Legendary broadcaster Al Michaels wins Baseball HOF's Ford Frick Award

Al Michaels is headed to Cooperstown.

Michaels, one of the most iconic voices in sports broadcasting, was awarded the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

He'll accept the award next July 24 as part of the 2021 Hall of Fame induction weekend's awards ceremony in Cooperstown.

Though he's more widely known for his work calling the NFL, NBA, and various Olympics, Michaels has a long history with baseball. The Brooklyn native started his broadcasting career in Honolulu as the voice of the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders in 1968. He then moved to the big leagues, spending time in the 1970s as a local broadcaster for both the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. He called the Reds' 1972 NL pennant and World Series victories on radio, and in 1976 voiced Giants pitcher John Candelaria's no-hitter.

Michaels was a longtime voice of baseball on the national stage, primarily with ABC Sports. From 1976-95 he called seven World Series, six All-Star Games, and eight league championship series. He's the only broadcaster to have called at least one World Series, Super Bowl, and NBA Finals, as well as host a Stanley Cup Final, on network television.

His most famous baseball calls on national TV include Dave Henderson's ninth-inning home run in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS that saved the Boston Red Sox from elimination and started their comeback to win the pennant.

Michaels was also on air during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake that struck the Bay Area moments before Game 3 of the World Series in San Francisco. The devastating earthquake temporarily forced Michaels into becoming a news reporter.

Michaels will receive his award alongside the 2020 Frick winner, longtime Chicago White Sox voice Ken Harrelson, whose scheduled induction last year was postponed by the pandemic.