Longtime MSG sportscaster Al Trautwig passes away at 68

Al Trautwig, who will forever have a place in New York Knicks and Rangers fans’ hearts, has passed away just days before his 69th birthday.

Knicks analyst Alan Hahn shared the unfortunate news of his friend and former MSG Networks colleague Monday morning in a social media post.

“I’m sad to share the news that we lost a legendary voice in sports. But we lost a lot more than that,” Hahn wrote. “He was not only a friend, but a mentor and a teacher. He was personally, one of my biggest resources of support when I moved into this career.”

During his career, Trautwig worked for NBC and ABC, covering a total of 16 Olympics where he proved to be one of the most versatile broadcasters in sports. But in New York, Trautwig will always be remembered for his more than 30 years as a studio host on MSG.

Trautwig took a leave of absence in September 2019 after he seemed unwell during a Rangers preseason broadcast. He briefly returned in December for a pre-recorded interview of then Rangers president John Davidson, but that would mark Trautwig’s final appearance on MSG. The leave of absence spilled into the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, Trautwig’s time with MSG officially came to an end, with the network declining to renew his contract.

Almost exactly one year ago, Newsday’s Neil Best spoke to Trautwig who teased plans to write a book and didn’t close the door on possibly returning to television. But for someone who was synonymous with Knicks and Rangers coverage on MSG, his departure from the network was oddly unceremonious. New York sports fans and media, however, have not forgotten Trautwig’s impact.