Jim McKay

Posted June 7, 2008, 6:01 pm in Other by Growing Bolder


Jim McKay, the esteemed sportscaster who hosted ABC's popular World Wide of Sports for over 40 years died Saturday of natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Maryland. He was 86.

McKay was host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" for more than 40 years, starting in 1961. The weekend series introduced viewers to all manner of strange, compelling and far-flung sports events.

Known for his understated yet dignified astyle, McKay also covered 12 Olympics, but none more memorably than the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany. He was the anchor that reported the news that Palestinian terrorists had kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli athletes. McKay told the country that a commando raid to rescue the athletes ended in tragedy. "They're all gone," McKay said.

McKay was the first television sports journalist to win an Emmy. He would win 13. McKay also won the George Polk Memorial Award in 1972 as well as the prestigious Peabody Award for a career spanning more than 60 years.

"He had a remarkable career and a remarkable life," said Sean McManus, McKay's son and the president of CBS News and Sports. "Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't come up to me and say how much they admired my father."




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