Growing up as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan in Northeast, Ohio, Joe Tait was as familiar a name to me as Mark Price, Bernie Kosar and Kenny Lofton. If you followed Cleveland sports, you instantly recognized Tait’s voice navigating Cavaliers play-by-play on WTAM 1100. Tait held the role of Cavs radio announcer for nearly 40 years, beginning with the franchise’s inaugural 1970 season.
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, Tait passed away earlier this week at the age of 83, and you can view the Cavs statement regarding his impact here. He left a lasting impression on those around the league past and present.
Tait was truly one of a kind, and was beloved by Cavs fans for his signature way of calling games.
Scroll through social media and you’ll find countless tributes to Tait. The posts have come from some of the NBA’s biggest names like LeBron James and Steve Kerr, as well as numerous media members such as Ohio-born Brian Windhorst of ESPN and Sam Amico of Outkick and Forty Eight Minutes, and formerly of Fox Sports Ohio.
A native of Illinois, Tait’s iconic voice was more often than not accompanied by his hard-to-miss look while perched in media row, which is appropriately named “The Joe Tait perch” inside of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The loud attire was as recognizable as his signature radio calls: “Wham with the right hand” (referencing a dunk, seemingly ALWAYS by John “Hot Rod” Williams), “The Cavaliers going from left to right on your radio dial” (describing to the listener which basket the Cavs were shooting on), and “To the line, to the lane” (a player driving to the basket) and so many more.
His iconic calls made an impression not just on listeners, but the players as well. Mark Price, whose been undoubtedly one of the best guards in Cavs history, and the best one, according to prior KJG site expert, Tyler Marling, had this to say via Twitter.
RIP Joe Tait....You are loved and will be missed! I will never forget his call when I made a 3... "Price sights it, shoots it, got it!" In the way only Joe could say it!
— Mark Price (@Mark25Price) March 11, 2021
Craig Ehlo (of Cleveland Cavaliers fame, or infamy) tweeted the following.
An unmistakable part of Cavs history, Tait was behind the mic for legendary calls like the “The Miracle of Richfield”, Michael Jordan’s “shot,” 1992’s Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics-the final game of Larry Bird’s career, LeBron’s buzzer-beating three vs. the Orlando Magic in the 2009 playoffs, and so many more.
In 2011 the Cavaliers recognized Tait’s accomplishments with an appreciation night in his honor, as well as the unveiling of a Joe Tait banner which hangs in the rafters and notes his 39 seasons with the Wine and Gold.