Biography
Al Michael's emotional cry of "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" became the soundtrack of one of modern sports' defining moments, the 1980 Olympic gold medal hockey match between the United States and Russia. By that time, Michaels had spent a decade working his way through the ranks at both NBC and ABC's sports news divisions. He would spend over 25 years with ABC, providing commentary for every major sporting event from the World Series to the Olympic Games and hosting the popular series "Wide World of Sports" (ABC, 1961-1998) and acting as lead announcer for "Monday Night Football" (ABC, 1970-2005). In 2004, Michael recreated his famous play-by-play of 1980's "Miracle on Ice" hockey game for the Disney feature film, "Miracle." Two years later, ABC, a subsidiary of Disney, traded Michaels to NBC in exchange for broadcast rights to several sporting events, as well as the rights to the long-contested Disney character "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit." At NBC, the Emmy-winning Michaels became the lead commentator for "Sunday Night Football" (NBC, 2006- ) alongside John Madden-with whom he provided voice acting for the popular series of "John Madden Football" videogames-and host for NBC's coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. A not surprising and fully expected 2013 inductee into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, Al Michaels was one of America's most renowned sports commentators, giving voice to some of the most exciting events in history.
