PHOENIX (AP) — 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.
“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.
“Al McCoy was a master of his craft,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As the longest-tenured team broadcaster in NBA history, he set a high standard throughout his 51 seasons calling Phoenix Suns basketball. He entertained generations of fans with his distinct delivery and unbridled love for the game and was a beloved friend to so many of us in the NBA community. I send my heartfelt condolences to Al’s family and friends and the entire Suns organization.”
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.”