Manolo Rivera Morales

Manuel Rivera Morales (aka "Manolo", "El Olimpico", "Mr. Apuntenlo") (1923–May 25, 2000) (in Spanish) was a Puerto Rican sportscaster, radio announcer and marketing sales executive. Rivera Morales is considered by many to be the best sportscaster in Puerto Rican history. "The achievements of 'El Olimpico' (The Olympic) have given him national and international regard and have left huge prints in our hearts." (Puerto Rican Legislature, Law #228, 1998)

Rivera Morales was born in Trujillo Alto on May 14, 1923. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame for Puerto Rican Sports on November 22, 1992. In 1998 the Government of Puerto Rico honored Rivera by naming a main highway after him: PR-181 Road, "Expreso Manuel Rivera Morales", also known as "El Expreso de Trujillo Alto" (Trujillo Alto Expressway).

Manuel Rivera Morales gained nationwide fame in Puerto Rico during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when he covered BSN basketball games live, first on radio, and later on television, for various broadcasters (most famously WAPA-TV), along other famous Puerto Rican sportscasters such as Johnny Flores Monge, Rafael Bracero and Fufi Santori. Rivera Morales became a cultural icon in Puerto Rico: His phrases, many of which he invented, were commonly repeated by many Puerto Ricans and became part of colloquial Puerto Rican dialogue.

When he accompanied the Puerto Rican team that played the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo to broadcast the games through radio, his style was so colorful and attracted so much attention that a local Japanese newspaper covered him. In Japan, he was also recognized with a medal as "The World's Best and Most Dramatic Narrator". He started as an Olympic sportscaster in the 1960 Olympics held in Rome and continued during the following games: 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico, 1972 Munich y 1976 Montreal. Due to this vast Olympic experience, he was nicknamed "El Olimpico" (The Olympic). He also was a narrator for the Pan-American Games and for the famous "Roller Derby" television show (Puerto Rico's Spanish version).

Morales was also recognized for giving nicknames to some of Puerto Rico's basketball players. José Ortiz, for example, was nicknamed "El Concorde" by Rivera Morales. Mario Morales became "El Quijote" (was better known by his nickname than by his real name), José Sosa "El Galgo" (The Greyhound), Angel "Cachorro" Santiago "El Orgullo del Caserio" (The Pride of the Housing Projects), Hector "El Mago" Blondet (The Magician), Rolando Frazier "El Principe" (The Prince), Mario Butler "El Expreso Panameño" (The Panamanian Express), Ruben Rodriguez "Sharp Shooter", and Martín Ansa got the nickname "El Señor" from Morales.

...
Wikipedia