Ivies in China

Today marks the opening ceremony of the first Olympic Games since the passing of James McManus, better known by his professional name.

Jim McKay would best be remembered by his hosting duties for American Broadcasting Company (ABC)’s Wide World of Sports and his iconic catch phrase to open the show, “…thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat”.

McKay was not an Ivy Leaguer. Born in Philadelphia, he would eventually move to Baltimore and receive a bachelor’s degree from Loyola College in 1943. But there were Ivy League connections that impacted his career.

After holding jobs with the Baltimore Sun, CBS and NBC, McKay moved to the ABC and began a powerful partnership with Ivy graduate Roone Arledge of Columbia University on the soon-to-be landmark show in 1961. The first assignment for McKay — who would partner with World Wide until 1986 — originated from the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania.

However, it was his work with the Olympics that will always hold a place in the hearts of fans the world over. In essence, McKay was the Olympics, covering 11 Games for ABC and on loan by ABC as a special correspondent for a 12th on NBC’s coverage of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. His appeal was simple, he had the facade of a regular guy but his voice had an elegance; a poetic quality about it. He had conviction with believable vulnerability. He had backbone with a believable softness. He was poignant in times of disbelief.

Simply put, he had a gift.

And no other time displayed his gift better than at 3:24 am in Munich, Germany, on Sept. 6, 1972. On his only scheduled day off during the Games, McKay was covering the the Israeli hostage saga for 14 straight hours. After word came that the rescue attempt of the 11 ill-fated athletes and coaches — including David Berger, who earned a master’s degree in business administration and a doctor of laws degree at Columbia University — failed, McKay took to the air to delivered the tragic news:

“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 11 hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They’re all gone.”

That final three-word sentence, some say, was the most memorable line in the history of sports reporting. He later would refer to the Munich massacre as the end of innocence, and the final words as the hardest thing that he had to do in television. But he was the right person to do it. In some strange way, McKay was the only one that could deliver that message. Even 36 years later, his delivery, compassion and humanity in that moment elicits chills.

McKay passed away of natural causes at the age of 86 on June 7, a day that the world of sports reporting lost a great man, wonderful colleague and extraordinary mentor to young reporters. So as you sit down and enjoy the 2008 version of the Summer Olympics, take a little time to remember the man who brought so many of the great Olympic moments of yesteryear into your living rooms.

Thank you, Jim. We miss you.