The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat

The voice of a generation has passed. Before 24-hour channels robbed us of the uniqueness and specialness of sporting events, Americans got their sports fix from ABC Wide World Of Sports every weekend afternoon and the broadcasts of the Olympics every four years.

One man, one voice, was at the center of it all. Jim McKay.

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 87.

McKay died Saturday of natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Md. The broadcaster who considered horse racing his favorite sport died only hours before Big Brown attempted to win a Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.

He was host of ABC's influential "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.

McKay also covered 12 Olympics, but none more memorably than the Summer Games in Munich, Germany. He was the anchor when events turned grim with the news that Palestinian terrorists kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes. It was left to McKay to tell Americans when a commando raid to rescue the athletes ended in tragedy.

"They're all gone," McKay said. He won both a news and sports Emmy Award for his coverage of the Munich Olympics in addition to the prestigious George Polk award.

"In the long run, that's the most memorable single moment of my career," said McKay, an Emmy Award winning broadcaster who was also in the studio for the United States' "Miracle on Ice" victory over Russia. "I don't know what else would match that."

This article mentions his love of horse racing. One of my closest friends, an intern for WTEN-ABC at the time, accompanied him one summer to the Travers Stakes at the racetrack in Saratoga. She said he couldn't have been nicer.

Rest in peace, Jim, you made a significant contribution to my childhood and American culture.
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