Legendary Sports Broadcaster and Hall of Famer Jack Whitaker Dead at 95

Legendary Sports Broadcaster and Hall of Famer Jack Whitaker Dead at 95 His ability to write about a moment and capture it was only exceeded by his humanity By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Sunday, August 18, 2019 - 4:01 pm

Print This Story

Story Highlights

Legendary sportscaster Jack Whitaker died of natural causes at the age of 95 on Sunday morning in Devon, PA. He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2012 and, as seen below, had a career in sports broadcasting that was as full and rich as anyone could wish.

Jack and Pat Whitaker at his induction into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2012.

CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz released a statement on Sunday praising the broadcast legend.

When I first met Jack Whitaker in 1986 at Pebble Beach, I felt like I had just been introduced to Ernest Hemingway, Nantz said. I grew up watching him deliver contemplative and contextual prose with his famous short essays, bringing class and dignity to his industry. He was enormously proud to have called Super Bowl I for CBS and was the last surviving network commentator from that landmark game. I spoke to him this week after hospice came to his home and his mind was still brilliantly sharp right to the end.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus issued a statement expressing his condolences to Whitaker's family, saying, There will never be another Jack Whitaker in sports broadcasting.

His amazing writing ability, on-air presence and humanity are unmatched. His unique perspective on sports ranging from horse racing to golf to NFL football was extraordinary, McManus said. My father and Jack shared an incredible respect for each other and had the warmest of friendships that lasted for decades. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jack's family.

To watch the Hall of Fame tribute video for Whitaker and his acceptance speech click here.

CBS Sports Broadcaster Jim Nantz with Jack Whitaker.

Whitaker's television style, as it was exhibited on CBS and ABC from 1961 to 1995, certainly wasn't slick. It was sophisticated and smart. He had style, which is why today, his admirers say he stands apart as one of the most accomplished of television's early generation of wordsmiths, not so much an announcer as an essayist who dared to be poetic when just clever would do.

To say Whitaker is revered by other sports broadcasters and executives is an understatement. I admired Jack so much. So did everybody else, said Frank Gifford in 2012 when Whitaker was inducted. Gifford was teamed with Whitaker in Gifford's early days at CBS. He had a wonderful voice. He was intelligent. He's just an extraordinary guy.

Whitaker lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia where he grew up and had his first fame as an on-air sportscaster for WCAU, then a CBS-owned station (NBC owns it now). It was quite a crew. One of his news buddies at the station was Ed McMahon. The anchorman was the soon-to-be legendary John Facenda, who was to become the Voice of God for the first years of NFL Films.

Whitaker and McMahon weren't very excited about their long-term prospects at the station, Whitaker recalls; they would take the train to New York City, pound the pavement on Madison Avenue, then hustle to get back to the station by 11:00.

Eventually, McMahon became Johnny Carson's sidekick. And Whitaker ended up announcing NFL games for CBS. Sports viewers probably remember him most for his work at major golf tournaments, at the world's premier horseracing events, at several Olympics, and as part of the broadcast team at the first Super Bowl.

He had a lifetime of great moments. He had vivid memories of talking to stars like NFL Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin and NBA great Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul Jabbar), two sports legends he thought were particularly interesting because they had varied interests, not just sports. Indeed, Whitaker makes plain, that while he loved sports, he was interested in a lot more than that and sometimes ponders the experiences he missed outside the sports world.

Still he covered so many amazing events it's hard to say he missed much. Asked for his most vivid memory, high on the list was covering the Belmont Stakes in 1973 and witnessing Secretariat's amazing 31-length victory. It's a performance he succinctly calls perfect.

As the race ended, he exclaimed to his audience that Secretariat was so amazingly dominating that day, I believe Dick Butkus could have ridden this horse today and won.

Golf was also one of his specialties. He covered several Masters Tournaments - and was banished after one year when he innocently called a group of spectators following Jack Nicholas to the 18th hole a mob. The Masters didn't have mobs, it was explained.

But a passage he's often remembered for was uttered at the British Open at St. Andrews -and it seems emblematic of the essay you're not likely to hear on a sports broadcast today. He peered out at the stunning, ancient, and impossibly challenging Scottish field of green and said, Nobody designed this course. Nobody with a pencil and $2 million and five bulldozers. This was made by nature. It comes out of the ground. It was done with wind and rain and sun and the help of a few sheep. And so, while, for most Americans and other people, it's not love at first sight at St. Andrews St. Andrews' Old Course is like a dry martini an acquired taste, and, as such, it remains with you forever.

(He saif he tried to be a better golfer himself. He asked the pros for help: I had the best teachers I the world. I was the worst student. )

Signature moments like that at St. Andrews gave Whitaker his well-deserved reputation. Jack was an original, says Ed Goren, former vice chairman of Fox Sports Media Group and fellow inductee into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fa

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/08/18/legendary-sports-broadcaster-an...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines