Johnny Most

John M. "Johnny" Most (June 15, 1923 – January 3, 1993) was an American sports announcer, known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990.

He is perhaps best 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 Celtics. The complete call for that play was:

He was with the Celtics during the franchise's golden era from the 1950s through the 1980s, and was as well-known a figure in New England as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Larry Bird. When watching the Celtics play on television, many fans would turn the sound down on their TVs and turn on Most's radio broadcast for his call of the game. He, along with Fred Cusick (Bruins), Ned Martin (Red Sox), Curt Gowdy (Red Sox), Gil Santos (Patriots) and Bob Wilson (Bruins), are considered among the greatest announcers in Boston sports history.

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. Johnny Most was one of the many successful graduates of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. After distinguished Air Force service in World War II (see below), he began his basketball broadcasting career in the late 1940s as a protégé of New York Knickerbockers announcer (and 1936 Olympics track star) 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. He also served as sports director for WCOP radio in Boston at that time.

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