GOWDY PAVED THE WAY FOR TODAY’S BROADCASTERS

Posted Feb 20, 2006 by Rick Harmon

Updated Feb 20, 2006 at 06:29 PM

“When you heard Curt Gowdy call a game, you knew it was a big game,” said Dick Ebersol, chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics.

That describes Gowdy, who died Monday at the age of 86. Whether it was baseball, football or hunting with a president, when you heard that monotone voice—you watched.

“Curt was a remarkable talent. For many years, he literally carried NBC Sports on his back as the signature voice for both major league baseball and the NFL,” Ebersol said.

Gowdy was best known for his 10-year stint as play-by-play commentator for NBC’s “MLB Game of the Week”—back in the days when it was the only game on television—and on its World Series broadcasts. He also served as the lead play-by-play commentator for NBC’s NFL coverage, which included broadcasting seven Super Bowls for NBC.

I can remember as a teenager living in Cincinnati watching and listening to Gowdy during the Big Red Machine’s World Series games in the ’70s. He never got overly excited and never screamed—but always made you listen.

But I think I remember him more from his days as host of “American Sportsman” that aired on ABC. It was fun to watch him hunt with professional athletes or fish with former presidents. I’m not much of an outdoorsman, but I watched.

“Curt Gowdy was a pioneer in our business and set the highest of standards for everyone in sports broadcasting,” said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports. “His many contributions to ABC, as host of “American Sportsman” and other ABC Sports programs, are indelible.”

Although retired, he will be missed. He was truly a legend in sports.