Kenny Albert

Albert's parents gave him a tape recorder for his fifth birthday to practice his broadcasting.[2] On his sixth birthday in 1974, his father took him along to a New York Rangers game. One of the statisticians had to leave in the middle of the game, so Albert got to do the stats for the rest of the game. At 14, he became the official statistician for the Rangers on the radio. At 16, he wrote content for the Rangers program. Aside from his father, his idol was Vancouver Canucks play-by-play broadcaster Jim Robson. From 1981 to 1986, Albert, growing up in Sands Point, covered high school sports for the Port Washington News[3] at Paul D. Schreiber High School, an Anton Community Newspapers publication.[4]

Albert graduated from New York University[5] in 1990[6] with a degree in broadcasting and journalism. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Albert worked in the sports department at WNYU radio. While working there he was able to pick up his quick responses while announcing local games.

Albert is the radio voice of the New York Rangers, as well as a play-by-play announcer and field-level reporter for Fox's coverage of Major League Baseball,[5] the NFL,[5] and previously, the Sugar Bowl. Previously, he handled TV play-by-play for the Washington Capitals and Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards), and was a part-time announcer on Washington Nationals telecasts in 2005. Additionally, he does TV play-by-play for Washington Redskins preseason games with Joe Theismann.[7] Albert called the international broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI with Theismann.

When Fox had the network contract for the National Hockey League in the 1990s, Albert also worked on Fox NHL Saturday telecasts. Albert now does play-by-play for the NHL on NBC and formerly with Versus (now called NBCSN). Albert called Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals for NBC, filling in for Mike Emrick, who was dealing with a death in the family.[8] He has done work for NBC's Olympics coverage, as a play-by-play announcer for men's and women's ice hockey at every Winter Olympic Games since Salt Lake City in 2002.

Albert has also done college basketball for ESPN Plus and is a substitute play-by-play announcer for televised New York Knicks games on MSG Network.[6] For the 2011 playoffs, Albert broadcast for two playoff teams in the same market, doing the play-by-play for the New York Rangers on WEPN 1050 ESPN radio and filling in on MSG Network doing play-by-play for the New York Knicks.[9]

Albert is known to some Chicago sports fans as "The Kiss of Death" to their teams.[10] Many games involving the Bears and Blackhawks with Albert announcing have ended in losses for both teams. Examples include Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference Final between the Blackhawks and Kings, and many Chicago Bears' games with Albert announcing since 2004.

Albert was the play-by-play announcer for the 2015 American League Division Series between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays. In the top of the 7th inning of Game 5, he helped explain the rule regarding the errant throw by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin, which resulted in Texas scoring the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the inning, he called Jose Bautista's go-ahead home run.[11]

In 2016, Albert was nominated for the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play in a list that included fellow Fox and NBC colleagues Kevin Burkhardt, eventual winner Mike Emrick, and even his own father.[12]

He is also a very well known voice in football, currently working with FOX Sports during the NFL season. He is a frequent guest on WNYU's sports talk program, The Cheap Seats. He has also made many appearances on the popular New York sports internet radio show Sports Heaven with Mark and Evan.[13]

Albert currently resides in New Jersey with his wife for 20 years, Barbara (Wolf), and their two daughters, Amanda and Sydney. Albert was introduced to his wife by close friend and Baltimore sports reporter, Jerry Coleman. [15]

Albert has frequently cited his love of all sports, but mainly hockey and basketball. He cited baseball as the hardest sport to commentate for. [16]

• 1990–1992: Baltimore Skipjacks – play-by-play[17]
• 1992–1995: Washington Capitals – play-by-play on NBC Sports Washington
• 1993–1994: NHL on ESPN2 – play-by-play
• 1994–1995, 2016–present: NHL Radio – lead play-by-play
• 1994–present: NFL on Fox – play-by-play
• 1995–1999: NHL on Fox – play-by-play[6]
• 1995–present: New York Rangers – radio play-by-play[6]
• 1999–2000: NTRA on Fox – host
• 2001–present: Major League Baseball on Fox – play-by-play
• 2002: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
• 2005: Washington Nationals – fill-in television play-by-play
• 2005–2006: NHL on Versus – play-by-play
• 2006: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
• 2007–2009: Sugar Bowl – play-by-play
• 2009–present: New York Knicks – fill-in television play-by-play
• 2010: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
• 2010–present: Washington Redskins Broadcast Network – preseason play-by-play
• 2011: NHL on Versus – playoffs play-by-play
• 2012–present: NHL on NBC – play-by-play
• 2014: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play
• 2016: Summer Olympics – track and field play-by-play
• 2018: Winter Olympics – hockey play-by-play

• Troy Aikman
• Rod Allen
• Brian Baldinger
• Ronde Barber
• Brian Boucher
• Terry Bradshaw
• Sean Casey
• Rick Cerone
• Brian Engblom
• Cliff Floyd
• Walt Frazier
• Joe Girardi
• Mark Grace
• Tim Green
• Tim Hutchings
• Daryl Johnston
• Eric Karros
• Howie Long
• Steve Lyons
• Dave Maloney
• Tim McCarver
• Pierre McGuire
• Joe Micheletti
• Mike Milbury
• A.J. Mleczko
• Anthony Muñoz
• Chris Myers
• CJ Nitkowski
• Eddie Olczyk
• Darren Pang
• A.J. Pierzynski
• Lou Pinella
• Ron Pitts
• Harold Reynolds
• Ken Rosenthal
• Tony Siragusa
• Kendall Coyne Schofield
• Joe Theismann
• Jeff Torborg
• Tom Verducci