Gil Santos is the longtime radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 play-by-play announcer for the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, and morning sports reporter for WBZ

WBZ (AM)

WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...

 radio in Boston. He retired from WBZ on January 30, 2009. Santos was inducted into the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame on July 9, 2009. He continues to call games for the Patriots Radio Network, whose flagship is WBZ-FM

WBZ-FM

WBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...

 (which is branded as "The Sports Hub").

He has called Patriots games continuously since 1966, except for a stretch between 1980 and 1990. His 30 years of service makes him the longest-serving current announcer in the NFL, tied with Merrill Reese

Merrill Reese

Merrill Alan Reese is an American sports radio announcer best known for his role as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles on SportsRadio 94.1 WIP-FM. He has been the voice of the Eagles since 1977.-Early years:...

 of the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

; he is also the last team play-by-play announcer from the American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 era still broadcasting. Since 1990, his partner in the booth has been former Patriots kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

 Gino Cappelletti

Gino Cappelletti

Gino Cappelletti is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played at the University of Minnesota, and was a star in the American Football League for the Boston Patriots...

, except for the opening eight games of the Patriots' 2001 season when Cappelletti was hospitalized with an illness and former Patriots player Peter Brock

Pete Brock (American football)

Peter Anthony Brock was a center and guard who played twelve professional seasons with the National Football League's New England Patriots. Brock attended the University of Colorado...

 substituted for Cappelletti.

In addition to the work at WBZ, Santos has called games for the Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

, Boston Breakers

Portland Breakers

The Portland Breakers were a professional American Football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and New Orleans, Louisiana as the New Orleans...

, Providence Friars

Providence Friars

The Providence Friars is the name of the athletic teams of Providence College. They compete in the Big East Conference for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compete in Hockey East and in women's volleyball, where they compete in the America East Conference...

 basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, Penn State Nittany Lions football

Penn State Nittany Lions football

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...

, and Boston College Eagles football

Boston College Eagles football

The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...

. He was born in Acushnet, Massachusetts

Acushnet, Massachusetts

Acushnet is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,303 at the 2010 census.- History :Acushnet was first settled in 1659. It has been included as a part of three separate towns throughout its history. It was formerly the northeastern section of the town of...

 and grew up in neighboring Fairhaven

Fairhaven, Massachusetts

Fairhaven is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located on the south coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean...

. From 1959 to 1971, when he joined WBZ full-time, Santos worked at WBSM

WBSM

WBSM is an AM radio station broadcasting in the New Bedford/Fall River market area with a News/Talk format. It broadcasts on 1420 kilocycles and is under ownership of Cumulus Media, with studios in Fairhaven shared with fellow Cumulus station WFHN/Fun 107...

 and WNBH

WNBH

WNBH is one of the oldest broadcast radio stations in America , dating back to 1921. At one time WNBH had its studios at the New Bedford Hotel where it derived its callsign. In 1948 WNBH added FM service with WNBH-FM on 98.1 megahertz /Channel 251...

 in New Bedford

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

, and WSAR

WSAR

WSAR is an AM radio station in Somerset, Massachusetts broadcasting on 1480 kHz. WSAR is the second oldest radio station in Massachusetts and the fifth oldest station in the United States.-Format:...

 and WALE

WHTB

WHTB/1400 A.M. is a Portuguese language radio station in Fall River, Massachusetts, operating with 1kW unlimited hours.-History:Originally known as WALE, the callsign moved to Providence, Rhode Island to 990kc. on July 20, 1989. On that date, SNE Broadcasting LTD. took ownership of the radio...

 in Fall River

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...

. On January 10, 2009, the Boston Herald

Boston Herald

The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...

 announced that Gil Santos was planning to retire from WBZ by the end of January. He remained the Patriots play-by-play announcer.

Milestones

On September 26, 2010, the Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 38-30; it marked the 700th Patriots game, encompassing preseason, regular season, playoffs, and the Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

, that Santos broadcast.