Four decades and change. That’s how long Sam Rosen spent being the voice of the New York Rangers. This current season marks the last for the storied announcer, who first called play-by-play for the Blueshirts back in 1984.
During that time, the 77-year-old German-born Brooklyn native has seen plenty of hockey history, up to and including seeing his beloved Rangers hoist the Stanley Cup in 1994, breaking a 54-year drought. Along the way, Rosen’s consummate professionalism and excellence behind the mic in calling more than 3,000 Rangers games got him named the 2016 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner, along with membership in the Hockey Hall of Fame (Rosen is also in the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame).
As for the why of retirement, the Rockland County resident felt the time was right.
“I think that as each year moves along, things become just a little bit harder,” he admitted. “The road trips become longer and travel becomes a little more difficult. The packing for week-long road trips — I don’t look forward to that as much anymore. I’ve had a wonderful run and personally still think that I’m at the top of my game or close to it.
“I think that’s probably the best time to step away because you don’t want people feeling that ‘He’s losing it’ and ‘Maybe he should have decided to retire earlier.’ No, I want people to feel like I’m still doing a great job and can keep on doing it for several more years and that’s the reception I’ve been getting.
“The truth of the matter is that if I were only doing the games — the games are wonderful and are the highlight of the day,” he said. “I look forward to the games. Once the game starts, it’s two-and-a-half hours of total enjoyment. It’s the other stuff that goes along with it. You feel it’s okay to step back now. I still have my health, so that’s important. It’s the right time.”
Sports are in Rosen’s blood. An alum of the prestigious Stuyvesant High School and the City College of New York, he captained and played catcher for both his high school and college along with suiting up for intramural basketball and running track. His rooting interests lay with the Giants (football), Yankees (baseball), Knicks (basketball) and first and foremost, the Rangers. Rosen has rich memories of hitting the Madison Square Garden regularly, where Andy Bathgate and goalie Gump Worsley were his guys.
“Growing up, the Rangers were the only team in town,” he recalled. “When I was in junior high school and high school, we had GO cards, where for 50 cents, you could get into a game at Madison Square Garden. On Sundays, we’d go by subway to the old Garden on Eighth Avenue, 49th and 50th Streets and we would get to the doors by 4:30 p.m. They would open and we would make a mad dash up the steps to the balcony because those were the best seats available.”
For this final season, Rosen has been rightfully touted by opposing franchises across the National Hockey League, particularly by former Rangers players. Former captain Jacob Trouba, who was shipped off to the Ducks, gifted the broadcaster with a work of art when the Blue Shirts laced up against Anaheim during a recent West Coast run. And when the Minnesota Wild played New York at Madison Square Garden, former nine-year Ranger Mats Zuccarello hit the ice during warmups sporting a No. 40 Wild Jersey with “Rosen” on the sweater’s nameplate.
Not to be outdone, MSG Networks has run a string of specials. MSG televised the pregame ceremony held before the March 22 Canucks-Rangers tilt (New York won 5-3) and followed it up with the premiere of the Sam Rosen Interview Special, a 30-minute show hosted by John Giannone that includes interviews with Joe Micheletti and former broadcast partner John Davidson. The other special that aired in March was Sam’s Day in the Life feature, where cameras followed the broadcaster for a full day to get a peek at his game-day routine. Despite the added wrinkle to his preparation, Rosen didn’t miss a beat.
“That experience was a little different,” Rosen explained. “Normally, my day is a little work at home, morning skate at the practice rink, get notes together, drive in with my car, make a couple of phone calls. This time I had a camera crew with me and the producer Andrew Braun is outstanding in what he does. It was great to have them in the car and get to talk about things, going in to work, what it’s like and hockey in general. It’s always fun. I’m a people person, so if people are around and they want to chat, I’m happy to chat.”
Unfortunately for Rosen, his beloved team’s fortune in his final season has been one of inconsistency. Currently, the Rangers are on the outside looking in for the final wild card spot. And for as much of a fan as he might be, the broadcaster is honest in his assessments.
“This season has been very mixed,” he said. “The Rangers got off to a terrific start — 12-4-1. And then they nosedived. I think there may have been some inner turmoil over players that were let go and traded. Barclay Goodrow in the off-season. The captain, Jacob Trouba and the later trades that involved people like Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. They’d been around for several years as youngsters, so I think that created some difficulty.
“The teams around the Rangers have more games remaining than the Rangers do, and that’s a problem. They haven’t won more than two games in a row since the middle of November. If the Rangers could win five in a row, they’d be in without a problem. They’d have the lead, teams would be chasing them and they’d be in great shape. They just can’t seem to do that.”
With the New York Rangers franchise set to celebrate its centennial next season, Rosen is willing, ready and able to serve in whatever capacity ownership might have him be involved.
“I think that anything they ask me to do, whether it’s the Rangers, Madison Square Garden network or the Garden itself — anything they ask of me, I’ll be happy to do because they’ve been a big part of my life,” Rosen said. “I would never do anything that in any way offended them. If they ask me, I’m there. I fully hope and expect that I’ll be part of the 100-year anniversary, and we’ll see what comes along.”
As for what retirement holds for this Hockey Hall of Fame announcer, he and his wife will split time between the Rockland County house they’ve called home for more than 30 years and a place they have in Florida. It’s in the latter area where Rosen is considering teaching a class at one of the colleges in South Florida and paying his immense well of knowledge forward.
“We have a place in Del Ray Beach and there are a few schools there — Lynn University and FAU, Florida Atlantic University,” Rosen explained. “We’ve had some preliminary discussions and I’d like to look into that because when I have discussions with young people who aspire to get into broadcasting as a career, I really enjoy discussing that with them and giving them advice. Teaching a class in the broadcast field would be something I’d like very much.”
