Al McCoy, Who Called Suns Games on Radio for More than Half-century, Has Died at 91

FILE - Phoenix Suns radio announcer Al McCoy during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the LA Clippers, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
FILE - Phoenix Suns radio announcer Al McCoy during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the LA Clippers, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
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Al McCoy, Who Called Suns Games on Radio for More than Half-century, Has Died at 91

FILE - Phoenix Suns radio announcer Al McCoy during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the LA Clippers, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
FILE - Phoenix Suns radio announcer Al McCoy during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the LA Clippers, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

Al McCoy, who was the radio voice of the Phoenix Suns for more than a half-century, has died. He was 91.

The team made the announcement on Saturday and released a statement from his family. No cause of death was disclosed.

McCoy was the longest-tenured team broadcaster in NBA history, calling Suns games for 51 years. He called his first game on his Sept. 27, 1972 and his last on May 11, 2023. His tenure included Phoenix’s NBA Finals appearances in 1976, 1993 and 2021, The AP reported.

“This is a sad day for the Suns and the Suns family,” former Suns star Charles Barkley said in a statement. “Al McCoy represented everything that is great about Phoenix, the Phoenix Suns and people who love basketball. I was blessed and honored to work with Al and I’m gonna miss him.”

McCoy is a member of the franchise’s Ring of Honor and a 2009 inductee into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. He also earned the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

McCoy was born in 1933 in Williams, Iowa, and got his first radio job in 1951 in Webster City, Iowa, when he was a freshman at Drake. He moved to Arizona in 1956 as the play-by-play announced for the Triple-A Phoenix Giants baseball team. During his tenure with the Suns, he became known for his catchphrases such as “Shazam,” “Zing Go the Strings” and “Heartbreak Hotel.”

“I had the privilege of Al McCoy narrating the first eight years of my career,” Suns star Devin Booker said. “He was inducted into the Ring of Honor my second season, and it was then I really understood what a special talent he was. And over the course of my career, I’ve learned what an even more special person he was.

“We will miss Al, and I am so glad our legacies in Phoenix are forever connected.”



Inter Milan Goalie Yann Sommer Injures Thumb Ahead of Key Serie A and Champions League Games

FILED - 10 December 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Leverkusen: Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer leaves the pitch after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan at BayArena. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
FILED - 10 December 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Leverkusen: Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer leaves the pitch after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan at BayArena. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
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Inter Milan Goalie Yann Sommer Injures Thumb Ahead of Key Serie A and Champions League Games

FILED - 10 December 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Leverkusen: Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer leaves the pitch after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan at BayArena. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
FILED - 10 December 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Leverkusen: Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer leaves the pitch after the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan at BayArena. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa

Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer has a broken right thumb ahead of key games in Serie A and the Champions League.
Inter said the Swiss ‘keeper’s injury was revealed in tests on Thursday and “necessary therapy will be decided in the coming days,” The Associated Press reported.
Thumb injuries can sideline goalkeepers for several weeks though no timetable was set by Inter for Sommer, who has started every Serie A and Champions League game this season.
The defending Serie A champion is second in the standings, trailing Napoli by two points, and travels to Naples at the end of next week. Inter first hosts Genoa on Saturday.
Sommer also could miss the Champions League round-of-16 games on March 4 or 5 then March 10 or 11. Inter will be drawn against Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven when the pairings are made on Friday.
Sommer's backups are Raffaele Di Gennaro and Josep Martinez.