Real Name: | Linda Anne Stamaton |
Birthday: | December 18, 1944 |
Net Worth: | N/A |
Height: | N/A |
Occupation: | Wife of Al Michaels |
When you talk about the world of sports broadcasting, Al Michaels is among the biggest men in the industry. He has more than 40 years of experience in play-by-play announcing. Throughout his career, Al has covered major events in almost every American sport.
Nowadays, fans recognize him as the lead play-by-play announcer on Sunday Night Football on NBC. Yet, before moving to NBC, he was part of the ABC family for more than 25 years.
And his wife Linda has been there to support him.
Story Stages
Who Is Her Famous Husband?
Before we can talk about Linda Anne Stamaton, we have to talk about her husband. After all, she is a celebrity spouse who rose to prominence thanks to her marriage to Al.
Born Alan Richard Michaels in November 1944, he is an American television sportscaster working for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television since 1971, with his most recent gig being at NBC sports.
Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. In 1958, his family moved to Los Angeles. Fun fact: it was the same year the Dodgers left Brooklyn.
In 1962, Al graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School in 1962 and then enrolled at Arizona State University. There, he majored in radio and television and minored in journalism.
His first job was with Chuck Barris Productions. His task was to choose women to appear on The Dating Game. It wasn’t until 1967 that he moved to sports. That first sportscasting job was thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers. They hired him to do public relations and serve as a color commentator on the team’s radio broadcasts alongside veteran Chick Hearn.
Yet, after only four games, he was fired because of Hearn’s displeasure with working with a young person. In 1967, he moved to Honolulu and resumed his broadcasting career. He called play-by-play for the Hawaii Islanders baseball team in the Pacific Coast League and for the University of Hawaii’s football and basketball teams.
In 1971, he returned to the “mainland”, to Cincinnati. There, he became an announcer for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball.
In January 1977, he signed with ABC Sports on a full-time basis, and in 1983, he became the network’s lead baseball announcer. Michaels replaced Keith Jackson. Up until that point, he and Jackson would split play-by-play duties for the coverage of the World Series.
Two of his most famous broadcasts were the 1980 Winter Olympics ice hockey medal game between the United States and the Soviet Union. That game was called Miracle on Ice. He also broadcasted the attempted third game of the 1989 World Series. Fun fact: Michaels and his partner Ken Dryden also recreated his Olympic commentary in the 2004 movie Miracle.
As for his memorable baseball moments, besides the 1989 World Series, he also broadcasted the 1971 National League Championship Series, 1983 World Series, and 1985 World Series.
In 2003, he signed a long-term contract extension with ABC, saying, “ABC Sports has been my professional home for the last 26 years, and I am delighted to continue for several more”.
Yet, in 2005, Monday Night Football moved from ABC to ESPN. His partner John Madden announced his move to NBC Sports, which had acquired the rights to Sunday Night Football games.
But after a while, amid speculation, Michaels eventually joined NBC Sports.
Michaels has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also won the Sports Emmy Award five times, and the Sportscaster of the Year by the American Sportscaster Association and Washington Journalism Review.
In 2014, he released his autobiography. Titled, “You Can’t Make This Up: Memories and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television”. His book reached New York Times Best Seller List for nonfiction.
Fun fact: he has claimed that he has never knowingly eaten a vegetable in his life.
Quick Bio
Now let’s talk about his longtime wife, Linda Anne Stamaton. As we know, one of the secrets of a great marriage is to have a supportive and understanding spouse. Linda Stamaton is that for American sports presenter Al Michaels.
They have been happily married for more than 50 years. She is his support. Born in the United States in America in 1944 in California, she is now in her late 70s.
Linda has American citizenship and is of Caucasian descent. Her occupation is not revealed. She and her husband manage to protect her privacy.
With that in mind, there is no information about her early life, educational background, or professional career.
Marriage To Al
Linda is a happily married woman to the famous American sports commentator, Al Michaels. The couple got married in August 1966. And since then, they have lived a happy life with no news or rumors, controversies, or anything else.
They have two children together, Jennifer Michaels Cohn and Steven Michaels. The family resides in Los Angeles. Their son Steven serves as president and CEO of the independent film company Asylum Entertainment in Los Angeles.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Michaels talked about his wife. He said, “Linda and I met in the 10th grade so we have known each other since we were 15. She is the love of my life. She is just the greatest. That is the biggest piece of luck that ever came down the pike for me”.
Al is a Los Angeles Lakers season ticket holder. The couple is also a fan of the Los Angeles Kings. Fun fact: They reside in Brentwood, where they become friends with O.J. Simpson and his ex-wife Nicole Brown.
Linda Anne Stanton and her family are rarely seen together due to their desire for privacy.
Is She On Social Media?
Linda and Al come from a generation when social media was not prevalent at all. They live a private life. Yes, Al makes television appearances, but that is it.
He does have a Twitter profile with more than 1,200 followers. Yet, Al hasn’t posted anything there since October 2018.
Net Worth
As we said before, we do not know anything about Linda’s professional career. We assume she is not employed in any occupation. Instead, she chose to support her husband in his professional career and dream of becoming the best sportscaster. As we said before, they got married in 1966. At the time, Al was starting his career.
With that in mind, there is no information on Linda’s net worth. However, we know that her husband Al has a net worth of more than $40 million. He is one of the most famous and highest-paid sportscasters in the US.
He recently signed an Amazon Prime deal and will earn even more money in the following years.