Later this month, HBO will introduce viewers to one of the most remarkable stories in sports history, Jewish-American athlete Martin ‘Marty’ Glickman, who went from nearly competing at the 1936 Olympics to becoming an innovative sports broadcaster.
Glickman was born in the Bronx in 1917 and was nicknamed ‘The Flatbush Flash’ as a teenager. He was a star sprint champion and high-school football star before he even entered Syracuse University. There, he continued track and football. He tried out for the 1939 Olympic track team, barely making it as part of the 400-meter relay team.
When the team arrived in Berlin, Glickman and Sam Stoller, both Jewish, were told to sit out the relay for fear of ‘secret’ Germans. It turned out that the Germans couldn’t beat the Americans anyway. The U.S. easily won the gold. Glickman also saw Jesse Owens win three gold medals.
When he returned to New York, he became well known for energetic recreation of baseball games on the radio. He then served in World War II, but when he returned, he kept focusing on broadcasting, becoming the voice of the Knicks and later the voice of the Giants in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Later, he joined HBO, becoming the first voice heard on the network and worked for NBC.
Glickman retired in 1992 and died at age 83 in 2001.
James L. Freedman wrote, directed and produced Glickman, the documentary on Glickman’s life that will air on HBO starting on Aug. 26 at 9 p.m. He cut archive footage with interviews with Marv Albert, Bob Costas, Bill Bradley, Jim Brown, Frank Gifford, Larry King, Jerry Stiller, New York Giants co-owner John Mara and others.