No two people have the same list of best major league baseball players of all time. That’s because your choices may depend on your favorite team. One of the attractions of baseball is that teams often have announcers that stay with the club for decades, making them a favorite among the hometown fans.

But the following seven broadcasters transcend that level of fame and have become iconic nationwide. To keep the list manageable, it includes seven broadcasters considered giants of the industry, many of them honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

All of them played a key role in moving broadcasting forward or are famous for their style. Many of them called some of the great moments in baseball history. They all deserve consideration for ranking among the best major league baseball announcers of all time.

Harold Arlin

Arlin, who in his day job worked as a foreman at Westinghouse, became the first person ever to broadcast an MLB game on Aug. 5, 1921, for KDKA in Pittsburgh. He did the broadcast using a converted telephone as a microphone, sitting in a ground level box seat at Forbes Field. The Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-5.

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Red Barber

Considered a trailblazer in play-by-play announcing, Barber called games for the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Most remember him best from his Dodgers and Yankees years. He had a folksy style. His phrases included gems like “can of corn” for a softly hit fly ball; “rhubarb” for any heated discussion on the field; and “they’re tearing up the pea patch” or “sitting in the catbird seat” for teams playing well.

He also made this famous call on a fly ball hit by Joe DiMaggio in Game 6 of the 1947 World Series: “ it’s a long one … back goes Gionfriddo back, back, back, back, back, back … heeee makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Oh, Doctor!”

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Mel Allen

Still known as the “Voice of the Yankees,” Alabama native Mel Allen called games on radio and television in the Big Apple from 1940 to 1964. Allen later became the first host of the television show, This Week in Baseball, introducing him to a new generation of fans nationwide. He is famous for many calls, including saying “that ball is going, going…it’s GONE” for home runs hit by Yankees.

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Vin Scully

Scully called games for 67 seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers (1950 to 2016). That’s the longest run by any baseball broadcaster. Scully started his MLB broadcasting career working with Barber. Scully is beloved by Dodgers fans, a fact cemented in 1964 when he turned down the Yankees when they asked him to come back to New York and replace Allen. His longevity means he has fans from across generations. Two of his most famous calls came in the 1980s: the Bill Buckner error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and Kirk Gibson’s game-winning home run in the 1988 World Series.

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Jack Buck

Buck called games on both radio and television for the St. Louis Cardinals, starting in 1954 until 2001. He also called football games on television, making him a broadcasting star in two sports. Before his death in 2002, Buck also became known for writing poetry, including the poem, “For America,” written after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Curt Gowdy

Gowdy became famous calling games on radio and television for the Boston Red Sox from 1951 to 1965. He started his career in his native Wyoming and later in Oklahoma. He eventually worked with Mel Allen in New York after winning a national audition. He later worked on television for NBC, calling both football and baseball games. Interesting, although he got his start in baseball, younger generations may remember him best from calling football games.

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Harry Caray

One of the most beloved announcers of all time, Caray, a native of St. Louis, started his career calling games for the St. Louis Cardinals for 25 years, beginning in 1945. However, the Cardinals fired him after the 1969 season – the famous rumor is that Caray was having an affair with the daughter-in-law of Cardinals owner Gussie Busch. If true, it’s an affair that affected both Caray and Buck’s careers.

Caray went on to spend the last 16 years of his career broadcasting Chicago Cubs games on WGN that reached a national audience via cable, making Caray one of the most famous broadcasters in baseball history. Among other things, he made singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch popular, often bringing in guests to sing the song.

These seven men provide a good place to start for those learning about the best major league baseball announcers of all time. Many broadcasters have come along that also became famous, but these seven will never be forgotten.

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