Marty Glickman
Encyclopedia
Martin "Marty" Glickman was a Jewish American
track and field
athlete and sports announcer, born in The Bronx, New York. His parents, Harry and Molly Glickmann, immigrated to the United States
from Jassy
, Romania
.
in Berlin
, Germany
, as a sprinter
. He had been a track star at Syracuse University
. Glickman traveled to Germany and spent two weeks practicing as part of the 400-yard relay team. However, the day before they were scheduled to compete, Glickman and teammate Sam Stoller
, two American
Jews
, were replaced on the 4x100m relay team.
By Glickman’s own account, the last-minute switch was a straightforward case of anti-Semitism
. Avery Brundage
, chairman of the United States Olympic Committee
, was an enthusiastic supporter of Hitler’s regime and denied that the Nazis followed anti-Semitic policies. Brundage and assistant U.S. Olympic track coach Dean Cromwell
were members of America First
, an isolationist political movement that attracted American Nazi sympathizers.
Glickman's friend Jesse Owens
was apologetic and protested the maneuver, even though he was one of the replacements, along with Ralph Metcalfe
.
In 1998, William J. Hybl, president of the United States Olympic Committee, citing: “great evidence of anti-Semitism was there,” presented Glickman with a special plaque: “in lieu of the gold medal
s they didn’t win.”
, Marty Glickman was also an All-American football player. He had brief careers in professional football and basketball.
, getting his start as the voice man for the sports newsreels distributed by Paramount News
, during the years 1948 to 1957, (when Paramount News' newsreel production ended) covering all local, national, and global sports during that era, every genre completely covered. Marty's poetic lilt and slight New York twang made him a legendary favorite in those early years of news production.
Following his stint at Paramount News
, he became best known as the voice of the New York Knicks
(21 years) and New York Giants
(23 years). He also did some New York Rangers
broadcasts. In the early 1960s, Glickman teamed with analyst Al DeRogatis
, an ex-Giants defensive lineman, to form a legendary broadcast team for "New York Football Giants" fans, many of whom discovered a sound reason to turn down the TV audio in their living rooms and turn up the radio while those in the stands at Yankee Stadium held transistors to their ears. In later years, the WNEW-originated broadcasts included WNEW sports editor Chip Cipolla. Glickman and Cipolla utilized a unique format in which Glickman broadcast the offense and Cipolla the defense.
Glickman had a phrase describing Giant's fullback Alex Webster as going for "a couple of three yards."
Glickman was a longtime mentor of broadcasters. His most famous protege, Marv Albert
, eventually called radio broadcasts of the Knicks, Giants, and Rangers. He also aided the careers of acclaimed sportscasters Spencer Ross
and Johnny Most
. Glickman himself became a member of the Curt Gowdy
wing of the Basketball Hall of Fame
.
Glickman joined radio station WHN
in 1939 and was its sports director by 1943. When the New York Knickerbockers
were formed in 1946, Glickman was their radio announcer. Later, he was the NBA
's first TV announcer. Marty Glickman was also the first announcer for the New York Nets, ABA franchise, when
they played in their first home, the Island Garden in Nassau County. Many feel that this longtime mentor of many became the voice of the New York Nets as a favor to Lou Carneseca, who left a successful stint as the basketball coach of St. John's
University to be the first coach of the New York Nets.
He was also the voice of the Yonkers Raceway
for 12 years and the New York Jets
for 11 years. Glickman did pre- and postgame shows for the Brooklyn Dodgers
and New York Yankees
for 22 years. Glickman was often heard on WPIX
-11's telecasts of local college basketball during the winter. As sports director of WCBS Radio
in the 1960s, he briefly resurrected the ancient broadcasting art of re-creation, voicing blind play-by-play accounts of segments of New York Yankees spring training games to the huddled, chilled, baseball-starved masses in the metropolitan area.
In addition, in the 1980s, Glickman also broadcast University of Connecticut football and basketball games for the Connecticut Radio Network. Glickman returned to college football in 1985, calling Ivy League
football games for PBS.
In addition to this, Glickman covered track meets, wrestling matches, roller derbies, and rodeos, even a marbles tournament. NBC
employed him as a critic and teacher of its sports announcers. In 1988, Glickman returned to television on NBC
as a play-by-play replacement on its NFL telecasts
while protege Marv Albert
was in Seoul
covering the Olympics
. He retired from broadcasting in December 1992, at age 74.
, his autobiography The Fastest Kid on the Block was published.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete and sports announcer, born in The Bronx, New York. His parents, Harry and Molly Glickmann, immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Jassy
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
Track career spoiled by anti-Semitism at the Berlin Olympics
Glickman was a member of the U. S. team in the 1936 Summer Olympics1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as a sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
. He had been a track star at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. Glickman traveled to Germany and spent two weeks practicing as part of the 400-yard relay team. However, the day before they were scheduled to compete, Glickman and teammate Sam Stoller
Sam Stoller
Sam Stoller was an American sprinter and long jumper who tied the world record in the 60-yard dash in 1936. He is best known for his exclusion from the American 4 × 100 relay team at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, triggering widespread speculation that he and Marty Glickman,...
, two American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, were replaced on the 4x100m relay team.
By Glickman’s own account, the last-minute switch was a straightforward case of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage was an American amateur athlete, sports official, art collector, and philanthropist. Brundage competed in the 1912 Olympics and was the US national all-around athlete in 1914, 1916 and 1918...
, chairman of the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
, was an enthusiastic supporter of Hitler’s regime and denied that the Nazis followed anti-Semitic policies. Brundage and assistant U.S. Olympic track coach Dean Cromwell
Dean Cromwell
Dean Bartlett Cromwell , nicknamed "Maker of Champions", was an American athletic coach in multiple sports, principally at the University of Southern California...
were members of America First
America First Party (1944)
The America First Party was an isolationist political party which was founded on January 10, 1943. Its leader, Gerald L. K. Smith, was the party's presidential candidate in the 1944 U.S...
, an isolationist political movement that attracted American Nazi sympathizers.
Glickman's friend Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
was apologetic and protested the maneuver, even though he was one of the replacements, along with Ralph Metcalfe
Ralph Metcalfe
Ralph Harold Metcalfe was an African-American athlete and politician who came second to Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Metcalfe jointly held the world record for the 100 meter sprint. Metcalfe was known as the world’s fastest human from 1932 through 1934...
.
In 1998, William J. Hybl, president of the United States Olympic Committee, citing: “great evidence of anti-Semitism was there,” presented Glickman with a special plaque: “in lieu of the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s they didn’t win.”
Football & basketball
A graduate of Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, Marty Glickman was also an All-American football player. He had brief careers in professional football and basketball.
Sportscasting
Glickman went on to become a distinguished sportscasterSportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, getting his start as the voice man for the sports newsreels distributed by Paramount News
Paramount News
Paramount News is the name on the newsreels produced by Paramount Pictures .-History:The Paramount Newsreel began operation in 1927 and distributed roughly two movie theater issues per week until their closing in 1957. Movie theaters across the country would run these issues, usually on 35mm...
, during the years 1948 to 1957, (when Paramount News' newsreel production ended) covering all local, national, and global sports during that era, every genre completely covered. Marty's poetic lilt and slight New York twang made him a legendary favorite in those early years of news production.
Following his stint at Paramount News
Paramount News
Paramount News is the name on the newsreels produced by Paramount Pictures .-History:The Paramount Newsreel began operation in 1927 and distributed roughly two movie theater issues per week until their closing in 1957. Movie theaters across the country would run these issues, usually on 35mm...
, he became best known as the voice of the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
(21 years) and New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(23 years). He also did some New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
broadcasts. In the early 1960s, Glickman teamed with analyst Al DeRogatis
Al DeRogatis
Albert John "Al" DeRogatis was an American football player and television and radio sportscaster.-Biography:...
, an ex-Giants defensive lineman, to form a legendary broadcast team for "New York Football Giants" fans, many of whom discovered a sound reason to turn down the TV audio in their living rooms and turn up the radio while those in the stands at Yankee Stadium held transistors to their ears. In later years, the WNEW-originated broadcasts included WNEW sports editor Chip Cipolla. Glickman and Cipolla utilized a unique format in which Glickman broadcast the offense and Cipolla the defense.
Glickman had a phrase describing Giant's fullback Alex Webster as going for "a couple of three yards."
Glickman was a longtime mentor of broadcasters. His most famous protege, Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
, eventually called radio broadcasts of the Knicks, Giants, and Rangers. He also aided the careers of acclaimed sportscasters Spencer Ross
Spencer Ross
Spencer Ross is an American sportscaster. With the exception of the New York Mets, Ross has called play-by-play for every professional New York metropolitan area sports franchise, including the Yankees of MLB, the Nets and Knicks of the NBA, and Jets and Giants of the NFL...
and Johnny Most
Johnny Most
John M. "Johnny" Most was an American sports announcer, known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990....
. Glickman himself became a member of the Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy Media Award
The Curt Gowdy Media Award is an annual award given by the Basketball Hall of Fame to outstanding basketball writers and broadcasters. It is named for American sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who was the Hall of Fame's president for seven years...
wing of the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
.
Glickman joined radio station WHN
WHN
WHN was a radio station in New York City located at 1050 kHz. Its best known format was country music, which the station played from 1972 to 1987...
in 1939 and was its sports director by 1943. When the New York Knickerbockers
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
were formed in 1946, Glickman was their radio announcer. Later, he was the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's first TV announcer. Marty Glickman was also the first announcer for the New York Nets, ABA franchise, when
they played in their first home, the Island Garden in Nassau County. Many feel that this longtime mentor of many became the voice of the New York Nets as a favor to Lou Carneseca, who left a successful stint as the basketball coach of St. John's
University to be the first coach of the New York Nets.
He was also the voice of the Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and New York state-approved slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York near the New York City border...
for 12 years and the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for 11 years. Glickman did pre- and postgame shows for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
for 22 years. Glickman was often heard on WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
-11's telecasts of local college basketball during the winter. As sports director of WCBS Radio
WCBS (AM)
WCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" , is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...
in the 1960s, he briefly resurrected the ancient broadcasting art of re-creation, voicing blind play-by-play accounts of segments of New York Yankees spring training games to the huddled, chilled, baseball-starved masses in the metropolitan area.
In addition, in the 1980s, Glickman also broadcast University of Connecticut football and basketball games for the Connecticut Radio Network. Glickman returned to college football in 1985, calling Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
football games for PBS.
In addition to this, Glickman covered track meets, wrestling matches, roller derbies, and rodeos, even a marbles tournament. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
employed him as a critic and teacher of its sports announcers. In 1988, Glickman returned to television on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
as a play-by-play replacement on its NFL telecasts
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
while protege Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
was in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
covering the Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
. He retired from broadcasting in December 1992, at age 74.
Autobiography
In 19961996 in literature
The year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
, his autobiography The Fastest Kid on the Block was published.
Death
Glickman underwent heart bypass surgery December 14, 2000, and he died of complications on January 3, 2001. He was 83.See also
- List of select Jewish track and field athletes
External links
- Jewish Virtual Library bio
- Marty Glickman at Findagrave.com