NEW YORK — Jim McKay, the veteran 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 Saturday, said ABC, the network with which he was long affiliated. The cause of death was not immediately given.
McKay was host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" for decades. The influential weekend series introduced viewers to all manners of strange, compelling and far-flung sports events.
But he was suddenly placed in the role of a newscaster in 1972 when Israeli athletes were kidnapped in Munich. As viewers followed the gripping story, McKay told how the hostages were killed in a commando raid.
McKay was the father of Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.
As a kid growing up in the 60's and 70's "ABC's Wide World of Sports" was regular viewing on Saturday afternoons. In those days that's where you could see the highlights of the Indy 500, or some obscure sport you've never heard of. ABC also did much of the Olympic coverage in those days, and unlike today, the networks did not send their news division along to report from the scene. Consequently, when the world changed in 1972 and the Israeli Olympic athletes were killed, it was up to the sports anchor to tell the story. Nobody watching that night and hearing McKay say "they're all gone" will ever forget it.
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