Johnny Most

John M. (Johnny) Most was known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990. He is most remembered for his excited call of "Havlicek stole the ball!" during the final moments of Game 7 of the 1965 NBA Eastern Division Finals. The play sealed the victory for the Boston Celtics. The complete call for that play was, "Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep, and Havlicek steals it!! Over to Sam Jones!! Havlicek stole the ball!! It's all over … It's all over!! Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed by the fans! Bill Russell hugs him. He squeezes John Havlicek! The Celtics win it, 110 to 109!" He was a legend to Boston Celtics fans during the franchise's golden era from the 1950s through the 1980s. As identifiable a figure in New England as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Larry Bird, Celtics fans learned at an early age when watching the team play on television to turn the sound down on their television and pick up Most's radio broadcast on their local Celtics radio affiliate. Born to Jewish parents in New York City, he was named after his paternal grandfather, the German-American anarchist newspaper editor and orator Johann Most. After distinguished Air Force service in World War II (he served as an aerial gunner on a B-24 Liberator and flew 28 combat missions with the 15th Air Force in World War II, earning seven medals.), he began his basketball broadcasting career in the late 1940s as a protégé of New York Knickerbockers announcer Marty Glickman. He was hired in 1953 by Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown and coach Red Auerbach to replace Curt Gowdy as the team's radio play-by-play man on the Celtics radio network. Most always referred to his perch or radio booth at the Boston Garden as "high above courtside" at the opening of his broadcasts, and to his usual perch near the scorer's table on most Celtics road games as "directly at courtside". Most was an outspoken "homer" who rarely criticized the Celtics during game play but wasn't shy about criticizing other teams' players or fans (calling them "hysterical with joy" when cheering Celtics losses). For example, during the 1985 season, he nicknamed Laker star point guard Magic Johnson "Crybaby Johnson" after Johnson successfully challenged a referee's call. He also nicknamed Washington Bullets players Rick Mahorn and Jeff Ruland as "McFilthy" and "McNasty", interchanging the two at his whim, and was very critical of the Detroit Pistons for their physical play during the late 1980s. He was particularly hard on Bill Laimbeer (whom he memorably called a "dirty rotten player"), Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn and Isiah Thomas, whom he referred to as Little Lord Fauntleroy.