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April 1961
- The show ran from that April 1961 debut until its cancellation on Jan. 3, 1998, in a late-afternoon window every Saturday on ABC.
ABC's Wide World of Sports was intended to be a fill-in show for a single summer season, until the start of fall sports seasons, but became unexpectedly popular. The goal of the program was to showcase sports from around the globe that were seldom, if ever, broadcast on American television.
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Apr 24, 2021 · The event was nothing new — the first Penn Relays was in 1895 — but the program was, and for the next 36-plus years ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” would profoundly change how sports television...
- Chad Finn
Apr 29, 2021 · On April 29, 1961, ABC premiered Wide World of Sports, a sports anthology series that was a staple of Saturday afternoon television for 37 years, with an opening that famously promised "the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat, the human drama of athletic competition."
Apr 29, 2021 · On Saturday, April 29, 1961, Wide World of Sports debuted on broadcast television network ABC. Featuring coverage of track & field from both the Penn and Drake Relays, the show introduced announcer Jim McKay to audiences.
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"Wide World of Sports" was intended to be a fill-in show for a single summer season, until the start of fall sports seasons, but became unexpectedly popular. The goal of the program was to showcase sports from around the globe that were seldom (if ever) broadcast on American television. The show originally ran for two hours on Saturday afternoons, ...
"Wide World of Sports" was the creation of Edgar Scherick through his company, Sports Programs, Inc. After selling his company to ABC, he hired a young Roone Arledge to produce the show. The series' April 29, 1961 debut telecast featured both the Penn and Drake Relays. Jim McKay (who hosted the program for most of its history) and Jesse Abramson, t...
During its initial season in the spring and summer of 1961, "Wide World of Sports" was initially broadcast from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays. Beginning in 1962, the show was pushed to 5:00 to 6:30 pm, and later to 4:30 to 6:00 pm. Eastern Time to allow ABC affiliates in the Eastern and Central Time Zones to carry local early-eve...
Hosts 1. Jim McKay (1961–1998) 2. Becky Dixon (1987–1988) 3. Frank Gifford (1987–1993) 4. Julie Moran (1994–1995) 5. John Saunders (1995–1996) 6. Robin Roberts (1996–1998) Event Announcers Play-by-Play 1. Tim Brant 2. Howard Cosell 3. Becky Dixon 4. Chris Economaki 5. Bill Flemming 6. Terry Gannon 7. Frank Gifford 8. Curt Gowdy 9. Keith Jackson 10....
In 1961, "Wide World of Sports" covered a bowling event in which Roy Lown beat Pat Patterson. The broadcast was so successful that in 1962, ABC Sports began covering the Professional Bowlers Tour. In 1964, the show covered the Oklahoma Rattlesnake Hunt championships; the following year, ABC premiered outdoor program "The American Sportsman", which ...
Apr 27, 2001 · ''Wide World'' became the focus of ABC Sports, providing it with a platform to produce Olympic sports, which came in handy when it televised 10 of the 13 Olympics from 1964 to 1988.
Apr 29, 2021 · This was thanks to an anthology program that debuted 60 years ago today: ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”
