Brooklyn Boro

David Halberstam: He checks all the boxes

August 9, 2021 Andy Furman
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He checks all the boxes – several times.

“I consider myself a jack of all trades,” David Halberstam told the Eagle, “but a master at none.”

Not true.

The Borough Park native and principal of Halby Group, has had a long career in sales and sales management.

He spent 10 years at Westwood One where as Executive Vice-President, Sports, he had responsibility for the company’s rights to the NFL, the NHL, the NCAA Tournament, the Masters, and other prestigious events.

He oversaw some $75 million in annual billing, and to make his revenue numbers every year, he made new business the order of the day – every day.

“I was good in sales,” he said from Florida, where he’s called home for the past 20-plus years. “I out-worked the next guy.”

Yet for all his sales – and achievements – one stands alone.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the City University of New York basketball tournament – and it was Halberstam who had the foresight to get the small Division III college games on local radio.

“Basketball was my connection to the outside world,” he said. “I loved the game, loved listening to Marv (Albert) call Knicks’ games, and it truly affected me.”

So much so, as a Hunter College freshman attending a basketball game, he happened to be seated at press row with a young man recording the game.

“His name was Barry Kipnis, and he was fantastic,” Halberstam, soon to be a 70-year-old said, “and I thought why not get these local games on radio.”

Ever the salesman, Halberstam called every New York radio station – and admits if they didn’t hang-up on him, well, they laughed.

“With the help of the Hunter Athletic Director – Dr. Anthony Scolnick – we put a package together with all the CUNY schools,” he said. “As luck would have it, through the City University system we met the Program Director of WNYC (830-AM)—Dick Pyatt.”

The rest was – almost history.

Since WNYC is a city-owned station the idea of local basketball was appealing. Money was needed for the broadcasts.

Enter Halberstam the salesman.

“We had Chemical Bank underwrite the package,” he said.

But there’s more.
The broadcast games had to be moved and the only clearance time the station afforded was 5 p.m. on, gulp, Sunday.

Today college basketball is played seven-days-a-week at any hour – back in the early ‘70s most college games – at least locally – were set for Wednesday and Saturday evenings.

So, check off Halberstam’s boxes for packaging games, sponsorship of games, and serving as color analyst for games.

Next up – getting St. John’s basketball on the radio – a local Long Island station at first – WGBB.

He spent the next 14 years selling – and calling – St. John’s University basketball and eventually moving the games to WCBS Radio (880-AM).

Oh, there’s more boxes to check.

He formed the Madison Square Garden Radio Network and also grew St. John’s University’s sponsorship support to more than $1 million annually in the 1980s.

Florida’s sun called – specifically the NBA’s Miami Heat.

“I was the corporate sales director for the Heat,” he said, “and also called play-by-play for their games on radio.”

Another box checked—basketball play-by-play on radio.

An after a successful NBA run, Halberstam joined the Nova Southeastern University Sharks Athletics family as its men’s basketball play-by-play announcer.

In total, David Halberstam has hit for the radio cycle – he called games for Division III City University teams, was play-by-play for Division II Nova Southeastern (eight years), called games for Division I St. John’s University (14 years) and was the play-by-play man for the NBA’s Miami Heat (six years).

He calls himself “persistent” and refuses to look at past accomplishments.

So, in 1999 he published Sports on New York Radio: A Play-by-Play History. In 2016, he authored, “The Fundamentals of Sports Media and Sponsorship Sales: Developing New Accounts.”

And in early 2018, Halberstam launched the website – and serves as Publisher – Sports Broadcast Journal, which evaluates the work of sports broadcasters and covers the sports media world.

“I feel accomplished,” he said, “and enjoying the SBJ publication. We accept no advertising so we’re not beholden to anyone.”

He’s the unofficial sports broadcast historian.
“I get calls from media all the time,” he said, “fact checking when Vin Scully and Marv (Albert) retired, to questions as to who called games for the (late) ABA’s Virginia Squires.”

Perhaps his greatest honor – Halberstam is a Ford C. Frick Baseball Hall of Fame voter. He is one of only three such non-Hall of Famers with that distinction.

“I love the history of sports broadcasting,” he said.

It shows – just look at the boxes – they’re all checked.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR

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