After returning from the United States Navy in the 1970s, he began working at radio and television stations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with the help of fellow commentator Gil Santos.

Gorman was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 as a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award.

[1][2] As a child, he served as an altar boy at the St. Brendan Parish and attended Boston Latin School.

[2] Shortly after graduating, however, Gorman was drafted into the United States Navy and became an aviator specializing in reconnaissance.

[2] Gorman was originally due to take part in an air mission near the coast of Spain in 1972 that eventually crashed into a mountain while operating in poor weather, killing all 14 crewmen onboard; he had been redirected to handle paperwork at the last minute.

[2] The guilt Gorman felt from not being able to assist his squadron during the mission led to him never flying again and later retiring from the Navy in 1973, returning to live with his parents in Dorchester afterward.

[4] Colloquially known as "Mike and Tommy",[5] they formed one of the longest-tenured broadcast tandems in professional sports, lasting 39 years.

[6] Heinsohn influenced Gorman's commentary technique by encouraging him to "talk about what we see in front of us" rather than conventionally referring to sets of notes about each team.

[10] In addition, Boston mayor Michelle Wu declared April 12, 2024, as "Mike Gorman Day" to honor his final regular season game with the Celtics.

[2] He additionally called some NCAA basketball tournament games on CBS[11] as well as the NBA playoffs on TBS.

[2] Gorman's wife would go on to produce Big East basketball broadcasts, with the two of them collaborating on editing game highlights.

The surgery resulted in him briefly calling Celtics games with an eye patch, and contributed to his decision to retire after the 2023–24 season.