R.I.P. sportscaster Jim McKay
Award-winning sportscaster Jim McKay 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. McKay’s iconic opening “Spanning the globe …” and “the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat,” had already made him a household name.
But he was suddenly placed in the role of a newscaster in 1972 when Israeli athletes were kidnapped in Munich. As viewers followed the gripping story, McKay told how the hostages were killed in a commando raid.
McKay a two-time Emmy Award winner, hosted a total of 12 Olympic Games along with numerous other major events including golf tournaments and horse racing’s Triple Crown.
McKay was the father of Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.
