Gary Bender Gary Nedrow Bender ( born September 1 , 1940 ) is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee in to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame . He officially retired , April 13 , 2011 , from Fox Sports Arizona network after 18 years calling the NBA ' s Phoenix Suns games . Biography . Early career . Bender , who was born in Norton , Kansas , and raised in a nearby town of Ulysses , Kansas , graduated from Ulysses High School in 1958 , then attended Wichita State University , graduating with a journalism degree in 1962 , then got his masters degree from the University of Kansas in 1964 . Bender then began his broadcasting career calling games at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson , KS and then went on to do the same at the University of Kansas ' football and basketball programs in the 1960s . He also spent years as a broadcaster in Wisconsin and called all of the Wisconsin Athletic Association championship games , as well as Green Bay Packers radio and Milwaukee Brewers television in the early 1970s . CBS Sports . He did play - by - play for the " NFL on CBS " from 1975 to 1986 ( among his partners were Johnny Unitas , Sonny Jurgensen and John Madden , all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame ) , the 1981 NBA Finals along with color commentators Rick Barry and Bill Russell , both members of the Basketball Hall of Fame . He was CBS ' first play - by - play announcer for the network ' s coverage of the NCAA Division I Men ' s Basketball Tournament , calling the Final Four in 1982 , 1983 and 1984 . In 1982 and 1983 , he was CBS ' lead college football play - by - play man . ABC Sports . On October 27 , 1987 , Bender ( along with Lynn Swann ) called the " Monday Night Football " game between the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings . That game had been scheduled for October 26 , but when the Minnesota Twins ( who at the time , shared the Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome with the Vikings ) played Game 7 of the World Series that day , the football game was moved to Monday . In 1988 , Bender did play - by - play for the American League Championship Series alongside Baseball Hall of Fame rs Joe Morgan and Reggie Jackson . He also announced college football games for ABC Sports , where he formerly worked alongside Dick Vermeil . " Major League Baseball on ABC " . As previously mentioned , Bender did play - by - play for the 1988 American League Championship Series between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox . Bender spent two years ( 1987 - 1988 ) as the # 2 baseball play - by - play man for ABC behind Al Michaels . Bender worked the backup " Monday Night Baseball " broadcasts ( with Tim McCarver in 1987 and Joe Morgan in 1988 ) as well as serving as a field reporter for ABC ' s 1987 World Series coverage . After Bender spent an entire summer developing a team with Joe Morgan , ABC brought in Reggie Jackson to work with the duo for the 1988 ALCS . According to Bender ' s autobiography " Call of the Game " , ABC ' s decision to bring in Jackson to work with Bender and Morgan caused problems : Bender went further in his criticism of Jackson by saying : When writing about working the fourth and ultimately final game of the 1988 ALCS , Bender says : Bender concludes by saying : Gary Bender would ultimately be taken off ABC ' s baseball team in favor of Gary Thorne in 1989 . Turner Sports . Bender also called NFL games for TNT from 1992 to 1994 , teaming with Pat Haden . On December 17 , 2009 , Bender filled in for Marv Albert , who was battling throat problems , to call the Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers game on TNT and called the game with Reggie Miller . FSN - Arizona and Versus . As previously mentioned , for 18 years , Bender was the television play - by - play announcer on Fox Sports Net ( FSN - Arizona ) for the National Basketball Association ' s Phoenix Suns , he worked alongside former Suns players Eddie Johnson and Scott Williams . In 2006 , he was named as the play - by - play announcer for the Versus network ' s coverage of Mountain West Conference football , where he would be partnered with former NFL player Glenn Parker . Personal . Bender is also co - author with Michael Johnson of the biography " Call of the Game " , in which he shares his life story , tips on how to become a better broadcaster , and his Christian testimony . Bender did a series of Kendall Motor Oil commercials in mid - 1980s . In the first five months of 2001 , Bender presided as host of the nationally syndicated " Focus on the Family " radio show after the resignation of previous host Mike Trout ( 1985 – 2000 ) because of an extramarital affair . Bender was replaced on a full - time basis by Focus vice president of broadcasting John Fuller . Gary Bender is an alumnus of the Kansas Delta chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Wichita State where he received his bachelors degree . He received his masters degree in radio and TV from the University of Kansas . His son , Trey , is also a sportscaster and played Pop Warner Little Scholars .