Any Boston Celtics fan who’s watched a game from their living room knows Mike Gorman — or at least his voice. The 77-year-old Hall-of-Famer has been calling Celtics games since 1981 and will be doing so for just one more season. Gorman told The Athletic’s Jared Weiss so, during a recent interview.
“If I had to pin myself down, I would say, ‘Yeah, next year will probably be my last year,’” Gorman told Weiss. “If we were looking at the roster from the ’90s right now, I’d be saying, ‘I’m done.’ But this team has a chance to win a championship and I’d just like to be around for that.”
Gorman’s decision to call one final season for the C’s comes after he suffered a detached retina during a family dinner last February.
“I ended up a little more than one day from sitting there at lunch to laying on an operating table with someone going into my eye. I had no choice it turned out. I called my doctor and he said, ‘Sit right where you are and say yes to everything they ask you.’”
Following the injury, the 41-year veteran was able to get back to calling games, making his return to the broadcast on February 27 for a matchup where Boston visited the New York Knicks. The only difference — he was wearing an eye patch.
I hope Mike Gorman is OK he did not explain the eye patch pic.twitter.com/wrtUb3LH3q
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) February 28, 2023
“I still thought I could do the games and it wouldn’t be an all-out disaster,” said Gorman. “But I was going to have to look at not doing any more basketball games this year just because (the doctors) want to be conservative and I wasn’t gonna do that. I wasn’t physically sick or in any pain and just couldn’t see. But that’s kind of the bottom line of your job. I tried to fake it.”
Mike Gorman brought moments to life for Boston Celtics fans
Of course, it’s the players that create the magical moments on the court. The big dunks, clutch shots, and emphatic defensive stops.
However, it’s been Gorman who’s helped to burn those moments into the brains of Boston Celtics fans for the past four decades. He’s been able to add an extra element to some of the team’s already memorable plays.
(2003) Paul Pierce trash talking Al Harrington, then hitting the three in his grill will forever be one of the coldest buckets ever.
— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) November 11, 2019
Legendary. 💯 pic.twitter.com/HP1wgclVQW
Gorman, who grew up as a fan of the Celtics has a genuine excitement about him when things go well for the 17-time champions.
Go back and listen to the added thrill he displays in the video attached below, as Boston mounts a monstrous comeback over the Brooklyn Nets in the 2022 playoffs.
After it’s all said and done, it’s tough to imagine that the team won’t honor Gorman by raising a second microphone — alongside the legendary Johnny Most — to the rafters. When that day comes, Gorman will join his longtime broadcast partner Tommy Heinsohn amongst the Celtics greats.