Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by-blow" action for over 2,000 fights, including historic bouts like the 1971

Fight of the Century Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as ''The Fight Of The Century'' or simply ''The Fight'', was a heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and former undisputed heavyweight cham ...

between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The ''

Friday Night Fights The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier Box ...

'' were broadcast every Friday evening from (radio and television (1939–1981) 9 P.M. to 10:45 P.M on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Biography

He was born in New York City, and was a graduate of Manhattan College. At the beginning of his career, he was a

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for the

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

and the newspaper '' PM'' While Dunphy was best known as a boxing expert, he also broadcast the evening sports report on WINS in New York, and in mid-July 1943, he was chosen by the BBC to give a summary of the All-Star game that was relayed to American troops stationed in England and North Africa. Dunphy's broadcast was well-received, and the BBC then asked him to broadcast summaries of the 1943

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. In 1944, Dunphy was selected to do the New York Yankees play-by-play over WINS, assisted by

Al Schacht Alexander Schacht (November 11, 1892 – July 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and, later, restaurateur. Schacht was a pitcher in the major leagues from 1919 to 1921 for the Washington Senators. Early life Schacht ...

. However, Schacht, best known as a comic, acknowledged that he was not comfortable doing play-by-play, and he was soon replaced by Bill Slater, a former announcer on WOR Radio. Dunphy and Slater shared play-by-play duties throughout the 1944 baseball season. In 1984, Dunphy was part of the

American Sportscasters Association The American Sportscasters Association (ASA) was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London (Hanna) and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non-profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of ...

Hall of Fame's inaugural class which included sportscasting legends

Red Barber Walter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sports announcer and author. Nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", he was primarily identified with broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four d ...

Ted Husing Edward Britt Husing (November 27, 1901 – August 10, 1962) was an American sportscaster. He was among the first to lay the groundwork for the structure and pace of modern sports reporting on television and radio. Overview Early life and caree ...

Graham McNamee Thomas Graham McNamee (July 10, 1888 – May 9, 1942) was an American radio broadcaster, the medium's most recognized national personality in its first international decade. He originated play-by-play sports broadcasting for which he was awa ...

and

Bill Stern Bill Stern (July 1, 1907 – November 19, 1971) was an American actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game. In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscaster ...

. He was also a member of the organization's Board of Directors. He was elected in 1986 to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. Dunphy was inducted into the

National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicati ...

in 1988 and had a memorable cameo appearance in the 1971

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

movie ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

''. He appears as the commentator in the 1977 biopic of Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest". He also called all of the fights in the 1980

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

film ''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: My ...

'', which was directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

. In 1982, he won the

Sam Taub Award The Sam Taub Award is a yearly award presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism. The award is named after Sam Taub, a journalist and radio broadcaster who is best known for his work covering box ...

for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism in boxing. He is a member of the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

. Dunphy was a star track athlete and went on to graduate from Manhattan College in 1930. In 1984, he was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame. His son, Don Dunphy Jr., was an executive producer of '' Eyewitness News'' on

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in its early years, and later became vice president of news services at

. His other son, Bob Dunphy, has been a director of Showtime Championship Boxing since 1989. In 2015 he directed the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, the highest-grossing pay-per-view event in history. He is buried in the

Cemetery of the Holy Rood The Cemetery of the Holy Rood is a Catholic cemetery located in Westbury, New York. The cemetery, established in 1930, is part of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. History The oldest part of the cemetery was originally the burial ...

in Westbury, New York.

Selected filmography

*''Joe Frazier vs. Manuel Ramos'' (1968) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *''Mac Foster vs. Jerry Quarry'' (1970) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *''Dick Tiger vs. Emile Griffith'' (1970) – Himself – Ring Announcer *''

'' (1971) – Don Dunphy *''Floyd Patterson vs. Oscar Bonavena'' (1972) – Himself – Ring Announcer *'' Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III'' (1975) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *'' The Greatest'' (1977) – Commentator *''

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

'' (1978) – Ringside announcer *''Thomas Hearns vs. Pipino Cuevas'' (1980) – Himself – Ringside Commentator *''

'' (1980) – Himself – Radio Announcer for Dauthuille Fight *''The Last Fight'' (1983) – Radio Fight Announcer *''

The Fighter ''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer Mi ...

'' (2010) – Fight Announcer (final film role)

References

External links

*
Dunphy, Don – 1984 Hall of Fame Inductee
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunphy, Don 1908 births 1998 deaths American horse racing announcers American sports announcers Boxing commentators Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood College football announcers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Major League Baseball broadcasters Manhattan College alumni National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers New York Giants announcers New York Giants (NL) announcers New York Knicks announcers New York Yankees announcers Sportspeople from New York City