Editing Al McCoy (sportscaster) (section)

==The Voice of the Suns==
Al McCoy served as the play-by-play "Voice of the Phoenix Suns" for 51 consecutive seasons, or every season excluding the first four years of franchise existence. He became a fixture of [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] media and local [[popular culture|pop-culture]] as the central broadcaster for the Phoenix Suns on both radio and television until 2003, when Suns TV and Suns radio became separate media.<ref name="SimulcastEnds-Leander">{{cite news |last1=Gintonio |first1=Jim |date=2003-07-07 |title=Suns end simulcast; Leander to call road games |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53911285/suns-end-simulcast-leander-to-call/ |work=The Arizona Republic |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> McCoy continued to broadcast on the [[#Suns Radio Network|Suns Radio Network]] through the [[2022-23 NBA season]].{{Cn|date=September 2024}}

For 50 consecutive seasons (barring [[remote broadcast]]s during the pandemic) his [[Footprint Center|official arena]] broadcast location had been stationed courtside, adjacent to the Suns players' home bench, as recent as May 2022.<ref name="BookerSignsJersey">{{cite web |last1=Cluff |first1=Jeremy |title=Devin Booker celebrates Phoenix Suns' franchise record by giving Al McCoy signed jersey |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/devin-booker-celebrates-phoenix-suns-171444621.html |website=Yahoo! Sports |publisher=The Arizona Republic |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>  He stopped broadcasting road games in 2019 due to difficult vantage points at higher locations in other NBA arenas.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

On October 2, 2022, his home broadcast location was moved higher up in the Suns arena, just beneath the [[skybox (sports)|skyboxes]] in the [[Footprint Center]].<ref name=McCoyLocationChange>{{Cite tweet |first=Jon |last=Bloom |user=JonBloom |number=1576754002254958592 |title=A new view, but the same Hall of Fame voice of the Suns, Al McCoy ready to rock the mic for season #51.}}</ref>

===The NBA arrives in Phoenix (1966–1972)===
In the fall of 1966 McCoy completed his first NBA broadcast during a [[preseason]] game at [[Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum]] between the [[St. Louis Hawks]] and [[Golden State Warriors]]. Thrilled by the idea of professional basketball in Phoenix upon announcement of the scheduled game, he phoned the Hawks GM and brokered a deal for his then-employer [[KOOL-FM]] to broadcast the game in exchange for free [[advertising]] spots, making sure to record his broadcast as a demo for a potential future in basketball.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

Two years later in 1968, the [[city of Phoenix]] was granted an expansion team that would become the Phoenix Suns.  Immediately, prior to the start of the first season, McCoy slipped then-General Manager [[Jerry Colangelo]] a recording of that 1966 preseason game.  Colangelo was blown away by what he heard and wanted McCoy to handle play-by-play for the team on planned broadcasts on local [[KTAR (AM)|KTAR-AM]] and [[KPNX|KTAR-TV]].<ref name="McCoy's-Book" /> Tired of moving around from radio gig to radio gig, and seeking stability for his now-family of a wife and three sons, McCoy suggested Colangelo retain broadcast rights instead of selling them to another station, the routine [[sportscast]] policy of the time.  McCoy suggested producing everything in-house, which was a new concept for the era. Colangelo liked McCoy's pitch, but after inaugural season tickets were underselling, he ultimately decided to sell the rights to KTAR.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" /> Believing it was no longer the right move, McCoy declined working out a separate deal with the station.

Following multiple changes in Suns broadcasters over the next four seasons, GM and head coach Jerry Colangelo would eventually agree with McCoy about the Suns organization producing their own broadcasts, realizing he was often competing with the radio and television stations for Suns advertising.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />   With one year left before the broadcast rights reverted to the organization, McCoy agreed to a contract with the Suns as Vice President of Broadcasting.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

===The simulcast era (1972-2003)===
On September 27, 1972, McCoy broadcast his first game with the Suns, alongside Hot Rod Hundley, during the NBA preseason hosted by [[American Basketball Association|ABA]] team the [[Utah Stars]].<ref name="McCoy's-Book" /><ref name="ESPN-Death">{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.ph/nba/story/_/id/41365800/al-mccoy-long-radio-voice-suns-dies-age-91|title=Al McCoy, longtime radio voice of Suns, dies at age 91|publisher=[[ESPN]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=September 22, 2024|access-date=January 25, 2025}}</ref> Initially, McCoy would handle production of both the radio and TV broadcasts by himself. He would hire a television crew in each city for road games after arriving in the destination city. He handled his own [[audio engineer]]ing and would, on an occasion or two, have to broadcast games via [[telephone]] due to technical difficulties. He helped sell advertising and would meet with any potential clients alongside Jerry Colangelo.  McCoy observed "maybe 8 people in the entire front office" when he was hired, first-hand witnessing the Suns organization's gradual and eventual growth into a company that now employs hundreds.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

The first Triple-Overtime game in [[NBA Finals]] history, Game 5 of the [[1976 NBA Finals]] at Boston Garden, was memorable in many ways to McCoy, who broadcast the game directly beside a group of rowdy, inebriated [[Boston Celtics|Celtics]]' fans, one of whom passed out on McCoy's lap amidst the frenzy as "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" by [[Gar Heard]] sent the game into league-history. McCoy deftly pushed the fan off his lap and onto the floor mid-sentence as he continued his broadcast unabated.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

He was also courtside, live on the air for the second Triple-Overtime game in NBA Finals History during Game 3 of the [[1993 NBA Finals]] between the [[Charles Barkley]]-led Phoenix Suns and [[Michael Jordan]]'s [[Chicago Bulls]].

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Phoenix Suns Radio and TV simulcast, early 200s.jpg|thumb|right|The final years and final broadcast team for the [[Phoenix Suns]] longtime [[radio]]/[[TV]] [[simulcast]] format, circa 2000s.  Al McCoy continues on radio, [[Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1959)|Eddie Johnson]] continues on TV.{{Deletable file-caption|Saturday, 11 March 2023|F7}}]] -->
The NBA's adoption of the [[Three-point field goal]] in 1979 would prove as influential to McCoy's career as it would to modern basketball itself. Upon its integration into the league, McCoy viewed the shot as the equivalent of a [[home-run]] in [[baseball]]. Noting that every baseball announcer has their own "signature call" for home-runs, he questioned what his NBA call could be. Thinking back to his childhood on the farm, his favorite comic book [[Captain Marvel (DC Comics)|Captain Marvel]] and the moment mild-mannered Billy Batson transformed into the mighty Captain Marvel by shouting the word "SHAZAM!" to a flurry of thunder and lightning, McCoy believed this phrase - an acronym for the first initials of [[Solomon]], [[Hercules]], [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]], [[Zeus]], [[Achilles]] and [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] - would convey the proper level of enormity and distinction he felt the shot deserved.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

In July 2003, after 31 years of being simulcast on both television and radio, the Suns organization relented to growing NBA pressure to end the simulcast format after then Suns General Manager [[Bryan Colangelo]] felt a younger presence would be better suited to TV.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" /> McCoy agreed to move to radio-only broadcasts on the previously established [[#Suns Radio Network|Suns Radio Network]] and was replaced on television play-by-play with Tom Leander, continuing with McCoy's then-color-commentator and broadcast partner [[Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1959)|Eddie "EJ" Johnson]].<ref name="SimulcastEnds-Leander" />

===Radio days and industry recognition (2003–2022)===
Al McCoy continued to broadcast on radio and online web streaming exclusively, paired with former Sun [[Tim Kempton]] (''See [[#Suns Radio Network|Suns Radio Network]]'').{{Cn|date=September 2024}}

On the December 30, 2005, game against the Chicago Bulls, McCoy's consecutive broadcasting streak officially ended due to illness when he woke up in Chicago with a hoarse throat. After finishing his pregame show, it was decided to run mostly audio of the TV broadcast with McCoy adding commentary for small moments, fully returning to the airwaves by the next game.<ref name="hof-tribune">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Jerry |title=Shazam! McCoy to receive Hall of Fame honor |url=https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/shazam-mccoy-to-receive-hall-of-fame-honor/article_20579953-c85f-5288-a723-90d7c1c0cfb8.html |website=EasyValleyTribune.com |publisher=East Valley Tribune |access-date=18 October 2022}}</ref>

He was honored by the [[Naismith Hall of Fame]] on September 5, 2007, when he became the 17th recipient of the [[Curt Gowdy Media Award]] for broadcasters at a ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts.<ref name="hof-tribune" /> He thanked his college professor, his high school basketball coach and Jerry Colangelo in his induction speech, and also highlighted the work of fellow basketball broadcasters [[Marty Glickman]] and [[Chick Hearn]].<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

The next month, on October 5, 2007, then-team president [[Rick Welts]] and Suns managing partner [[Robert Sarver]] unveiled the Al McCoy Media Center, its walls and pillars adorned with photos, history, play-by-play quotes, and words of encouragement and respect from fellow NBA broadcasters honoring the life and career of Al McCoy, in the newly renamed arena [[pressroom]].<ref name="NBA-roh-announce">{{cite web |last1=phxccunningham |title=Suns to Induct Al McCoy Into Ring of Honor on March 3 |url=https://www.nba.com/suns/press-release/phoenix-suns-induct-al-mccoy-ring-honor-march-3 |website=NBA.com |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

McCoy returned to television play-by-play for one night on August 22, 2014, broadcasting the [[WNBA]] playoff opening game between the [[Phoenix Mercury]] hosting the [[Los Angeles Sparks]] for [[NBATV]].<ref name="wnba">{{cite web |last1=Coro |first1=Paul |title=Al McCoy will do play-by-play for Game 1 of Phoenix Mercury's WNBA playoff opener |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/wnba/mercury/2014/08/19/al-mccoy-play-by-play-game-1-phoenix-mercury-wnba-playoff-opener/14294121/ |website=AZCentral.com |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

On October 26, 2016, during a Suns home game against the [[Oklahoma City Thunder]], he officially became the longest-tenured broadcaster in NBA History, surpassing Chick Hearn of the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] previous broadcasting record.<ref name=ROHannounce>{{cite web |last1=Coro |first1=Paul |title=Al McCoy to be inducted into Suns Ring of Honor |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/10/26/al-mccoy-inducted-into-suns-ring-honor/92803330/ |website=azcentral.com |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> At halftime of the record-setting game, the arena ran a video montage before Suns managing partner Robert Sarver announced that McCoy would become the 15th member of the Suns Ring of Honor, as McCoy wiped a tear from his eye.<ref name="ROHannounce" />

He was inducted into the [[Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor]] on March 3, 2017, the Suns dedicated their game-winning performance to McCoy, a night which included special messages to McCoy from former Suns [[Steve Nash]] and [[Jason Kidd]] during timeouts, and a halftime honor from the vast majority of fellow Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor members.<ref name=ROH-USAToday>{{cite web |title=Russell Westbrook's 48 points not enough for Thunder against Suns |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2017/03/03/suns-upend-thunder-on-broadcaster-al-mccoys-big-night/98730270/ |website=usatoday.com |publisher=Gannett |access-date=25 October 2021}}</ref> In his induction speech, McCoy thanked the organization, the fans and emphasized that "every player that has ever put on a Suns uniform... is special to me, always will be," adding that he still very much feels the thrill of the game when the ball goes in the air, concluding,

{{blockquote|If you will continue to accept me, and if God keeps smiling on me, I'm just gonna keep going.<ref name="ROH-USAToday" />}}

On March 2, 2022, he was again honored by the Suns with "Al McCoy Night"<ref name="McCoy50-NBA.com">{{cite web |last1=phxmyramirez |title=SHAZAM! Suns to Honor Broadcasting Legend Al McCoy and His 50th Season |url=https://www.nba.com/suns/news/shazam-suns-honor-broadcasting-legend-al-mccoy-and-his-50th-season |website=NBA.com |access-date=22 February 2022}}</ref> in celebration of his 50th Season with the franchise, during a home game against the [[Portland Trail Blazers]]. Video tributes played in the arena, on Suns television and posted on social media featured messages from [[Commissioner of the NBA|NBA commissioner]] [[Adam Silver]], the [[Inside the NBA]] crew, and Steve Nash along with former and current Suns players. Longtime Suns TV color-commentator [[Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1959)|Eddie Johnson]] shared memories of working together with McCoy in his first years on the job, during the last years of the [[simulcast]]. And for one brief moment of a segment, the simulcast was brought back to television for the first time in 19-years as Suns TV ran audio of the live radio broadcast accompanied by live video of McCoy at courtside describing the action. Not interrupting his radio broadcast and during an untelevised timeout, McCoy was given a standing ovation by screaming fans at the Footprint Center as Suns P.A. announced his name to the sold-out arena.{{Cn|date=September 2024}}

The next month, immediately after the Suns set a new franchise record for the regular season on April 5, 2022, Suns player [[Devin Booker]] went to the side, signed his game jersey (writing "To Al, the legend. Franchise record!") and presented it to Al McCoy at his longtime courtside broadcast position (which would end upon his removal from courtside on October 4, 2022),<ref name="Booker-jersey-explain">{{cite web |last1=Rankin |first1=Duane |title='I want to give Al this jersey': Devin Booker shares moment with 'Voice of Suns' Al McCoy |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2022/04/07/devin-booker-al-mccoy-share-another-special-moment-after-63rd-win/9503491002/ |website=AZCentral.com |publisher=The Arizona Republic |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> as he shook both of McCoy's hands and congratulated him, saying "50th season, baby!  Franchise record. Love you, man. Appreciate you, for real."<ref name="Booker-Al-Courtside">{{cite web |title= Devin Booker gives signed jersey to Al McCoy after franchise record win  |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKanaJbsG9g |website=Official Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Channel |publisher=Arizona Sports |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>

Five days later on April 10, 2022, [[List of mayors of Phoenix|Mayor of Phoenix]] [[Kate Gallego]] issued an official [[proclamation]] declaring the date as "Al McCoy Day" in the city of Phoenix, in honor of his 50th season and "to say thank you for guiding us through so many Suns victories and helping us celebrate with a 'Whammo' or 'SHAZAM!' when we needed it the most."<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Phoenix Suns (Official Account) |user=Suns |number=1513200032966602760 |title=4.10.22: Al McCoy Day}}</ref>

On December 17, 2022, he served as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 [[Fiesta Bowl Parade]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Dana |title=Phoenix Suns radio announcer Al McCoy introduced as Fiesta Bowl Parade's Grand Marshal |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2022/09/13/fiesta-bowl-parade-names-suns-announcer-al-mccoy-grand-marshal/10367383002/ |website=AZCentral.com |publisher=The Arizona Republic |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

===Final seasons and retirement (2022–2023)===
McCoy was vocal in his opposition of NBA teams and [[List of National Basketball Association arenas|NBA arenas]] increasingly moving the broadcast locations for radio crews away from the [[basketball court|floor]] and placing them in locations high above courtside where portions of the [[basketball court|court]] are partially obscured.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" /> McCoy states in many of these arenas as a result it's difficult to keep track of the [[three-point field goal]]. He often highlights a story of broadcaster [[Joe Tait]] telling his listening audience during a live play-by-play call that the three-point shot was good "by a player to be named later," due to the angle in [[TD Garden]] blocking vantage beyond the three point arc.<ref name=Podcast-Pasch>{{cite podcast |host=Dave Pasch |title=The Dave Pasch Podcast |website=AZCardinals.com |publisher=The Arizona Cardinals |date=26 October 2022 |url=https://www.azcardinals.com/audio/the-dave-pasch-podcast-al-mccoy |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

McCoy wrote in his [[autobiography]] that he prefers broadcasting courtside not only for the complete view of the court, but also because it enables him to keep on top of personnel changes, player and [[basketball coach|coach]] interactions, clarification of [[referee]] calls, and the general flow of the game for the listening audience.<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

When fellow broadcasting veteran [[Hot Rod Hundley]]'s courtside position for the [[Utah Jazz]] was moved higher up in the [[Vivint Arena]] following the conclusion of the [[Utah]] [[simulcast]] in 2005, he retired a mere four-years later by 2009 due to the increased strain on his hips and knees. In an essay included in McCoy's autobiography, Hundley described offering fans seated around him his [[binoculars]], writing "It's terrible from upstairs. We make mistakes. On the [[basketball court|floor]] you would never miss a beat."<ref name="McCoy's-Book" />

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Suns Radio Network, Footprint Center, New Home Broadcast Location, Oct. 2022.jpeg|thumb|right|New [[Phoenix Suns|Suns]] Radio home games broadcast location, October 2022, high above the [[Footprint Center]].  Formerly located [[basketball court|courtside]] for all previous seasons in franchise existence.{{Deletable file-caption|Saturday, 11 March 2023|F7}}]] -->
At the start of the [[2010–11 NBA season]] McCoy began reducing his road games schedule for "select East Coast road trips."  By the [[2018-19 NBA season]] he had decided to retire from broadcasting road games altogether.  When asked in an interview with ESPN announcer [[Dave Pasch]] why he has elected to stop traveling, McCoy stressed the increasingly poor broadcast locations for radio broadcasters and emphasized,

{{blockquote|Over the last couple of years I had decided that I didn't want my career to end when the listeners or the viewers would say "What's wrong with McCoy, doesn't he know who's shooting three-pointers or what's going on?"<ref name="Podcast-Pasch" />}}

On October 2, 2022, ahead of the [[2022–23 Phoenix Suns season|2022-2023 NBA Season]], Al McCoy's Suns home game broadcast location since 1972 and as recent as the [[2022 NBA Playoffs]] in May 2022<ref name="Booker-Al-Courtside" /> was moved from its longtime courtside position on the floor to higher up in the arena,<ref name="McCoyLocationChange" /> many rows up at the back of the 100s sections, closer to the [[skybox (sports)|skybox-area]] of the [[Footprint Center]].

Video confirming McCoy's new distant broadcast location was posted to the [[KMVP-FM|Arizona Sports]] official YouTube channel on February 24, 2023, recorded during a post-game interview with [[Ish Wainright]].<ref name="New-location">{{cite web |title="If I'm talking to you (Al McCoy) then that's a good thing." Ish Wainright after the Suns victory |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrNuqHyBN6Y |website=Arizona Sports Official YouTube Channel |publisher=Arizona Sports |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref>