McKay, Jim

▪ 2009

James Kenneth McManus 

      American sportscaster and journalist

born Sept. 24, 1921, Philadelphia, Pa.

died June 7, 2008, Monkton, Md.

was a pioneer in American television sports coverage; as the sagacious and personable host (from 1961) of the groundbreaking ABC show The Wide World of Sports, he was one of the most recognizable faces on American TV, and in 1968 he became the first TV sports commentator to win an Emmy Award (he won 13 altogether, including a 1990 award for lifetime achievement). McKay gained international acclaim for his uninterrupted 16-hour coverage of the Israeli hostage crisis during the 1972 Olympics in Munich. After learning that all 11 members of the Israeli team had been killed by their Palestinian captors, he stated, with his characteristic simplicity, “They're all gone.” McKay's exceptional coverage of those Games earned him a George Polk Award and two Emmys (for sports and news broadcasting). McKay graduated (1943) from Loyola College in Maryland and served three years in the navy. He then went to work (1946–47) for the Baltimore Evening Sun, where he helped to establish WMAR, the city's first television station. Because of his work at WMAR, both on the air and as the station's chief writer, director, and producer, McKay was hired in 1950 by the CBS network to cover sports, including the first televised Master's golf tournament (1956) and the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, the first of 12 Olympics that he covered. McKay also anchored TV coverage of the Indianapolis 500 for many years as well as numerous Triple Crown horse races and professional golf tournaments. He was the author of two books, My Wide World (1973) and The Real McKay (1998).

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