Legendary sportscaster Jim McKay, 87, passed away Saturday from natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Md.
"There are no superlatives that can adequately honor Jim McKay," said George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports. "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."
For over 40 years, starting in 1961, McKay hosted ABC's weekend series, "Wide Word of Sports." He also covered 12 Olympics, including the memorably tragic 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany. He was the anchor who reported the kidnapping and deaths of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists.
"They're all gone," he said," a comment that was replayed numerous times as the events were chronicled over the years. McKay won a news and sports Emmy Award, as well as the George Polk award for his coverage of the Munich Olympics.
McKay called that the "most memorable single moment of my career," although he was also in the studio when the United States' "Miracle on Ice" team defeated Russia. "I don't know what else would match that," he said.
The sportscaster won 12 Emmys and was the first sportscaster to ever receive one. He covered over 100 different sports in 40 countries, although he said horseracing was his favorite.
"He had a remarkable career and a remarkable life," said his son Sean McManus, also the president of CBS News and Sports. "Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't come up to me and say how much they admired my father."
Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics, also released a statement Saturday. Ebersol had worked with McKay for six years while at ABC Sports and called him "the most respected and admired sportscaster of his generation."
"While we all know what an absolute titan he was in his chosen field, I will always remember him as an extraordinary human being guided by a strong moral compass," Ebersol said. "He was the best husband to his wife, an extraordinary father to his own children and for all of us who had the privilege to grow up around him as boys, he helped shape us into men."
McKay also was remembered by U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth and numerous other colleagues, including Bob Costas, Al Michaels and Mike Tirico.
"He brought a reporter's eye, a literate touch, and above all a personal humanity to every assignment," Costas said. "He had a combination of qualities seldom seen in the history of the medium, not just sports."
