Philadelphia 76ers: Marc Zumoff found ways to turn garbage into gold

If you’ve watched a Philadelphia 76ers game at any point since 1994, you’ve probably heard the dulcet tones of Marc Zumoff, the team’s Philly-born, Temple-educated play-by-play announcer.

Over his 27 seasons career in the booth – 38 if you count Zumoff’s time as a pre-game/halftime/post-game host – Zumoff has called well over 2,000 games, been paired up with six different color commentators, and, most notoriously of all, has generated a chapbook’s worth of unique “Zumoff-isms” that have seeped into the Philly sports landscape like few others can boast.

From “we’re coming in for a landing,” to “a healthy 3,” and my personal favorite, an energetic “Yes!” Zumoff always found a way to turn “Garbage into Gold” whether the team was on pace for 10 wins or 56.

But unfortunately for fans in the 215, the days of tuning in on a random Wednesday evening to hear Zumoff call a game alongside Alaa Abdelnaby have officially come to an end, as the longtime broadcaster has decided to retire at the age of 65 after four decades in the business.

Good news for Mr. Zumoff, who leaves a wonderful legacy that few could even dream of, but for fans of the Philadelphia 76ers? Yeah, this one is going to take some getting used to.

Philadelphia 76ers games just won’t be the same without Marc Zumoff.

More from Section 215

The 1994-95 season wasn’t a particularly noteworthy one for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Philly was coming off of two-straight seasons with wins in the mid-20s and had the unfortunate honor of watching Charles Barkley, the team’s McDonalds-loving draftee, win league MVP in 1993 as a member of the Phoenix Suns. Their best player was… probably Dana Barros, and after cycling through three head coaches in the previous two years, team owner Harold Katz was hoping that John Lucas would be the man to finally return the Sixers to their early 80s form.

Let’s just say, when this particular section of the Sixers’ history is labeled the “Dark Ages” on their Wikipedia, it probably isn’t a good thing.

Marc Zumoff was there for that particular season, one that, funny enough, saw the team sign his eventual commentating partner, Alaa Abdelnaby, midway through the season to a pair of 10-day contracts. He also called Allen Iverson‘s first game, Allen Iverson’s last game before being traded to the Denver Nuggets, and even Allen Iverson’s 25 game reunion tour in 2009-10.

If you have any on-court memories of Iverson, Zumoff’s voice is likely attached to it like the optical sound on a film strip, which is probably why “The Answer” shouted him out in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, calling the commentator, “the best commentator, the world’s best commentator hands down!”

That’s some pretty high praise.

From there, Zumoff remained the lone consistent on a team defined by change, outlasting their owner, star players, and even a half dozen color commentators. He helped to make “The Process” fun to watch, relished the revelation that was Joel Embiid‘s debut, and watched along with us as the Sixers transformed from, well, from garbage into gold under Brett Brown and eventually Doc Rivers.

That sort of consistency was incredible. It endowed Sixers games with a sort of familiar intimacy that simply doesn’t develop when a team changes out their commentators frequently and made it so that nationally televised games became more of a chore than an exciting event.

But now? Now every game will feel that way… for the next 20 or so years, give or take.

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So Marc Zumoff, thank you for everything you’ve done for our fair city. Thank you for calling games, for giving pre/post/mid-game analysis, and, most importantly of all, for your philanthropic contributions. While you never got to watch the Philadelphia 76ers win the ‘chip as a member of the announcing team, though I’m sure he appreciated the 1982-83 team nonetheless, few non-players have been as impactful on an entire fanbase, an entire NBA Era, and an entire city as you, Zoo. Enjoy retirement, and I hope we still get to hear from you from time to time.