Howie Rose will be joining the greats of New York baseball as he will be enshrined in the New York Baseball Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on November 3rd in Troy, NY.
Along with Rose, former Mets starter and current broadcaster Ron Darling, former New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, and former Mets first baseman/outfielder Art Shamsky will also be inducted.
The news came late Wednesday from Entercom, the company that owns WCBS-880 AM where Rose currently broadcast New York Mets games.
“Howie is an iconic voice for the New York Mets franchise and has served as a stalwart for the team’s coverage for over three decades,” said Susan Larkin, Entercom’s New York regional president and market manager. “This distinguished honor further cements Howie’s stature in the sports broadcasting industry and we’re proud that he is part of our team.”
Rose, 65, began his Mets broadcast in 1996 on WWOR-TV. He also televised games on Fox Sports New York and WPIX when the Mets moved their over-the-air broadcast there in 1999. He was paired with Gary Thorne for the majority of his eight-year television career.
In 2003, he moved to the radio booth, joining Gary Cohen on WFAN. When Cohen joined the new SportsNet New York cable network in 2006, Rose became the lead play-by-play announcer for the Mets as he is to this day He has moved around the dial on the radio, broadcasting on WFAN for eight years, WOR for five years and now his current home, WCBS, which is in its first year broadcasting the Mets.
Rose’s end-of-game catchphrase is, “Put it in the books,” used after the final out is recorded in a Mets win. He is an unabashed Mets fan and is known to be an expert in Mets history.
Rose is also a versatile announcer, having dome play-by-play for both New York Rangers and New York Islanders of the NHL. He is best known for his famous for his call of “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” made when Stephane Matteau scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime of Game 7 of the 1994 Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils.
“Howie is certainly one of the very best announcers in sports history,” said Rene M. LeRoux, executive director for the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame. “His record of broadcast excellence in multiple sports is well documented.”
Rose said in a statement about his honor, “I’d like to thank the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame for including me in an impressive group of inductees this year, I’m honored to be part of a collection of some of the biggest names in baseball history.”
