Jim McKay passed away on June 7, 2008, due to natural causes.
James Kenneth McManus (aged 86) was September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008. He better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist.
McKay is best known for hosting ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961–1998)—his "...thrill of victory, agony of defeat" introduction for that program has passed into American pop culture—and television coverage of twelve Olympic Games. McKay was known for his intelligent, amiable on-air personality.
McKay has also covered a wide variety of special events, including horse-races such as the Kentucky Derby, golf events such as the British Open, and the Indianapolis 500. Later he gave up his job as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun newspapers to join that organization's new TV station WMAR-TV in 1947. He was the first voice ever heard on television in Baltimore, and he remained with the station until joining CBS in New York in 1950 as host of a variety show. Through the 50's, sports commentary became more and more his primary assignment for CBS. 2002 Olympics Scott Hamilton & Jim McKay Interview
While covering the Munich Massacre in 1972, McKay had taken on the job of reporting the events live. After a courageous but unsuccessful rescue attempt, he came on the air with this statement:
"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."
In 1994, he was the studio host for the FIFA World Cup coverage, the first ever held on American soil.
In 2002, ABC "loaned" McKay to NBC to serve as a special correspondent during the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Jim McKay covered the 2006 FIFA World Cup for ABC.
Jim McKay 1921-2008
