If you grew up watching or listening to the MLB playoffs in the 1960s, 70s, 80s — even back in the late 50s — you were treated to the play-by-play magic from the likes of Jack Buck, Vin Scully, Harry Caray, Mel Allen, Curt Gowdy and Bob Prince to name a few of the more recognizable voices.

We can’t forget Harry Kalas and his smooth, melodic delivery, as he always knew when to speak and allowed the sounds of the ballpark to provide the perfect background. If you’re a Pirates fan, no one was better than Prince.

All of them did their homework, and they were never second-guessed.

Fast forward to the 2024 MLB playoffs on ESPN, Fox Sports and TBS. Are you impressed with what you have heard?

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond — I’ll take a look at today’s current core of broadcasters, as well as those legendary ones from the past.

Thinking back ... what former major leaguer turned broadcaster used to deliver the World Series trophy to the winners? What former wrestler died as a result of 11 bullet wounds? Who else played the Riddler on Batman? And what former Phillies outfielder was a manager for the Brewers and Red Sox?

Honor Roll ... When speaking of the above-mentioned broadcasters, some of my all-time favorites are Buck, Scully, Al Michaels, Dick Enberg and Bob Costas. All of them — except Caray — also flourished calling football and some other sports.

Scully, Buck and Gowdy all had a postseason presence that was unique in their own ways, and it certainly was captivating. We would await to hear them in a “big game.”

Gowdy and Tony Kubek made their mark with us on “The Game of Week,” and Joe Garagiola also was a hit. Garagiola’s heightened style and quick wit kept our attention.

Costas burst onto the scene in 1980 and became an instant success. Michaels has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and I was disappointed that he was recently dropped from the baseball scene. I still enjoy him on the Thursday night NFL broadcasts, even though he has received his share of criticism.

Aside from the big guns, some of my other favorites were college football icon Keith Jackson, former Phillie Jim Kaat, Gary Bender, Jim Palmer, and you had to have a dose of Howard Cossell.

We got accustomed to Jon Miller on “Sunday Night Baseball,” and the longtime veteran still has a crisp offer whether on TV or radio.

Mets mouthpiece Ron Darling has done an excellent job on the network telecasts, and Yankees’ yipper Michael Kay also does a solid job.

Supporting Cast ... Through the years, Tim McCarver and Bob Uecker would provide comic relief during the postseason, and McCarver could fill up an inning. Gary Thorne and Steve Zabriskie were both true professionals.

Do you remember Reggie Jackson, who had a run presenting the World Series Trophy in the 80s? Other baseball alums involved were Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver, Tommy Lasorda and even Billy Martin.

Looking for an A grade ... To me, the current rising star is Adam Amin, who has handled the Fox games well, reminding me of a mix of Buck, Gowdy and Costas. A.J. Pierzynski became noteworthy for his antics on and off the field, and can provide an occasional good line as an analyst. Adam Wainwright has been pretty dull.

ESPN’s Jon Sciambi has a great voice and delivery, but he and ex-Phil Doug Glanville appeared to do more reading off stat and bio sheets than really knowing backgrounds of the players and sounding connected in the Phillies-Mets series.

Karl Ravech is straight from SportsCenter, but can still carry an audience.

Unlike most of his negative reactions, I do like Costas paired with Darling, who compliments him well on TBS. Costas does have the same lines as he did 40 years ago, but he keeps my attention just like Michaels.

Tom Verducci continues to do a great job as a sideline reporter and storyteller. He had a great anecdote about Mets’ pitcher Sean Manaea remaking himself. Like Verducci, Ken Rosenthal has been on the trail for a long time, and still hasn’t missed a beat in the same role.

On The Tube ... It’s hard to recall a TV show with a sports broadcasting format, but “Sports Night” that ran from 1998-2000 was well produced and likely was the best depiction of the situation.

Looking back, one of the more recognized shows with broadcast ties was “WKRP in Cincinnati (1979-82),” which featured disc jockey Johnny Fever — played by Howard Hesseman — who transformed a station playing big band music to hard rock.

There also was disc jockey Venus Flytrap, played by Tim Reid, and America was introduced to Loni Anderson, who played Jennifer Marlowe.

Another Classic Game (Item) ... If anyone had aspirations about entering the sports world as a kid, I’m sure you can recall a moment when you imitated a call from Gowdy, Scully or even Phillies’ PA announcer Dan Baker (I imitated Baker in my backyard Wiffle ball games).

We also were anxious to hear our own voice with a cassette recorder. It was a modern marvel for us at the time, and a real bonus when we could put in a cassette from a group. Remember plugging in the microphone on the side and then we were in our broadcast booth?

WWF/WWE Wrap ... Every week, I’ll recall a pro wrestler from our past.

Do you remember Dino Bravo?

Born Adolfo Bresciano, Bravo was known as the “The Canadian Strong Man,” as he hailed from Quebec. Bravo’s signature moves were the “airplane spin,” “inverted atomic drop,” and the “sidewalk slam.” Unfortunately, his legacy revolves around his mysterious death.

Bravo won the WWWF Tag-Team championship with Dominic DeNucci in 1978, and also held the International Heavyweight Championship, the Canadian International Tag-Team Championship with Tony Parisi, and the NWA Americas Tag-Team Championship with Victor Rivera.

Overall, Bravo compiled a 1,064-534 record with 136 draws in his career from 1971-92, spending 1985-92 in the WWE.

However, Bravo’s death remains a mystery. In 1993, on a night when he was home alone, Bravo was shot 11 times. Local authorities assumed he was visited by a friend, having no signs of a break-in. He allegedly was involved in an illegal cigarette smuggling ring.

Bravo was 44.

On The Charts ... Speaking of sound, there were two prominent songs from our time.

All of us can recall the classic, “The Sounds of Silence,” by Simon and Garfunkel that topped the charts in 1966.

A few years later in 1974, Philadelphia-based MSFB released “TSOP (The Sounds of Philadelphia),” which also charted No. 1.

Batman Bite ... Occasionally, I’ll throw in a Batman bite from the classic 1966 series.

Do you remember John Astin as the Riddler in the episodes “Batman’s Anniversary,” and “A Riddling Controversy.” Astin brought his own personality and many of his quirks from his Gomez Addams character.

Frank Gorshin, who brilliantly played the role for 10 episodes, missed the second season due to contract demands, but returned for the third season.

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll recall a former player, coach, manager or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember former Phillies’ outfielder Ron Roenicke? He spent two years with the Phils in 1986-87 – appearing in 102 games in 1986 — and hit .229 overall.

Roenicke spent eight years in the majors with stops in Los Angeles, San Diego, Cincinnati, San Francisco and Seattle.

However, he’s best recognized as a manager, spending five years as the Brewers’ skipper and one year as the Red Sox’s boss. Overall, he compiled a 342-331 mark.

Your thoughts, comments, and ideas are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com.