In the early 1970's, it was Curt Gowdy who hosted ABC's "American Sportsman" & introduced millions of Americans to all that was possible in the outdoors. For 15 years, that groundbreaking television series entertained and informed viewers by showcasing some of the day's biggest names in some of the most exotic locations in the world.
I fondly remember those long gone days of my childhood, sitting on the living room sofa with my dad, riveted to the t.v. screen as Mr. Gowdy transported us to some of the most remote & exotic locations to hunt big game. Whether it was a Canadian grizzly hunt with Fred Bear, or an African safari featuring Robert Stack, these adventures fueled my young imagination of places that I had only dreamed of. I have a young son of my own now, & I hope to instill the wonderlust of adventures like these in his imagination, just as Mr. Gowdy did for me all those years ago.
Goodbye Mr. Gowdy & godspeed.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Curt Gowdy, one of the signature voices of sports for a generation and a longtime broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox, died Monday at 86.
He died in Palm Beach after a long battle with leukemia, Red Sox spokeswoman Pam Ganley said.
Gowdy made his broadcasting debut in 1944 and went on to call the first Super Bowl in 1967 as well as 13 World Series and 16 All-Star games. He also called the famous ``Heidi'' game in 1968.
In 1951 Gowdy became the main play-by-play voice on the Red Sox broadcast team. He left the Red Sox in 1966 for a 10-year stint as ``Game of the Week'' announcer for NBC. He also was the longtime host of the ``American Sportsman'' series.
``He's certainly the greatest play-by-play person up to this point that NBC sports has ever had,'' NBC Universal Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said Monday. ``He literally carried the sports division at NBC for so many years on his back. ... He was a remarkable talent and he was an even more remarkable human being.''
Gowdy brought a warm feel to the broadcast booth, his commentary always full of good humor and enthusiasm. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig called Gowdy ``one of the legendary broadcasters of our game.''
``His distinct voice was a comfort to a generation of baseball fans in New England and throughout the country,'' he said.
In his 1960 essay ``Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu'' published in The New Yorker, John Updike said Gowdy sounded like ``everybody's brother-in-law.''
George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, said Gowdy was a ``pioneer in our business and set the highest of standards for everyone in sports broadcasting.''
``His many contributions to ABC, as host of ``American Sportsman'' and other ABC Sports' programs, are indelible,'' he said.
Red Sox player John Pesky, speaking from Red Sox training camp in Fort Myers, remembered Pesky as ``a peach of a guy.'' Pesky said Gowdy was always in the clubhouse before games and always eager to talk.
``He was really easy to speak to,'' he said.
The award-winning broadcaster began his career in Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1944 standing on a milk crate, giving a football play-by-play in subzero temperatures. By 1949 he was calling games for the New York Yankees and two years later he began calling games for the Red Sox.
Gowdy has been honored with dozens of awards. He was inducted into the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, the American Sportscaster's Hall of Fame in 1985. The Curt Gowdy State Park was established in Wyoming in 1971.
02/20/06 14:48 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
