Sports broadcaster who covered 1972 Munich massacre, Jim McKay, dies at 86

U.S. sports broadcaster Jim McKay, who won international fame for his marathon coverage of the 1972 attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, has died, the ABC television network said on Saturday. He was 86.

McKay hosted 12 Olympic Games and ABC's "Wide World of Sports" television show for 37 years, from its beginning in 1961 until 1998. His "the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" introduction to the Saturday afternoon program became an indelible part of U.S. pop culture.

But his Olympics coverage made him one of the world's most recognized sports personalities, especially his reports on the "Black September" attack on the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Games, which led to the deaths of 11 Israelis, one German policeman and five of the eight attackers.

McKay had gone for a morning swim when he heard that gunshots had been fired in the Olympic Village, so he threw his clothes on over his swimsuit and ran to the ABC Studio, where he stayed on the air for 16 hours to describe the attacks.

Once word reached McKay that the remaining 9 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich airport, McKay uttered the famous words: 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 eleven hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone.

McKay received two of his 13 U.S. television Emmy awards for his coverage of the 1972 Olympics, as well as the year's George Polk Memorial Award, given to one journalist whose work represents the best reporting of the year. The West German government also honored him for his coverage of the story.

"There are no superlatives that can adequately honor Jim McKay. He meant so much to so many people. He was a founding father of sports television, one of the most respected commentators in the history of broadcasting and journalism," ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer said in a statement on ABC's ESPN cable sports network's Web site.

McKay was the only broadcaster to win Emmys for sports and news broadcasting and for writing, ABC said. He was the first U.S. network sports commentator to visit China.

McKay was born Jim McManus on Sept. 24, 1921, and served as a U.S. Navy officer during World War Two. He died at his home in Maryland of natural causes, ABC said, citing a family statement.