Olympics on ABC commentators
Hosts
| Year | Prime-Time Host | Daytime Host(s) | Late-Night Host(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Winter | Jim McKay | ||
| 1968 Winter | Chris Schenkel Jim McKay (opening and closing ceremonies only) | ||
| 1968 Summer | Chris Schenkel | ||
| 1972 Summer | Chris Schenkel | ||
| 1976 Winter | Jim McKay | ||
| 1976 Summer | Jim McKay | ||
| 1980 Winter | Jim McKay | ||
| 1984 Winter | Jim McKay | Jim Lampley Kathleen Sullivan | Donna de Varona |
| 1984 Summer | Jim McKay | Frank Gifford Kathleen Sullivan | Jim Lampley Donna de Varona |
| 1988 Winter | Jim McKay (Monday-Friday)[1] Keith Jackson (weekends) | Keith Jackson | Frank Gifford Kathie Lee Gifford |
By event
Winter
1964
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators |
|---|---|---|
| Skiing | Jim McKay | Andrea Mead Lawrence Willy Schaeffler |
| Figure Skating | Dick Button | Carol Heiss |
| Bobsled | Stan Benham |
1968
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators |
|---|---|---|
| Skiing | Jim McKay | |
| Figure Skating | Chris Schenkel | Dick Button |
| Hockey | Curt Gowdy | |
| Ski Jumping | Art Devlin |
1976[2][3]
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators |
|---|---|---|
| Skiing | Frank Gifford | Bob Beattie Karl Schranz |
| Figure Skating | Chris Schenkel | Dick Button |
| Hockey | Curt Gowdy | Brian Conacher |
| Bobsled | Warner Wolf | |
| Luge | Jackie Stewart | Paul Lamey |
| Ski Jumping | Art Devlin | |
| Speed Skating | Keith Jackson | Anne Henning |
| Features | Pierre Salinger |
|---|
1980[4][5]
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators |
|---|---|---|
| Figure Skating | Jim McKay | Dick Button |
| Speed Skating | Keith Jackson | Sheila Young Ochowitz |
| Hockey | Al Michaels | Ken Dryden |
| Skiing | Frank Gifford | Bob Beattie Susie Patterson |
| Bobsled | Curt Gowdy | Paul Lamey Jackie Stewart |
| Cross Country | Bill Flemming | Peter Graves |
| Ski Jumping | Chris Schenkel | Art Devlin |
| Luge | Curt Gowdy | Bill Caterino |
| Features | Don Meredith |
|---|
1984
| Features | Hughes Rudd Ray Gandolf Jim Lampley Dick Schaap Anne Simon Terre Blair Barbara Kolonay |
|---|
1988
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Reporters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Ceremony | Jim McKay | Peter Jennings | |
| Skiing | Al Trautwig | Bob Beattie | Jack Edwards |
| Biathlon | Mike Adamle | Keri Swensen | |
| Bobsled | Lynn Swann | John Morgan | |
| Cross Country | Mike Adamle | Bill Koch | |
| Figure Skating | Jim McKay | Dick Button Peggy Fleming |
David Santee |
| Freestyle | Tim McCarver | Jeff Chumaz | |
| Ice Hockey | Al Michaels Jiggs McDonald |
Ken Dryden Mike Eruzione |
|
| Luge | Sam Posey | Jeff Tucker | |
| Nordic Combined | Chris Schenkel | Greg Windsberger | |
| Nordic Skiing | Mike Adamle | Bill Koch | |
| Rodeo | Curt Gowdy | Larry Mahan | |
| Short Track | Keith Jackson | Lydia Stephens | |
| Ski Jumping | Chris Schenkel | Jeff Hastings | |
| Speedskating | Gary Bender | Eric Heiden |
| Features | Donna de Varona Becky Dixon Jim Hill Tim McCarver Jack Whitaker (essayist) Dan Dierdorf Cheryl Miller |
|---|
Summer
1972
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators |
|---|---|---|
| Track & Field | Jim McKay | Bill Toomey (400m races) Marty Liquori (150m and 800m races) Erich Segal (marathon) |
| Swimming | Keith Jackson | |
| Diving | Jack Whitaker Bill Flemming (filled in for Whitaker while he did gymnastics) |
Cynthia Potter |
| Basketball | Frank Gifford Bill Flemming (filled in for Gifford while he did wrestling) |
Bill Russell |
| Gymnastics | Jim McKay | Gordon Maddux |
| Boxing | Howard Cosell | |
| Wrestling | Frank Gifford |
1976
| Event | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators |
|---|---|---|
| Track & Field | Keith Jackson | O.J. Simpson Bob Seagren Brian Oldfield Marty Liquori (men) Wyomia Tyus (women) |
| Swimming | Keith Jackson | Mark Spitz (men) Donna de Varona (women) |
| Diving | Bill Flemming | Ken Sitzberger (men) Micki King (women) |
| Basketball | Frank Gifford Curt Gowdy |
Bill Russell |
| Gymnastics | Chris Schenkel | Gordon Maddux (men) Cathy Rigby (women) |
| Boxing | Howard Cosell | |
| Wrestling | Frank Gifford | Ken Kraft |
| Equestrian | Chris Schenkel Jackie Stewart |
Bill Steinkraus |
| Rowing | Frank Gifford | Fritz Hobbs |
| Features | Pierre Salinger Jim Lampley Dave Diles |
|---|
1984
References
- ↑ Jim McKay
- ↑ ABC SPENT MILLIONS of dollars for the rights to broadcast the Olympics, and millions more for equipment like a studio assembled in New York, broken down for shipment, and put back together in Innsbruck. Then they assigned American sportscasters who act as if they knew nothing about winter sports to cover the events with only the help of some former participants, whom they title "experts." Frank Gifford, ex-New-York-Giants pro football player and connoisseur of Super Bowls, commented on the Olympic downhill race: "Look at all those people flocking to the slopes. You know, this event is the Super Bowl of Austria." Werner Wolf, former small town broadcaster, explained speed skating distances: "This is the 500 meter event--that's about five and a half football fields long." Curt Gowdy, on special leave from NBC's football and baseball coverage as well as a fishing buff, narrated the US vs USSR hockey game: "There's the first whistle." Long pause. Brian Conacher, the hockey expert, breaks in, "Uh, Curt, that's an offside call." Gowdy: "Yeah, offside against the US. You know, the Russians are remarkable for not being offside." Even the "experts" screwed up. Anne Henning, gold medal winner in 1972's speed skating, said that for a skater to do well in the 500 meter event, she would have to skate the first 100 meters in 10.8 seconds or less. But the first skater did an 11.7, and Henning said "Great time, great time!" And then there was anchorman Jim McKay's flub of the final hockey score, calling it 6-1 when two minutes before we'd seen Steve Jensen of the US close the gap to 6-2.
- ↑ Ocala Star-Banner - Feb 6, 1976
- ↑ The Palm Beach Post - Feb 8, 1980
- ↑ Boca Raton News - Feb 8, 1980
- ↑ He was relegated to near obscurity at the '84 Olympics in Los Angeles, covering only the snippets of basketball that ABC presented.
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