Mick Hubert, the "Voice of the Gators," was hired 30 years ago this month. He waves to the O'Dome crowd in November for being recognized as a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2018. (Photo: Courtney Mims/UAA Communications)
More Than a Voice: 30 Years Later, Hubert Part of Gators Lore
Monday, May 6, 2019 | General, Baseball, Men's Basketball, Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Spend any time around Mick Hubert on press row or in a radio booth, and once those famous pipes warm up, stories start to pour from his lock-box memory.
Storytelling is an important part of his life's work, a path Hubert chose as a young boy growing up in rural St. Anne, Ill., about 70 miles south of Chicago in farming country. It's a passion that brought Hubert to the University of Florida and earned him a place in the Florida Sports Hall of Fame during his 30th anniversary season.
Revered by his most ardent fans in a way that places him among a select group of famous citizens of Gator Nation, Hubert is simply known as the "Voice of the Gators." He took over the position 30 years ago this month. The late Bill Arnsparger, then UF's athletic director, announced Hubert's hiring on May 4, 1989. For the past three decades, Hubert has become as synonymous to the Gators' greatest moments as much as Steve Spurrier, Tim Tebow and Billy Donovan.
He was behind a mic for them all.
"I get amazed at this,'' said Mark Wise, Hubert's longtime partner on radio broadcasts of UF men's basketball games. "Wherever we go on the road, you'd be shocked at the number of people who want his autograph or want his picture. I don't know how to describe that. Yes, he's the 'Voice of the Gators,' but it's almost like to these Gator fans, he is their voice."
Hubert's ability to capture what is happening on the field or court and relay it to listeners in his spirited style has made him one of the best-known play-by-play announcers in the country. He is the only broadcaster in history to call national championship wins for the same school in college football (three), men's basketball (two) and baseball (one).
Generations of Florida fans tell stories of listening to Hubert's calls – often turning off the television in favor of the Gator Radio Network broadcast – during some of most memorable moments in UF sports history.
More than 40 years into his broadcasting career, the 65-year-old Hubert maintains a boyish enthusiasm toward his job. He remains a student of the genre, critiquing other announcers as he drives home from a late-night game with the car radio tuned to a game far away.
His approach is certainly more seasoned but no different than when he made his play-by-play debut at a high school football game on WMDB in Peoria, Ill., as a student at Illinois State University.
Get the facts right. Be interesting and energetic. Make the listener imagine being there.
"We're here to capture the headlines while they're being made,'' Hubert said. "I can't do anything about the game itself, but I need to be able to be as good as the game. If the game is good, I need to be good. If the game is bad, I need to be better than that.
"It has never been style over substance. You've got to get in there and understand your craft. I'm going to be exhausted at the end of the game. I hope the fans can feel that."
In the same way Gators fans hang on Hubert's words over the radio, he grew up glued to the broadcasts of Chicago announcers such as Red Rush on WMAQ and Jack Brickhouse on WGN.
Brickhouse's famous "Hey-hey! Hey-hey!" call once a ball landed in the seats for a Cubs home captured Hubert's imagination and taught him the importance of a play-by-play announcer having a signature call in his tool box. Rush's booming, cheerful voice still resonates for Hubert today as it did in 1963 when Chicago's Loyola University stunned Cincinnati to win the NCAA men's basketball national championship.
Loyola coach George Ireland's team led the country in scoring that season and beat Tennessee Tech, Mississippi State, Illinois, Duke and Cincinnati to capture the title. They played home games at the now-demolished Chicago Stadium and overcame a 15-point deficit at Louisville's Freedom Hall to prevent the Bearcats from becoming the first team to win three consecutive national titles.
Seems like yesterday for a kid from St. Anne.
From left: Nick Belmonte, Mick Hubert, Lee McGriff and Mark Wise at Hubert's Florida Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November. (Photo: Courtesy of Belmonte)
As Hubert digs deeper into the story, he recites Rush's famous commercial that boomed over the airwaves for Gonnella Bread, one of the Ramblers' primary sponsors in those days.
"Make sure you stop by and get some Gonnella Bread. Gonnella, hard-baked bread. That's G-o-n-n-e-l-l-a. Gonnella: It's swella, fella."
Hubert let's out a roaring laugh.
"I'm 9 years old and going, 'that's what I want to do,' " he said. "I never forgot that."
If Brickhouse, Rush and other Chicago voices from Hubert's childhood awakened his interest in a career in the press box, another voice from the Midwest made perhaps the greatest impact on Hubert's career.
He only met late sportscaster Dick Enberg once, but each time Hubert howls "Oh My!" following a big play by the Gators, Hubert's signature call can be traced back to Enberg. Hubert's ears were first tickled by Enberg's "Oh My" in the mid-1970s when Enberg was the play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Rams and a former colleague of Hubert's living in Southern California would send him tapes.
Hubert created his own version and decades later, Florida fans instantly recognize a big moment in any game.
"They are completely different,'' said Nick Belmonte, Hubert's longtime broadcast partner in the baseball radio booth. "It's unique. When you hear that, that only means good things are happening."
Before he was hired to replace David Steele as the "Voice of the Gators," Hubert spent 10 years as sports director at CBS affiliate WHIO in Dayton, Ohio, where he also served as radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Dayton football and men's basketball teams.
The opportunity to come to Florida arrived unexpectedly when a colleague reading a trade magazine suggested to Hubert that he should go after the job vacated by Steele, who was leaving UF after seven years to become the radio voice of the NBA's expansion franchise in Orlando. Intrigued, Hubert sent along his credentials and then headed to Tampa to cover the Cincinnati Reds in spring training.
Time passed and Hubert didn't give the Florida job much thought. Unbeknownst to him, former Cincinnati Bengals coach Homer Rice, athletic director at Georgia Tech at the time, had put in a good word for Hubert with Arnsparger. Rice had spent three days with Hubert the previous December working together in preparation to call the 1988 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III national championship game.
Steele was on UF's hiring committee along with Arnsparger, former Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley and then-marketing director Todd Rainsberger. They received hundreds of applications for a position that had had only two people occupy: original Gators play-by-play man Otis Boggs, who held the job for 40 years, and Steele.
"My job was to whittle it down to single digits,'' said Steele, who recently completed his 30th season with the Orlando Magic. "What stood out about him was his energy. He was so descriptive as a play-by-play guy. He had really solid technique. And then when you met him, his personality. He impressed everybody right away."
In the end, the committee narrowed the choice down to three finalists: Larry Vettel, sports director at WRUF radio, Virginia Tech radio play-by-play announcer Bill Roth, and Hubert.
Hubert interviewed for the job in late April and soon after he fell asleep the day he returned home to Ohio, Arnsparger called to offer him the job.
"I owe those guys a whole lot,'' he said.
As with most play-by-play announcers introduced to a new audience of passionate fans and armchair critics, Hubert needed time to cast his spell. His first Gators football game was the '89 season opener, a 24-19 loss to Ole Miss at Florida Field.
For years, Hubert has relied on a mantra prior to turning on the mic and going live.
"The prayer I say before every game is, 'Lord, give me the eyes to see and the words to say.' "
At least one prominent critic of the time, late St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Hubert Mizell, was not impressed. Three game into Hubert's tenure, Mizell penned the following in a notes column: Upon first exposure to the Florida Gators' new football broadcast team of Mick Hubert and Lee McGriff, my impressions were predominantly negative. Too little presence, too little authority, too little professionalism.
Hubert approached his new job the only way he knows how. He devoted himself to preparation Monday through Friday to be at his best on Saturday. He then reviewed the broadcast of the game – a practice he continues to this day – to self-analyze. Mark Wise, Mick Hubert and Steve Egan courtside at a UF men's basketball game. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
If others shared Mizell's initial opinion – for the record, Mizell and Hubert later became friendly acquaintances and Mizell even once pitched a radio show named "Hubert & Hubert" that the UF announcer did not have time to do – Hubert was unaware.
He was too busy refining his craft.
"When I get the job, I'd been working 13 years doing football broadcasting and radio and television sports. I wasn't a novice. I was 35 years old,'' he said. "I had enough maturity to know that if it doesn't work in Gainesville, Florida, I'm not a failure. I can go do this and someone else will receive me better. But I don't want to come in and act like I know more about Florida football than Lee McGriff, who grew up idolizing the Gators, played for the Gators, and had been broadcasting with David Steele the three previous years.
"I'm not going to try and get into an analytical battle with Lee McGriff. That would be career suicide. That first year, I'm the new guy."
A former Gators receiver and assistant coach, McGriff has served two stints in the booth with Hubert. First, from 1989-93, and then after stepping away when his son Travis played for the Gators, he returned in 2004 and has teamed with Hubert on Saturdays ever since.
McGriff's approach with his new partner mirrored Hubert's. Each brought a unique expertise to the booth, so to allow the other to shine in their realm.
"He loves this stuff,'' said McGriff, whose full-time career is in the insurance business. "He has known since he was a little boy that this is what he wanted to do. He really is totally dedicated. To put it into context, I have never been confused about who's the star of the show."
Hubert's most distinct calls over the years have taken on legendary status among Gators fans. He came along at a perfect time, the year before Spurrier arrived to take over a troubled football program and lead it into uncharted territory. A few years later, Donovan was hired to lead the UF men's basketball program and built the Gators into a consistent winner.
In Hubert's first decade in Gainesville, the Gators' athletic department took off under Foley's leadership to become one of the most successful in the country.
Still, it took time for fans to get to know the new guy they heard on the radio and saw on weekly TV shows talking to the coaches. They sometimes called him Mike or Mark or Mitch.
He became Mick on the night of Sept. 11, 1993, in Lexington, Ky. It was his fifth season on the job. It was the night a freshman quarterback named Danny Wuerffel, in his second game, threw a touchdown pass to a former walk-on receiver named Chris Doering with three seconds left to lift the Gators to a 24-20 win over the Wildcats.
"Wuerffel dropping back to throw, pumps and fires the ball over the middle. DOERING'S GOT A TOUCHDOWN! DOERING'S GOT A TOUCHDOWN! OHHHH MY! DOERING'S GOT A TOUCHDOWN! THE GATORS HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD! UNBELIEVABLE! DOERING'S GOT A TOUCHDOWN!"
In the radio booth, McGriff had to back away to avoid getting hit as Hubert waved his arms wildly.
"He is beet red. His jugular vein is out. His chair is knocked over," McGriff said. "I just want to die laughing. He has lost his mind. He got the call out, but if you could just have seen him at the time."
Hubert's call was replayed by television networks for a week. In a career that has included many signature calls, it's the one that put him on the map nationally.
In the age of social media, Hubert prefers to let his work at the mic stand on its own. He is not on Twitter or Instagram and has no plans to start now. But when he reflects on his career, he is quick to acknowledge the importance the call at Kentucky had on his career.
"If anything could have gone viral back in those days, that did,'' he chuckles.
In his view, there is no secret to his success. It all starts with a blue-collar work ethic that includes constant preparation and strict attention to details.
During football season, Hubert prepares a chart on the Gators on Mondays. On Tuesdays, he works on the opponent's chart. He creates charts on the special teams for both teams on Wednesdays. On Thursdays he updates those charts, creates a live-game chart with notes, records, game-by-game details and other relevant information. He then studies them until kickoff.
The workload amps up in late October with the start of basketball season. Basketball season then bleeds into baseball season in the spring. While Hubert has cut back on his baseball radio schedule since the end of the 2017 season, he continues to work TV telecasts on the SEC Network with longtime baseball partner Belmonte. Gators play-by-play voice Mick Hubert in his office looking at one of the game charts he creates for each broadcast. (Photo: Scott Carter/UAA Communications)
Hubert records his broadcasts with an app on his phone and reviews them with a critical ear.
"He wants to be the best broadcaster he can be and I think his attention to detail makes it that way," said Steve Egan, senior network producer for the Gator Radio Network. "He genuinely loves being a sportscaster and you can hear it in his voice and the way he calls games. That's what separates him from others."
While football and basketball are more suited for his emotional approach, baseball is equally close to Hubert's heart. He shed tears in the booth next to colleague Jeff Cardozo in Omaha when the Gators won the 2017 national championship.
A former UF baseball player, Belmonte has worked alongside Hubert longer than any other partner. They are in their 30th season together. When Hubert was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in November, his three primary partners over the years – Wise, McGriff and Belmonte – joined him and his wife, Judi, at the ceremony in Pensacola.
Belmont serves as the expert analyst in the baseball booth, yet he remains impressed at Hubert's ability to shift seamlessly from one sport to the next after all these years.
"He knows the history,'' Belmonte said. "He has the love and passion for baseball and that came through early on. He understands the game, which is important. That's not always the case for broadcasters who do multiple sports."
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In recent years, Hubert's body of work has been recognized in the Sunshine State and beyond. He was named Florida Sportscaster of the Year in 2017 by the National Sports Media Association.
There was a time when his dream job was as play-by-play announcer for one of Chicago's professional sports teams. Those days have past. He and Judi, a longtime teacher, moved to Florida and found a home.
The Gators found their voice.
"He's like an old-fashioned announcer," said Norm Carlson, UF's sports information director when Hubert was hired and now the Gators' official historian. "He tells the story and doesn't change in any way the facts. He has a good way of getting it across to people without overdoing it. He's what those guys ought to be."
Hubert realizes his passionate style might not be for everyone, but that's the reality of a play-by-play announcer. When listening to Hubert, it's obvious he wants the Gators to win. Still, his professionalism and commitment to his craft keeps him from becoming an over-the-top cheerleader.
Hubert learned over the years that finding a proper balance is a common trait of the best in the booth.
Mick Hubert has called Gators games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium since the start of the 1989 season. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
"I have no trouble being called a homer,'' he said. "It doesn't play everywhere. Philadelphia, for example, they're a little tougher on their announcers. There's different ways to do it. I understand that probably 98 percent of my audience is Gators fans, but I'm not so naïve to believe that 100 percent of Gators fans like me."
That may be true, but the majority has spoken. For the last three decades.
As another season of Gators athletics nears an end, Hubert is already looking ahead. In less than four months the Gators open the season against Miami in Orlando. He'll find time to get away for a summer trip or two, usually to the beach and then back home to visit Chicago later in the summer.
Once he gets home, he'll start thinking about the next game. The R-word is not on his mind.
"It's only been about three or four years now that I started to get the question, 'Mick, when are you going to retire?' " he said. "I don't feel old. I feel like I can still do this for a long time, as long as I can walk and talk."
That's a call likely to get a thumbs up from Milton to Miami. The "Voice of the Gators" is not ready to go silent.
Steele can relate. He's had the same job since leaving UF and has watched the man who replaced him make it his own.
"When I think of the Gators now, after 30 years, I think of Mick Hubert," Steele said. "You think of Steve Spurrier. You think of Billy Donovan. You think about those people. I think Mick is right there."
"I get amazed at this,'' said Mark Wise, Hubert's longtime partner on radio broadcasts of UF men's basketball games. "Wherever we go on the road, you'd be shocked at the number of people who want his autograph or want his picture. I don't know how to describe that. Yes, he's the 'Voice of the Gators,' but it's almost like to these Gator fans, he is their voice."
