My first memories of Marty Glickman were from when I was a kid in the 1960's, listening to his great radio broadcasts, along with color analyst Al De Rogatis, of the New York Giants football games. Glickman could "paint a picture" like no other, and do it so well that the listeners could imagine they were actually at the game watching it live.
This terrific movie of the pioneering and iconic broadcaster, was originally a HBO Documentary Film, written and directed by James L. Freedman, which I found on DVD at my local library. It's really an ode to Glickman's life, first as a world class sprinter, top notch football player at Syracuse, and then his 50+ years as a sports announcer for a myriad of events. The film also highlights some of the prejudices and anti-Semitism he faced in both his athletic and announcing careers.
The documentary also illustrates some of Glickman's admirable qualities as a man, including his willingness to help and mentor others in the broadcast industry, such as Marv Albert. Glickman also was quite innovative not only in his phraseology as he announced events, but also often played key roles in expanding sports into national coverage.
There's plenty of great film clips and anecdotes stretching back decades in sports history, which I really enjoyed. The viewer will also get some wonderful actual game calls of Glickman as the play on the field unfolds.
All in all, I thought this was an exceptional documentary of this great personality, athlete, and broadcaster, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 83. It certainly brought back lots of memories to me, and should be of interest to those sports fans who lived through that era, or those who are interested in the history of sports in general. Finally, I felt this movie was long overdue, as I hadn't seen any other film focusing on the career of Marty Glickman and his life.
