James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introduction for that program has passed into American

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, 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 Vinko Bogataj (Slovene language, Slovenian: ; born on March 4, 1948) is a Slovenian painter and former ski jumper. Footage of him crashing featured on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's ''Wide World of Sports (American TV program), Wide World o ...

"). He is also known for television coverage of 12 Olympic Games, and is universally respected for his memorable reporting on the Munich massacre at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. McKay covered a wide variety of special events, including horse races such as the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

, golf events such as the British Open, and the Indianapolis 500. McKay's son, Sean McManus, a protégé of Roone Arledge, is the chairman of CBS Sports.

Early life

McKay was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in the Overbrook section of the city in an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

Catholic family. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes Grade School and Saint Joseph's Preparatory School. When McKay was 14, he and his family moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, where he attended Loyola High School (now Loyola Blakefield). He received a bachelor's degree from Loyola College in Maryland in 1943. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy as the captain of a minesweeper. In 1946, McKay returned to Baltimore and took a position with '' The Evening Sun'' as a police reporter. He was promoted to aviation reporter instead of getting a raise. During this time, he also met Margaret Dempsey, his future wife.

Television

In 1947, McKay gave up his job as a reporter for ''The Evening Sun'' to join that same organization's new TV station WMAR-TV. His was the first voice ever heard on television in Baltimore. McKay remained with the station until joining CBS in New York in 1950 as host of a variety show, called ''The Real McKay'', which necessitated the changing of his on-air surname. From 1958 to 1960, McKay served as host and commentator on the CBS television daytime program ''

The Verdict Is Yours ''The Verdict Is Yours'' was an Americans, American court show#Dramatized court show, courtroom drama that aired on CBS Daytime from September 2, 1957, to September 28, 1962, and in prime time, primetime from July 3 to September 25, 1958. Overvie ...

.'' Through the 1950s, sports commentary became more and more his primary assignment for CBS. In

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

- 57, McKay teamed with

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and bar ...

to call CBS telecasts of

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

football. He was originally tabbed to be the lead broadcaster of the network's coverage of the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

, but had to be replaced by Walter Cronkite after suffering a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. McKay recovered in time to host the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

from the CBS Television studio in

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

. He had a six-episode stint as host of the game show '' Make the Connection'' on NBC in 1955. He moved on to ABC in 1961, and was the host of ABC's influential '' Wide World of Sports'' for 37 years. McKay was known to motor racing fans as the host of the ABC's annual delayed telecast of the Indianapolis 500. Over the years, McKay worked with race drivers in commentary, including triple Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart, triple Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser, and Sam Posey. While covering the Munich massacre at the

for ABC, McKay took on the job of reporting the events live on his only scheduled day off during the Games, substituting for

. He was on air for fourteen hours without a break, during a sixteen-hour broadcast.Hale, Mark
''5 Questions for Jim McKay''
AmericanSportscasterOnline.com. After an unsuccessful rescue attempt of the athletes held hostage, at 3:24 a.m. Central European Time, McKay came on the air with this statement: Although McKay received numerous accolades for his reporting of the Munich hostage crisis (including two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, one for sports and one for news reporting), he stated in a 2003

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

documentary about his life and career that he was most proud of a telegram he received from Walter Cronkite the day after the massacre praising his work. McKay also hosted from the studio the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

in Lake Placid, New York. A happier result came when the U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in the

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tourna ...

. During the broadcast wrap-up after the game, McKay compared the American upset victory to a group of Canadian

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

players defeating the

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(the recent

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

champions at the height of their dynasty). In 1994, he was the studio host for the FIFA World Cup coverage, the first ever held on American soil. McKay also covered the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

for ABC. In 2002, ABC "loaned" McKay to NBC to serve as a special correspondent during the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 2003,

released a documentary by McKay called ''Jim McKay: My World in My Words'', tracing his career and outlining McKay's personal and professional accomplishments.

Personal life

An avid horse racing enthusiast who raised thoroughbreds, McKay founded Maryland Million Day, a series of twelve races designed to promote Maryland's horse breeding industry. The day-long program has grown to become a major racing event in the state of Maryland, second only to the Preakness Stakes day at Pimlico Race Course. It has spawned more than twenty other similar events at United States race tracks such as the Sunshine Millions. McKay and his wife purchased a minority share in the Baltimore Orioles in 1993. He participated in the effort to bring the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

to Baltimore and Washington. In 1995, McKay had heart surgery and was forced to miss the Preakness Stakes. McKay died on June 7, 2008, from

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

at age 86. He was survived by his wife Margaret, son Sean, daughter Mary Guba, and three grandchildren. McKay died on the same day as the running of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

(won by Da'Tara that year, with

Denis of Cork Denis of Cork (foaled February 16, 2005 in Florida) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, graded stakes winner, and stallion. He is best known for his runner-up finish in the 2008 Belmont Stakes and third-place finish in the 2008 Kentucky Derby ...

placing second).

Honors

*McKay won numerous awards, including the George Polk Award for his sports and news coverage of the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. *McKay was the first sportscaster to win an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Award and won thirteen Emmys in his lifetime. * 1987:

American Sportscasters Association The American Sportscasters Association (ASA) was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London (Hanna) and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non-profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of ...

Hall of Fame, inducted along with veteran boxing and horse racing announcer Clem McCarthy. * 1988:

U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame The United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic and Paralympic athletes headquartered at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, opened in April 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Hall ...

. * 1993: '' TV Guide'' named McKay the best sportscaster of the 1970s. * 2001: Paul White Award,

Radio Television Digital News Association The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dire ...

*McKay was inducted into the

Television Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). In ...

during its 11th induction. *He was selected as the inaugural Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism recipient in 2002. *The NBC broadcast of the

2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the ''Bird's Nest''. It began at 20:00 China Standard Time ( UTC+08:00) on Friday, 8 August 2008, as the number 8 is considered to be auspicious. ...

was dedicated to McKay, per a message at the closing of the broadcast. *The National Collegiate Athletic Association has dedicated a scholarship for college athletes for postgraduate study in McKay's honor. * The Armory in New York City dedicated a high school track meet in his name on December 12, 2008.

References

External links

"Loyola Remembers Jim 'McKay' McManus of the Class of 1943," Loyola College in Maryland, Monday, June 9, 2008.
*
Jim McKay-Hometown Hero

Jim McKay on covering the 1972 Munich Olympics
1998 interview by EmmyTVLegends.org (on YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Jim 1921 births 2008 deaths American Football League announcers American horse racing announcers American male journalists 20th-century American journalists United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Irish descent American television sports anchors American television sports announcers Association football commentators Television anchors from Baltimore The Baltimore Sun people Major League Baseball broadcasters Eclipse Award winners Figure skating commentators Golf writers and broadcasters St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni Loyola University Maryland alumni Motorsport announcers National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers New York Giants announcers Peabody Award winners Television personalities from Philadelphia Sports Emmy Award winners Tennis commentators United States Navy officers Wide World of Sports (American TV series) North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators College football announcers Olympic Games broadcasters Gymnastics broadcasters Track and field broadcasters People from Monkton, Maryland Catholics from Maryland Loyola Blakefield alumni