The American Sportscasters Association recently released their list of the top 50 sportscasters of all-time (and more recently, Yahoo! [see below]). While many on the list were no surprise and were well deserved, many were wrongly either on the list or too high on the list.

I’ve sat by for a few days, looking over the list and wondering what they were thinking, but now must finally tackle the subject full-speed.

First, let’s take a look at the complete list, then we’ll dissect just where the ASA went wrong.

1. Vin Scully
2. Mel Allen
3. Red Barber
4. Curt Gowdy
5. Howard Cosell
6. Bob Costas
7. Jim McKay
8. Keith Jackson
9. Al Michaels
10. Dick Enberg
11. Jack Buck
12. Ted Husing
13. Jack Brickhouse
14. Don Dunphy
15. Graham McNamee
16. Ernie Harwell
17. Marv Albert
18. Harry Caray
19. Jon Miller
20. Bill Stern
21. Chick Hearn
22. Marty Glickman
23. Jack Whitaker
24. Jim Nantz
25. Chris Schenkel
26. Lindsey Nelson
27. Russ Hodges
28. Ray Scott
29. John Madden
30. Bob Prince
31. Joe Buck
32. Milo Hamilton
33. Bob Wolff
34. Chuck Thompson
35. Chris Berman
36. Phil Rizzuto
37. Marty Brennaman
38. Clem McCarthy
39. Bill Walton
40. Foster Hewitt
41. Harry Kalas
42. Johnny Most
43. Bob Elson
44. Brent Musberger
45. Pat Summerall
46. Merle Harmon
47. Dick Vitale
48. Dick Stockton
49. Tony Kubek
50. Bud Collins

I’m not going to offer a single argument against the top five. Everyone may have their favorites, but calling Scully, Allen, Barber, Gowdy and Cosell the five best sportscasters of all-time is completely acceptable to me.

At number six, we start having problems. I like Bob Costas as much as the next guy, but he’s not the sixth greatest sportscaster of all-time. He’s not even a full-time sportscaster. I would say that Costas is the clear-cut number one studio host in history, but his career calling games just isn’t big enough. Maybe I’m reading into this list differently than everyone else, but for the most part, the other 49 guys on this list call games, not studio shows. Costas is great at what he does, and when he calls games he’s also great, but he’s not the sixth greatest sportscaster of all-time.

Next we move to number 16: Ernie Harwell. For my money, Harwell is as good as anyone who’s ever sat behind a microphone and called a baseball game. Hell, Harwell was so good that he once got traded for a player. As the voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 years, you’d have a hard time getting someone to say he wasn’t the best during those years. There’s a reason that the “shot heard round the world” (called by Harwell) is one of the most famous moments in sports broadcasting history. Harwell should be higher on the list.

My next major beef comes at number 31, where the extremely average Joe Buck sits. Let’s be clear, Joe Buck would have a hard time cracking the top 31 active announcers list, much less of all-time. If his name were Joe Smith, he’d not have a job calling games. He has a job because his father (#11 on this list) was great. Joe Buck has never had a great call and consistently makes exciting moments seem boring. If you don’t believe me, check out the Manning-to-Tyree play from Super Bowl XLII as called by Buck. Then track down the same play as called on the radio by (#17) Marv Albert. Which one sounds like it’s the biggest play in the biggest game? Not Buck.

Additionally, Buck has admitted to having no interest in calling baseball. How can you make this man your number one announce when he A) sucks; and B) has no interest in the game he is calling. Stephen Kaus was right when writing in the Huffington Post that Kenny Albert should take over for Buck as FOX’s number one guy. Buck is not only too high on this list, but he shouldn’t even be on it.

Next up, number 35: Chris Berman. Are you shitting me? Really, are you? What has he done in his career that was either good, well received or entertaining? Is making up catchy nicknames really the stuff that gets you onto lists like this? Somehow, he’s a six-time National Sportscaster of the Year from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, but for my money he’s just a below average baseball announcer and an annoying studio host.

And I’ll guarantee you that most viewers agree with me, even if he has managed to trick his peers into giving him awards. Berman also single-handedly changed the course of sports blogism with the famous “you’re with me, leather” post from Deadspin. For that, he’ll always be remembered. But there is no way in hell he belongs on this list, much less coming in at number 35.

Here are a few more out of place figures on this list:

#39 – Bill Walton – way too high, if he even deserves to be on here.
#41 – Harry Kalas – best voice in the history of broadcasting – should be higher.
#44 – Brent Musberger – nobody makes a game more exciting – should be higher.
#45 – Pat Summerall – in his prime, nobody was better at calling a football game – should be way higher.

And here is my list of the people who should be on this list, but aren’t:

Jim Lampley – the voice of boxing for a whole generation, as well as being the second best studio host in the game, next to Costas. Everything Lampley does is good and his voice has a credibility about it that you can’t measure.

Greg Gumbel – as good as it gets in the studio and one of the leading voices of this generation. He’s called Super Bowls, the NBA, MLB, and the Olympics. His studio work during March Madness is second to none. He’s better than a lot of people on this list.

Frank Gifford – how quickly we forget how good some of these guys once were. We’re talking 26 years on Monday Night Football.

And for my personal fun, why are these guys not on the list?

Hawk Harrelson – setting new records in homer-ism and annoyance, the Hawk is the future of broadcasting. Nobody has ever been worse, and in that way, no one has ever been better.

Keith Hernandez – who are you to make a list of the best broadcasters and not have Keith on it? Did you even check with him to see if it would be alright to exclude him. His mustache alone is deserving of a top 25 spot on this list.

Mark Grace – sure he’s only been calling games for a few years, but boy is he BIG LEAGUE. He is about as BIG LEAGUE as it gets calling games. Okay, maybe he doesn’t belong in the top 50 of all-time, but he sure deserves a “Future Stars” card.

Now, I’m just having fun with the last three, but my points prior to that remain. This list is incorrect, and there is no arguing that. Anyon who puts Chris Berman and Joe Buck ahead of Harry Kalas and Pat Summerall is someone who does not understand, nor care to understand, the history of sports broadcasting. They also are apparently deaf.

I appreciate the effort that the ASA made here, but they screwed this one up in many spots. To their credit, the majority of this list is not only acceptable, but it’s great. Unfortunately, the mistakes are far brighter than the accuracies.

UPDATE: Yahoo! Sports has apparently tried to one-up the ASA with their own top 50 best and worst broadcasters, and they too, badly miss the mark. Dan Patrick at number 20? I’m sorry, what sport does he calls games for? And Chris Berman, Joe Buck and Billy Packer are all in the top 20, but Mel Allen is number 24? And Vin Scully at number 16 is grounds for dismissal by itself. Anyone who ranks Joe Buck ahead of Vin Scully loses all credentials in my book.

And their worst list features about half of their best list. Packer, Berman, Buck, Tim McCarver, and Bob Costas are all in the top ten worst list, and all on the 50 best list (all in the top 22).

Yahoo! clearly missed the mark with a lot of these picks. Nothing is more telling than their defense of Joe Buck at number 13:

“Joe Buck, not yet 40, already has accomplished what most sports announcers won’t in a lifetime – he has called 11 World Series and two Super Bowls.

Joe’s glittering accomplishments demonstrate that he capably has exceeded the legacy of his father, himself a skilled announcer.”

That’s right — Joe Buck is good because he keeps getting work. What happened to actually critiquing someone? Does it matter that he sucks at his job anymore? Apparently being the son of a great broadcaster is reason enough to be considered a great broadcaster.

Jack Buck, by the way, was left off of this top 50 list, as was Red Barber, Ernie Harwell and a bunch of other guys that apparently don’t qualify for “best of all-time,” since they aren’t on the air now.

Well done, Yahoo!, you’ve put yourself alongside of the ASA for worst broadcaster rankers on the Interwebs.

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