Jim McKay, ABC Wide World of Sports, 1921-2008 RIP

[WH1]

Jim McKay, one of the greatest of the television sportscasters passed away on Saturday. When I was a kid in the 60's and 70's saturday afternoons were always spent watching ABC's Wide World of Sports and Jim McKay. He was the classiest and best in the business. He could make curling or badmiton exciting for goodness sake and never was condenscending when he discussed some of the obscure sports they covered! He brought dignity to sports like no one else.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/general/story/10857537?sssdmh=dm4.250273

 

[Naphtali]

As Mr. McKay said during the Münich Olympics: "They're all gone." He was a comfortable person with whom to invest an afternoon.

 

[Twitch]

I can remember watching car races in the 60s that he narrated. Then there was no live coverage so they spliced together film and aired the shows 2 weeks after the race. I'm sure McKay added his voice-over on many occassions all the while knowing the outcome but you could never tell it as his excitement was contagious.:eusa_clap

 

[Flivver]

I can remember watching car races in the 60s that he narrated. Then there was no live coverage so they spliced together film and aired the shows 2 weeks after the race. I'm sure McKay added his voice-over on many occassions all the while knowing the outcome but you could never tell it as his excitement was contagious.:eusa_clap

The first NASCAR race I ever watched was the Southern 500 in 1964...narrated by Jim McKay on Wide World of Sports, of course. His enthusiasm made a lifelong NASCAR fan out of me!