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Veteran sports broadcaster Jim McKay died Saturday at the age of 86. (Peter Kramer / Getty Images)
NEW YORK (AP) - Jim McKay, the veteran and eloquent sportscaster thrust into the role of telling Americans about the tragedy at the 1972 Munich Olympics, has died. He was 86.
McKay died Saturday, said ABC, the network with which he was long affiliated. The cause of death was not immediately given. McKay was host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" for decades. The influential weekend series introduced viewers to all manners of strange, compelling and far-flung sports events.
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Jim McKay, Olympics and ABC announcer, dies at age 86
Jim McKay, 86, a longtime television sports journalist, has died of natural causes in Maryland, according to a statement from the McKay family.
McKay is best known for hosting "ABC's Wide World of Sports" and 12 Olympic Games.
McKay won numerous awards for journalism, including the George Polk Memorial Award and two Emmys -- one for his sports coverage, the other for his news reporting -- for his work at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which were tragically affected by the Black September terrorists' attack on the Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village.
In 1988, McKay was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
In 1968, McKay won the first of his 13 Emmy Awards, becoming the first sports commentator to receive that honor.
His 12th Emmy, in 1988, was not for his talents as a broadcaster but as the writer of the openings for ABC Sports' coverage of the 1987 Indianapolis 500, the British Open and the Kentucky Derby. He is the only broadcaster to have won Emmys for sports and news broadcasting and for writing.
In 1990 he was the recipient of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement in Sports award from the Academy. In 1992 he was the recipient of an Emmy Award in the Individual Achievement category for the ABC Sports special, "Athletes and Addiction: It's Not a Game."
In 1989 McKay received the Peabody Award, which is presented annually to recognize the most distinguished and meritorious public service programming rendered each year on radio and television.
McKay was the first American network sports commentator to visit mainland China. In 1991, he visited Cuba to interview Fidel Castro.
McKay was with "ABC's Wide World of Sports" since its inception in April 1961.
Jim McManus (McKay's real name) was born in Philadelphia on September 24, 1921, and moved to Baltimore when he was 15.
Entire article: ESPN - Jim McKay, Olympics and ABC announcer, dies at age 86 - ESPN
Jim McKay, Longtime ABC Sportscaster, Is Dead
Jim McKay.
McKay, the longtime ABC sportscaster who hosted ?Wide World of Sports? for more than thirty years, has died. He was 86.
ESPN, the sports partner for ABC, said Mr. McKay died of natural causes in Maryland.
As its title suggests, ?Wide World of Sports? broadened the definition of sports for many Americans. Mr. McKay?s triumphant introduction to the program included the lines ?the thrill of victory? and the agony of defeat,? a statement that became well-known to television viewers. AOL?s FanHouse has posted a video of the introduction (link below).
Roone Arledge, who later became the president of ABC Sports, called Mr. McKay and asked him to be the host in 1961.
?I knew him to be smart, literate, and quick on his feet ? and there wouldn?t be any need for someone to write his copy. He was our man ? if I could get him,? Mr. Arledge recalled in his posthumous memoir, ?Roone,? published in 2003. Mr. McKay committed almost immediately, for $1,000 per show plus expenses.
In the book, Mr. Arledge called Mr. McKay a ?mainstay of ABC Sports, one of our great and truly classy professionals.?
During his long broadcasting tenure, Mr. McKay received two Emmy Awards. In 1988, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
Entire article: Jim McKay, Longtime ABC Sportscaster, Is Dead - TV Decoder - Media & Television - New York Times Blog
Here is video of McKay, the longtime host of The Wide World of Sports, delivering his most famous words, "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat":
YouTube - Thrill of victory
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