

HORSE RACING: Jay Privman, Caton Bredar, Suzy Kolber, Ron Ellis

SOCCER: Tony Meola, George Kennedy

LACROSSE: Willie Scroggs

BOXING: Charley Eckman, Tony Paige, Kathy Burke, James “Buddy” McGirt, Mike Marchionte, Mark Kriegel, Robert Garcia, Jenn Brown, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Steve Cunningham, Daniel Jacobs, B.J. Flores, Kenny Rice, Dave Briggs

TRACK AND FIELD: Ato Boldon, Sanya Richards-Ross, Tim Hutchings, Trey Hardee, Todd Harris, Lewis Johnson, Adam Nelson, Craig Masback

For more information on Albert, please visit FOX Sports Press Pass.