Sadly it was reported recently that famous TV announcer Jim McKay passed away on June 7th at the age of 86. Although his legal name was Jim
McManus, he changed his on-air name after being tabbed to host an early TV show called The Real McKay…
For me, McKay is the first voice I recall giving me interest in motor racing, as I’ve previously commented towards hearing him call the Indy 500 way back in the early 1970’s for ABC’s Wide World of Sports before Indy was broadcasted live. You may recall that this was the show with the famous tag line’ “The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat,” which legendary producer Roone Arledge first scribbled on the back of an airplane napkin… As Wide World of Sports was originally intended to be a one-off summer television program, yet with Jim McKay at the helm and Chris Schenkel alongside, the show was a smashing success as McKay became synonymous with the Olympics and was the man to tell the world; “They’re ALL Gone!” during the 1972 Munich Olympics…
Jim McKay’s Wide World of Sports
