Legends Behind the Lens: Mark McCormack One of the industrys all-time businessmen painted a prosperous future for sports on television By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, May 29, 2020 - 12:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The story of American sports television is engrained in the history of this nation, rising on the achievements of countless incredible men and women who never once appeared on our screens. During this pause in live sports, SVG is proud to present a celebration of this great industry. Legends Behind the Lens is a look at how we got here seen through the people who willed it to be. Each weekday, we will share with you the story of a person whose impact on the sports-television industry is indelible.
Legends Behind the Lens is presented in association with the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund. In these trying times - with so many video-production professionals out of work - we hope that you will consider (if you are able) donating to the Sports Broadcasting Fund. Do so by visiting sportsbroadcastfund.org.
___________________________
One of the world's most successful sports businesses started with a handshake.
Mark McCormack was a 29-year-old Cleveland lawyer looking to get a startup business off the ground in 1960. Seeing the rising value of athletes in the budding television age, he pursued the opportunity to represent and maximize the earnings of golfers, and, needing to make a big splash, he eyed one of the game's emerging superstars, an old college opponent from Wake Forest named Arnold Palmer.
[McCormack] asked for a contract. I said, We don't need a contract. We'll just shake hands, and you've got a client,' Palmer said in a 2004 interview with Businessweek. That kind of shook him up a little, but he did it.
Superagents are as much of a part of sports these days as coaches and game plans. McCormack essentially invented the field of sports marketing as the founder and CEO of International Management Group (IMG), which today is the world's largest athlete-representation firm and the largest independent producer of sports-television programming and distributor of sports-television rights.
Without Mark and without his vision, there's no way that IMG would be where it is, says Sandy Montag, senior corporate VP of IMG Sports and Entertainment, who joined the company in 1985. He truly was way ahead of the industry.
Born in Chicago in 1930, McCormack always loved sports. He was only 6 years old when he was struck by a car and suffered a fractured skull that kept him from being able to play contact sports as a child. So he gravitated towards golf, which quickly became his passion, and he played collegiately at the College of William and Mary, qualifying as an amateur for the U.S. Open in 1958.
After his undergrad years, McCormack spent time in the U.S. military before acquiring a law degree from Yale and working as a lawyer at a Cleveland law firm. He was drawn back to the sports world when he reconnected with Palmer. Shortly after the famous handshake, IMG added two more superstars in Jack Nicklaus and South African Gary Player, completing what was affectionately referred to around the industry as The Big Three.
A Global Vision
Aggressively promoting the Big Three led to a dramatic increase in each golfer's exposure and value while launching IMG as a corporate superpower. McCormack's foreseeing a global sports industry made IMG a pioneer institution.
The company expanded into tennis, acquiring such big names as Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors - for whom he arranged a series of matches throughout China. Throughout his career, McCormack represented athletes across numerous sports - Pele, Charles Barkley, Monica Seles, Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods - while coordinating special projects for global leaders, such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II.
He never became just an administrator or a CEO that just pulled the strings and told people what to do, says Bob Kain, a founding member at IMG who spent 31 years at the company. He always kept a few of his own projects, and, up until the end, he would still call me to brag about a deal that he did. It was, like, Mark, you don't have to prove to me that you know how to sell, man!' He was always earning his stripes; he never just wanted to be the overhead guy.
Changing the World of Broadcasting
McCormack also took advantage of the burgeoning television industry, becoming one of the first to truly utilize the marriage of sports and TV to its fullest potential.
Mark McCormack was a genius, said Barry Frank, Executive Vice President, Media Sports Programming at IMG. Mark realized that in order to capitalize on the value of his big-name clients that television was the main outlet for this kind of growth.
To tap that market, McCormack started a television division at IMG called Trans World International. It has grown into the largest independent producer, packager and distributor of sports programs in the world. Some of its most popular programming includes Big 3 Golf, American Gladiators, and Battle of the Network Stars, as well as shows promoting Barclays Premier League soccer, the ASP Tour, and World's Strongest Man competitions.
Mark McCormack was a genius. Mark realized that in order to capitalize on the value of his big-name clients that television was the main outlet for this kind of growth. Barry Frank
Trans World International also negotiated television rights deals for the All England Tennis Club, the British Open, the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NBA.
Mark's vision of where broadcasting was going to go was just light years ahead of any one else, Peter Smith, Senior Vice President, Director International Sales at IMG. I asked Mark for a job definition
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
COW Jobs: Visual Storyteller - Emeryville, CA
Brie Clayton October 9, 2026
0 Comments
Visual Storyteller
October 7, 2026 COW Jobs: Cinematographer...
09/10/2026
Master 3-Point Lighting in After Effects With an Orbiting Light Rig
Graham Quince October 9, 2026
0 Comments
Ever wondered why your 3D renders in Afte...
09/10/2026
nxtedition will exhibit for the first time at Asias Broadcasting & Infotainment Show (A.B.I.S) in Mumbai, bringing its integrated production platform and latest...
09/10/2026
Today's AI Isn't the Answer
Andy Marken October 8, 2026
0 Comments
Let's say you're telling the truth, and this is all a dream. - Do...
09/10/2026
Ikegami to Introduce New UHK-X700VN Camera at NAB New York, Offering Advanced Cr...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Witness world firsts, new arrivals and the work that goes on behind the scenes a...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Legends Behind the Lens: Mark McCormack One of the industrys all-time businessmen painted a prosperous future for sports on television By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
