On October 17 , 1989 , Michaels was in San Francisco , preparing to cover the third game of the 1989 World Series between the home team , the Giants , and the visiting Oakland Athletics . ABC 's network telecast began with a recap of the first two games ( to the soundtrack of James Taylor 's " Hello Old Friend " ) , both won by Oakland . Soon after Michaels handed off to his broadcast partner , Tim McCarver , who started assessing the Giants ' chances for victory in the game , the Loma Prieta earthquake struck ( at approximately 5:04 pm local time ) . Michaels exclaimed " I 'll tell you what , we 're having an earth — " as the network feed cut out . When ABC restored audio via telephone 15 seconds later , Michaels quipped , " Well folks , that 's the greatest open in the history of television , bar none ! " Michaels then reported from the ABC Sports production truck outside Candlestick Park on the earthquake , for which he later was nominated for an Emmy Award for news broadcasting . Michaels relayed his reports to Ted Koppel , who was stationed at the ABC News bureau in Washington , D.C
Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Al Michaels