Legendary New York Rangers live commentator Sam Rosen announced that he will retire after the 2024–25 NHL season.
Rosen, who turned 77 on Monday, has been part of the Rangers commentary team since 1982, taking over from Jim Gordon as the team’s lead TV commentator before the 1984-85 season. Four decades later, Rosen is ready to retire. He told reporters he began considering the decision to retire when his wife threw him a surprise 75th birthday party.
“When you suddenly have friends around you, you start thinking about how you want to finish,” Rosen said Tuesday during a conference call with local reporters. “I kind of said you get to the point where you want to finish and come out on top. I feel like my performances were good and I enjoyed every minute of it. As you get a little older, you miss family time.
“The fans have been great and have complimented me so much and inspired me,” Rosen continued. “I realize I’ve touched a lot of people and now it’s time to say thank you and close this out with a big bow because I think everyone at the Garden and at the network agrees this is a great way to end it and I hope the Rangers have a great year to cap it off.”
Born in Germany, Rosen grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950s and 1960s as a fan of the New York Yankees, Knicks, Giants and Rangers. The aspiring sportscaster broke through as Marv Albert’s replacement for the Knicks in the late 1970s before eventually becoming synonymous with the Rangers. And on June 14, 1994, Rosen’s voice would forever be linked to Rangers history, as he was on the phone as they ended their championship drought with a Game 7 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
“The wait is over!” Rosen exclaimed. “The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup champions. And this title will last a lifetime!”
The series aired nationally on ESPN, but 1994 was also the last year of the Stanley Cup Finals, with the participating teams’ regional rights holders producing local broadcasts of the games so Rangers fans could hear Rosen’s voice on the phone.
“For me, it was more of a personal decision than anything else,” Rosen said of his decision to become champion. “It will last my life. No matter what happens, whether they win three more, no more, or five more.”
“I didn’t mean for it to be, ‘This will last my life,’ but to me it was exactly the meaning of ‘This will last a lifetime,’ and I really hope that maybe we’ll get another one out this season.”
Andrea Greenberg, president and CEO of MSG Networks, said Rosen will be celebrated as the Rangers’ lead live commentator during his final season.
“Sam has been an integral part of Rangers broadcasts for over four decades and will forever be a part of our MSG Networks family,” Greenberg said. “We look forward to celebrating Sam next season.”
A successor for Rosen has not yet been named, although radio announcer Kenny Albert appears to be the favorite if he wants the job. However, Albert already has a busy schedule as TNT’s lead NHL announcer, in addition to his NFL and MLB responsibilities at Fox. Don La Greca, who already fills in for Albert, could step in as the Rangers’ full-time radio announcer.
(Newsday)
