Just a short diary to let everyone know that Jim Mckay passed away earlier today. For those too young to know, McKay was the classiest, most intelligent, articulate, soft-spoken, honest sports voice of all time. Think of Fox' "Best Damn Sports Show" and now think the exact opposite of that. Think of the most annoying, "me-me-me" ESPN "booyah" type reporting, and now again, think the opposite.
Born in Maryland (not far from Pimlico) a place he always called home, McKay graduated from Jesuit institutions; Loyola High, and later Loyola College.
He was a WWII vet, who served in the Pacific. After working his way up local coverage, in 1961, he was named host of ABC's Wide World of Sports. This became the first show to open our country up to other sports besides what was then the big 3; baseball, boxing, and horse racing. He was also (between 1968-1988) the voice of the Olympics and is famous for his round-the-clock coverage of the '72 Olympics massacre in Munich. His three words "they're all gone" are amongst the most heartbreaking ever spoken on American airwaves.
He was the first American to call a World Cup game (Brazil-Italy) 1970 final; first American to voice a live World Cup game (Italy-Germany) 1982 final; and studio host to the first and only World Cup played in this country, 1994.
He's the first sports caster to win an Emmy, an award he won 12 times in all.
Even tho he never mixed personal politics with sports, he was an old FDR/New Deal lefty too. Woulda loved for him to have seen Obama's upcoming election win. He'll be greatly missed, and much more will be said about his incredible life during today's Belmont Stakes.
EDIT:
From "fedupcitizen"
McKay also gave us the famous "Thrill of Victory, Agony of Defeat" line. Victory was at different times represented as Pele, Muhammad Ali, and Paolo Rossi. Defeat however was always represent by Vinko Bogataj, a Yugoslavian (Slovenian) ski jumper falling and crashing off course at the start of a jump.