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NBC's Al Michaels honored by Baseball Hall of Fame

Al Michaels is a household name thanks to his decades in NFL broadcast booths and his iconic “Miracle on Ice” call at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

He was also an accomplished baseball broadcaster before shifting his career focus to the gridiron. Next July he’ll be honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions.

The Hall on Wednesday announced Michaels as the winner of the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence. He’ll be honored alongside new Hall members during the induction weekend on July 24.

What is the Frick award?

The Frick award is presented annually to a broadcaster who has provided “major contributions to baseball.” Frick was a sportswriter who went on to serve as the president of the National League from 1931 to 1954 and as MLB commissioner from 1951 to 1965.

Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Dick Enberg and Harry Caray are among the notable past winners of the award.

Michaels acknowledged his long absence from baseball after learning the news of his honor.

“This is able now to take me back to to the beginning, because I really feel in a way since it’s been so long since I have done baseball that it’s like an out-of-body experience, like somebody else did this,” Michaels told the Associated Press. “It’s like the circle is complete.”

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 02: Al Michaels, NBC Sports Sunday Night Football announcer, looks on from the sideline before a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 2, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Chiefs 43-14. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
Al Michaels was on the mic when a devastating earthquake shook San Francisco and Game 3 of the 1989 World Series. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

Michaels on the mic during ‘89 Bay Area earthquake

Michaels worked as a Triple-A announcer starting in 1968 before calling games for the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants from 1971 to 1976. He covered MLB nationally on ABC from 1976 to 1989, including calling the 1989 World Series that saw the devastating Bay Area earthquake strike as he and Tim McCarver introduced Game 3 live from Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

“I just had to remain very calm,” Michaels told AP of the experience. “And I remember thinking just talk about the things you know for certain. Don’t speculate. Don’t guess. Don’t receive outside information that’s not been corroborated. ...

“The pictures that we had, obviously, the aerial views were highly dramatic. The severed section of the bridge, the fire in the marina and eventually the collapsed freeway in Oakland as the major sites. And all I remember doing is just, hey, here’s what I know, here’s what I see and let the viewer assess it from that point.”

Michaels, 76, remains one of the nation’s most prominent sportscasters as the play-by-play man for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”

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