"They're all gone," [Jim] McKay said. Today, he is, too.

[host]

Just a thread to note the passing of legendary journalist and sportscaster Jim McKay, dead to day at age 86:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituari...,1927079.story

From the Associated Press
11:11 AM PDT, June 7, 2008
NEW YORK -- Jim McKay, the venerable 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 today of natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Md., said son Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports. 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. FOR THE RECORD:
An earlier version of this story reported McKay's age as 87. It was 86.
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. The show provided an international reach long before exotic backdrops became a staple of sports television.

McKay provided the famous voice-over that accompanied the opening in which viewers were reminded of the show's mission ("spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports") and what lay ahead ("the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat").

McKay -- understated, dignified and with a clear eye for detail -- 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.

The terse, haunting comment was replayed many times through the years when the events of Munich were chronicled.

"I had to control myself. I was full of emotion," McKay recalled. "But when you are a professional, it is important to communicate what it is like, to capture the moment."

Sports, McKay said, lost its innocence that day.

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 the Soviet Union. "I don't know what else would match that."

A veteran of the U.S. Navy in World War II, McKay was the first on-air television broadcaster seen in Baltimore. He worked at CBS Sports briefly, but did his most memorable work at ABC Sports when it dominated the business under leader Roone Arledge.

"He had a remarkable career and a remarkable life," McManus said. "Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't come up to me and say how much they admired my father."

McKay was the first sportscaster to win an Emmy Award. He won 12, the last in 1988. ABC calculated that McKay traveled some 41/2 million miles to work events. He covered more than 100 different sports in 40 countries. In 2002, McKay received the International Olympic Committee's highest honor -- the Olympic Order.

"He was a founding father of sports television, one of the most respected commentators in the history of broadcasting and journalism," said George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports. "

Added Bob Iger, president and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company: "He was a regular guy who wrote and spoke like a poet."

McKay's first television broadcast assignment was a horse race at Pimlico in 1947. It was the start of a love affair -- horse racing captivated him like nothing else.

"There are few things in sport as exciting or beautiful as two strong thoroughbreds, neck and neck, charging toward the finish," he once said....

page 2:
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituari...9.story?page=2

I'm going to sit back on this hot early evening, and reflect on my "greatest moments in sports", memories, and try to come up with the ones announced first by Jim McKay. He covered 12 Olympic Games, and I do remember his sad announcement from the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. McKay worked at his craft until he was nearly 80. He'll be missed.

[djtestudo]

He was a Baltimore boy; even though he didn't move here until he was 15, he spent most of his life here.

Graduated from Loyola College (where they named the theater for him). Covered sports and other things for the Baltimore Sun. Was the first person ever seen on a Baltimore TV station (WMAR in 1947) and was the announcer there before going to New York and CBS, and later ABC.

Part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Major supporter of horse racing (and the biggest irony is his death comes on the Saturday of the Belmont Stakes, when we likely will have the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years).

Plus, there was that stuff for ABC and the Olympics

He was a hero of mine, even though I am just barely old enough to remember when Wide World of Sports was an actual show and not just the name of ABC's weekend sports coverage. He'll be missed.

[Grancey]

The first Olympics that I watched was 1972, and I remember sitting in my brother's room with him and my mother watching Jim McKay for hours. At the time I did not understand the full impact of what had happened but I was old enough to experience the intense emotion. I also became enamored with the sport of gymnastics while watching Olga Korbut. To this day I have the fondest and deepest memories of those two amazing individuals which came during such a trying time. Even now while watching sporting events on television I always compare the announcers to Jim McKay. He was the best.

The opening of Wide World of Sports with the skier going out of control and Jim McKays voice.................

[Charlatan]

I will always remember him for, It Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking.

[DDDDave]

Originally Posted by Charlatan

I will always remember him for, It Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking.

That would be John Cameron Swayze.

[Brewmaniac]

As I remember those Timex watch commercials aired quite a bit during WWOS. Jim McKay was priceless he will be missed!

[The_Jazz]

He's the guy that introduced me to the Olympics. I'll miss him.

[Cynthetiq]

I heard the news but didn't really understand who he was, just that he was a sportscaster. It hit me who he was when I was listening to Vin Scully on a Dodger/Cubs game over the weekend. (I naturally thought of both Halx and Jazz...)

here's the opener of the ABC Wide World of Sports


"the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat"