JFK, the NFL & Jim McKay

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It brought to mind a story about the legendary sports broadcaster Jim McKay, who passed away in June 2008 after a long and distinguished career in journalism.

McKay was the first sportscaster to win an Emmy award; he also won Emmys for writing and broadcasting. The understated and eloquent McKay is best remembered for his role as host of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” and Olympics coverage. During the 1972 Olympics in Munich, it was McKay who unforgettably told television viewers of the deaths of the Israeli athletes at the hands of terrorists. “They’re all gone,” McKay said.

McKay was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and broke into broadcasting in 1947. He was later part of the New York Giants’ broadcast crew in 1963. His son, CBS Sports president Sean McManus, used to accompany him to the games back then.

“I went to a lot of Giants games with my father,” McManus told me. “His broadcast partner was Chris Schenkel, and I would squeeze in the little radio booth and sit between Chris and my dad and afterward go down to the locker room and see players like Sam Huff and Y.A. Tittle and Erich Barnes. They were my heroes in those days.”

McManus was at the Giants game with his father the weekend JFK was assassinated. The NFL games were not cancelled that day. I spoke to McManus a few years ago and asked him what he remembered about that day.

“I remember the discussion that my parents had regarding whether we should go to the game,” McManus said. ”My father had promised me that we would go, and he was trying to balance that promise with what was the right thing to do.

“In the end, I think he made a decision that he might have regretted, much like [NFL commissioner] Pete Rozelle regretted it. He might have made the wrong decision, but he did so purely out of, I think, loyalty and affection to me because he knew how disappointed I would be.

“When you’re an eight-year-old boy, you might not be able to comprehend what a devastating event the assassination of a president is. I was looking forward to going to a football game, and I think my father was very torn. In the end, he made the decision based on my feelings, I think.”