Sports
NBC’s Bruce Beck talks covering NYC’s greatest sports stars, 2024 Olympics, scary eye injury
Longtime Ch. 4 broadcaster Bruce Beck, a New York sports institution, talks a lifetime of memories with Post columnist Steve Serby:
Q: If you could cover any baseball game in MLB history?
A: 1951, The Shot Heard ’Round the World. ’Cause I loved [Ralph] Branca, I loved [Bobby] Thomson.
Q: I’m guessing you would go interview Branca first.
A: I would. I always go to whoever is the person that gave up the hit or whoever the person is who lost. Would also go on Monday morning to the team that loses, whether it’s Giants or Jets. You get better sound and it’s usually a better story.
Q: If you could cover any game in NFL history?
A: Super Bowl III, [Joe] Namath winning with the Jets and giving the AFL credibility.
Q: If you could cover any game in NBA history?
A: Willis Reed, Game 7 against the Lakers, and I was there!
Q: Where were you sitting?
A: I was in like green or yellow seats behind the basket. But I walked down and saw, I was right there when Willis came out of the tunnel onto the court, and [Elgin] Baylor, [Wilt] Chamberlain and [Jerry] West all put their hands on the waist, they all watched in awe, and the game was over right there. My brother Jeffrey left his binoculars in a place called Deli City, it used to be right on Seventh Avenue near the corner of 33rd Street, and I had to run out of the Garden and get his binoculars and I ran back in as Willis came out on the court.
Q: If you could cover any game in NHL history?
A: I would have liked to have covered the Rangers winning the [1940] Cup before they won the Cup in ’94.
Q: If you could cover one boxing match?
A: Ali-Frazier, Madison Square Garden, 1971.
Q: Other favorite sports moments as a fan growing up?
A: Giants Super Bowls, the two before I covered my two myself. I was 5 when I would follow the Maris-Mantle chase with my dad. The 1965 Namath Orange Bowl, which my father called us and woke us up because he said, “There’s this great running quarterback from Alabama, you guys gotta watch.” The UCLA-Houston basketball game when [Lew] Alcindor lost to Elvin Hayes on national TV late at night.
Q: Favorite events that you’ve covered?
A: David Tyree’s catch on his helmet, Super Bowl XLII. American Pharoah winning the first Triple Crown in 37 years, which was 2015. One of the most powerful moments I ever covered was Wellington Mara’s funeral. I ended up winning an Emmy for that. You could drop a pin on Fifth Avenue when they came out, and [Frank] Gifford actually was carrying, I remember, the casket, and they put the casket into the hearse and [Jeremy] Shockey was crying on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I would say the Rangers winning the Cup in ’94, I was at MSG Network as a broadcaster. That night in the Garden was spectacular. Aaron Boone’s [2003] homer is definitely up there against the Red Sox, Game 7. Jeter’s 3,000th hit. I was in California, on vacation with my wife, and I was watching every day — he got two hits the night before my last night and so I took her to dinner. I drove to LA to get a redeye back for the Sunday morning game, she was mad as hell at me ’cause I blew her off and Jeter went 5-for-5, his 3,000th hit was his home run.
Q: How did you get the interview in Athens with the first Israeli gold medalist, Gal Fridman?
A: I cited my Haftarah from my Bar Mitzvah from 1969. I couldn’t read Hebrew, but I can memorize anything. He did it in a sport called wind surfing. I called the Israeli delegation in Jerusalem and another one in Tel Aviv and got the number of the press attaché at the hotel in Athens. I went to the hotel, he came out to meet with me, I told him I was an American from New York, this was an important story, I said I was a Jew, and this was something that would resonate with my viewers. He said, “I’m sorry, we just can’t do it.” I started to walk away, and in a moment of inspiration I turned to him and I said: “Let me ask you something. What if I could do this: (recites Haftara in Hebrew)? And he goes, “Please come in.”
Q: What enabled you to get along with George Steinbrenner?
A: I don’t know, he liked me. He trusted me, he thought I was fair. I was a little bit in his face but never too annoying.
Q: Can Aaron Judge break his 62-homer record and how do you feel about pitchers deciding to walk him so much?
A: I think Aaron Judge can break his own record in 2024. Pitchers walking him intentionally is frustrating for the team and the fans — but it is the ultimate sign of respect. Barry Bonds had to deal with the same exact thing but was intentionally walked even more. Judge and I talked at spring training about the record. I told him if he has to go through it again this year, I think he will handle it even better because of the experience. He totally agreed. Remember, the last month of his chase to the record was a little bumpy.
Q: The 2024 Yankees?
A: They’re capable of winning it all, they’re also capable of losing early. If you look at the Yankees failures in the postseasons of recent ilk, they’ve lost because they didn’t hit in the postseason.
Q: Do you think Steve Cohen is a threat to sign Juan Soto away from the Yankees?
A: I think it’s a huge threat. It may boil down to just those two teams, and I think Cohen, after taking a year to reset, is gonna go after Soto hard. And he can throw him the most money. And he can get a face of the franchise.
Q: Is Eli Manning a Hall of Famer?
A: I just think that he is a Hall of Fame person, and I think he will be a Hall of Fame player.
Q: Jalen Brunson being named Knicks captain?
A: I think he’s humble, I think he’s professional, I think he’s a gentleman, I think he’s a team-first guy as we saw with the contract that he took taking less to make sure the team was better. I think he is the perfect New York Knick. I think he will go down as one of the great New York Knicks in history, and I think that he has a chance of leading them to a title.
Q: How will Tom Brady do on Fox?
A: I think he will do well, because he’s incredibly prepared, and he sees things we don’t. And I think he will figure out a way to do this. I don’t think he likes to lose.
Q: Yogi memories?
A: He called me Beck, never called me Bruce, but it was a way of saying that he was my friend and that he liked me, the whole family liked me.
Q: What would you tell Jets fans about Aaron Rodgers attempting this comeback from a torn Achilles at age 40?
A: I would tell them that there’s hope. I would tell them that this team is built to win, if he can have a decent season, doesn’t have to be a superstar, he has to be good. And he has to give them the mentality that they can win. … He’s really good at pop culture, much better than I am. And I asked him a question about something related to how he felt going into the season and he goes: “Strong, to quite strong.” And I go back to the office and I said, “Guys, I think Rodgers dissed me today, I think he was goofing on me.” And they watched back and they go, “Bruce, you’re an idiot, that’s from “Meet the Parents,” he knows that quote (chuckle), and he just used it on you. Don’t worry, he wasn’t trying to make you look bad, he was just using his pop culture knowledge (laugh).”
Q: Mark Messier?
A: The greatest leader I’ve ever covered in all of sports. I walked into the locker room one day early in his tenure as the Rangers captain, and all of a sudden in the middle of the room the water and Gatorade buckets that would be on top of this table in the middle of the room were gone. So was the tape and the gum. And I asked the trainer, “What happened?” He goes, “Bruce, you’re gonna have to ask Messier yourself.” So I go up to Mark, I said: “Mark, why is that table gone after all this gear here?” He goes, “Bruce, I want to see the eyes of my teammates when I’m talking to them. That stuff blocks me.”
Q: Henrik Lundqvist?
A: Class personified. Elegance and excellence.
Q: Why were you able to get along with John Tortorella when others did not?
A: I love dogs, and so did Torts.
Q: Favorite Olympic moments in Paris?
A: Noah Lyles winning the 100 meters. Cole Hocker was a 21-1 longshot to win the 1500 meters, and ran the race of his life. The pole vault, this guy named Mondo [Duplantis] set the world record for the ninth time since February of 2020, and he’s only 24 years of age. Simone Biles winning the all-around, stamping herself as the greatest gymnast of all time. Katie Ledecky winning the 800-meter freestyle, the first woman ever to win the same event in four consecutive Olympics, only Michael Phelps had done it on the men’s side. I’m covering our local athletes and trying to personalize them for them the viewers, because it’s not just about being in Paris, it’s to me mystical, mythical and magical! Because they’ve given me the free rein to do all of this, I can go and make it happen. I’ve never not felt that a day in my life it wasn’t an honor to represent NBC New York, I dreamed of working for them. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself and say, “What an honor.” How lucky am I to be able to do what I do?
Q: Previous Olympic highlights?
A: Usain Bolt winning the 100 meters for the third consecutive time in Rio. Michael Phelps winning his eighth gold medal in Beijing. Sarah Hughes, the Golden Girl in Salt Lake City, 2002, my first Olympics, winning the gold in the ladies figure skating, and she shocked the world, this kid from Long Island winning the gold medal. I remember what I said: “Sarah Hughes captures the gold! How does it sound?” She goes: “Say it again!” I said: “Sarah Hughes is the gold medal winner!” And she goes: “Yes!”
Q: What drives you?
A: It’s the passion to be the best, and it’s the passion to do what the other guys can’t do, which is build relationships. I just think I should always be at every event, and I can’t, but I try. I think you get so much more when you’re there. What drives me is to try to do the best, what drives me is to give my all, what drives me is to give the station the chance to get something unique that nobody else gets. How can I get a 1-on-1? How can I find a story that nobody else can find? How can I create television that is different and unique, and how can I tell a story? That’s what drives me. That’s why the Olympics are so special, because you’re telling stories, it’s human drama, it’s not just 5-4 the final score. The other thing that I love is the people I work with. It’s my broadcast partners, it’s my cameramen, it’s my producers, it’s the sports information directors, it’s the athletic directors, it’s the coaches, it’s the general managers, the team presidents … I remember talking to Donnie Mattingly about basketball. He was a great shooter, and he used to always talk hoops by his locker. That’s special when he wants to talk about other sports, you know? I was once doing an interview with Pete Sampras and I was a little bit nervous, and he comes up to me and asked me about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (chuckle), I was one of the original voices of the UFC. It makes you feel good that he’s watching you and he wants to ask you a question.
Q: Other subjects you were nervous interviewing?
A: I was always nervous interviewing [Wayne] Gretzky for some reason. I handled it pretty good, I think, but I was always a little bit taken aback by, I guess, that he was The Great One. Jimmy Jacobs was the manager of Mike Tyson. Marty Glickman was my coach at the time at MSG Network, and Marty goes, “Bruce (begins Glickman imitation), I want you to grab a handball on your way over to go interview Jim Jacobs. He was one of the greatest handball players who ever lived. … This is the way you do an interview when you’re nervous, you go in there and you say, ‘Jim, I have something for you. And you throw it to him.’ ” And I did just that. And he was like, “Wow! You know about my handball?”
Q: Patrick Ewing?
A: “No lights. Watch my toes.” You had to be careful of his toes, he iced after every game with his knees and he put his actual feet in water buckets of ice, and he didn’t like the light. … Ewing’s lifting weights the night after scoring 44 in a playoff game, he’s in the weight room, and he goes, “I need to maintain my strength.” The great ones are driven to be better.
Q: Rick Pitino coaching St. John’s?
A: So Pitino and I go way back, 1980. I did a game as a 24-year-old, it was St. Peter’s against Boston University. Pitino was 28. By the way we were born on the same day, Sept. 18. … I think that he will have a tremendous year with St. John’s, they’re going to the NCAA Tournament. And I expect them to be a team that could be a Sweet 16 team or better. One of the great basketball minds I think of our era by far.
Q: Favorite interview subjects?
A: Bill Walton, absolutely loved him. My mom once called me after an interview with Walton and she said: “Bruce, you got inside his head!” I remember that vividly. [Michael] Strahan, because I’d have to talk him into talking on certain days when he wasn’t supposed to talk. I once got him at a Sam’s store on a Sunday in the parking lot near MetLife Stadium. I see him go by and he goes, (in high-pitched voice) “What the hell is Bruce Beck doing in a Sam’s store?” Carmelo Anthony, (Derek) Jeter, David Wright, Lou Lamoriello, Brian Cashman and Eli (Manning). I also would throw Tom Coughlin and Joe Torre into the mix as guys that were my guys that I was able to lean on and they could trust me. The other night I was doing the Olympic Zone, which is 7:30 New York time but 1:30 in the morning here [Paris]. I got off the air at 2 o’clock, and there’s a text, and it’s from Joe Torre. And it says — I’m just looking at my phone real quick — “Great job, Bruce. No surprise. J.T.” You get stuff like that, it’s kinda cool.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Jeter once said to me, “Be tough, but fair, and nobody will ever fault you.” And I followed that to a T. I think I can still ask the difficult question, but I can do it in a manner that’s fair, it’s pleasing. Mark Teixeira when he used to get into a slump hated the word slump. I knew that. I would ask Teixeira in a different way and say, “Mark, you’re struggling at the plate, but do you feel you’re closer?” You want to ask a question everybody wants to ask about the person. Then you want to ask a question that nobody knows about. And then my third philosophy is to be a good listener and to be able to follow up. I tell kids that all the time.
Q: Announcers or broadcasters you admired?
A: [Howard] Cosell. I based everything in my life around Marv [Albert]. I memorized five of his commercials — Eastern Airlines, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Schaefer beer, Ultra Ban 5000. Marv was my hero (imitates Marv) — “Right sideline Monroe, deep right corner DeBusschere, turns back to the basket, side jumper, Yes! and it counts. Back after this word from Schaefer beer (recites rest of commercial).” Keith Jackson. And I loved Curt Gowdy — underrated how good he was, especially at college basketball.
Q: Boyhood idols?
A: Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath, Muhammad Ali.
Q: Tell me the whiteout story.
A: It was in Boston, it was the All-Star game. I thought I was putting drops in my eyes and it ended up being whiteout, and it was right before I went on the air, and they rushed me to Boston Medical Center, they put me into an ambulance and I missed the show, I missed the shots, they had to give me a tetanus shot in the hospital, they had to put cups inside my eyes and cleanse it with saline solution. I ended up being in the hospital for like two or three hours and they told me that because I had the contacts in the eyes it saved my eyes and I would only need cortisone drops for the next couple of days and that my vision would clear by the morning.
Q: Your longtime cameraman of 27 years Jimmy Roberts.
A: We’re like Batman and Robin. Phenomenal cameraman, better person. Willing to dive and dig and do anything that I want to do. Ultimate hustler, but he gets along great with the players. It’s really an asset for me. He’s a wonderful partner, and my parents loved him. He’s like a family member.
Q: Our late, great Post photographer Anthony Causi was your dear friend.
A: One of the most amazing people that you could ever know. His spirit was unstoppable. He would take pictures of people he never met and send it to ’em. Loved my wife, loved my kids, they all called him Causi. It hit me so hard, it was like the first time that we all realized what COVID was. There’s a face to COVID, there’s a name to COVID. (Voice cracking) I still cry when I read his texts, which is still in my phone about “Bruce it’s bad, it’s real bad. Please look after my family, look after my kids if you can.” I still have those texts, that still are gut-wrenching. There was no one who was more about the fabric of New York than Anthony Causi. He was the heart and soul.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: John Wooden, Billie Jean King, Muhammad Ali.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Godfather.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Al Pacino, old-school.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Margot Robbie.
Q: Favorite singer?
A: Billy Joel.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Chicken parm.
Q: Biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
A: I think I needed to stop being Marv and try to be myself. And my voice had to develop. I don’t think any voice really became a confident, controlled voice that comes from your abdomen until I was in my 40s. I had to sometimes swallow my pride and learn to be a total team player. I learned to be more concise. I think I understand what the storyline needs to be. But I think overcoming the high-pitched voice, looking young, hair parted in the middle. I needed reps. I’m still learning every day. You never stop learning. Wooden talks about that in his books.
Q: Adjectives you would use to describe Bruce Beck.
A: Passionate. Energetic. Driven. Warm. Caring. Kind. Respectful. Loving. Loyal. Grateful. Humble. Workaholic. Family man first (voice cracking). First and foremost.
Q: Janet Beck?
A: Love of my life. Greatest partner anyone could ever have. Forty-three years of marriage. (Voice cracking) Forty-seven years my girlfriend. Supportive. Strong. Never lets me get arrogant. Calls me up if I do. In addition to my lover, she’s my best friend first.
Q: What’s it like being Bruce Beck?
A: It’s an honor. It’s a privilege. It’s a joy. It’s exhausting. It’s energizing. It’s fascinating.
Q: You have two children (Jon and Mike), two daughters-in-law, a brother and six grandchildren. What is it like being a grandfather?
A: It is the greatest thing in the world! It is the most incredible joy you could reap for anything. You have to be there for them, and you have to support them, the way my folks supported me. It’s amazing and it’s awesome.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I’m most proud of the relationships that I’ve built. I’m most proud of the family that I’ve built. I’m most proud of being there for family and friends. I’m most proud that I haven’t lost my zest for life. I’m most proud that I followed Felix and Doris Beck’s mantra of being (voice cracking) trustworthy, honest and loyal. Felix Beck taught me from the beginning that you treat the janitor and the president of the company the same. And don’t do it because the janitor can do more for you. You do it because it’s right. I was fortunate to have tremendous role models, and they were married for 69 years. And they were pillars of the community. Felix Beck, his word was his bond. And that’s what I’m trying to follow.
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