Saturday, June 7, 2008

Jim McKay, 1921-2008. R.I.P.

Jim McKay, who hosted ABC Wide World of Sports from 1961 to 1998, died today of natural causes at his home in Maryland. He was 86. McKay was well known for the phrase, "The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat."

But McKay might be best known for his work covering the ill-fated 1972 Munich Olympics after 11 Israeli athletes were kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists. McKay stayed on the air for more than 16 hours and when news came of their fate he said in sadness:

When I was a kid my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were eleven hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone.

McKay's son, Sean McManus, is currently the President of CBS News and Sports.


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