The American Sportsman Passes

[RJ]

Curt Gowdy passed away after a bout with Lukemia. He will be missed...we need more guys like Curt, Steve Sloan and others like Mark Sosin and Flip Palot (still with us) ...they are the true breed of the outdoorsman...

Curt's show was awesome in the 60's and 70's and a true icon of the outdoors!

[RJ]

Legendary broadcaster Gowdy passes away at 86
Palm Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy died Monday in his Florida home at the age of 86 following a lengthy bout with leukemia.

Gowdy's career spanned over 40 years and covered nearly every major American sporting event. He was the play-by-play voice for NBC's telecast of Super Bowl I in 1967 and worked seven more for the network. Gowdy also broadcasted 13 World Series, 16 baseball All-Star Games and seven Olympic Games, as well as a number of NCAA Final Fours and Rose Bowls.

Gowdy was also the host of ABC's popular "American Sportsman" television series from 1967 to 1982 and was the lead announcer for the American Football League during all 10 seasons of its existence from 1960 to 1969.

In 1970 Gowdy became the first sportscaster to receive the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in radio and television broadcasting. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 and is also a member of the AFL's Hall of Fame as a contributor.

One of the most recognizable and beloved sportscasters in television history, Gowdy began his career in 1944 covering high school football in his native Wyoming. In 1949 he served as a broadcaster with the New York Yankees alongside the legendary Mel Allen and became the head play-by-play man for the Boston Red Sox two years later.

Gowdy spent 15 seasons as the Red Sox' radio announcer before joining NBC Sports as the lead television broadcaster for the network's national Baseball Game of the Week in 1966. He worked every World Series and All-Star Game for NBC from 1966 to 1975.

A three-time recipient of the National Sportscaster of the Year award given by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, Gowdy was named to the organization's Hall of Fame in 1981. He received an Emmy for lifetime achievement in 1992, the NFL's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 1993, and was a member of the inaugural 1995 class of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Gowdy also served as president of the Basketball Hall of Fame for several years. In 1971 a state park in Cheyenne, Wyoming -- the city where Gowdy's first broadcast took place -- was named in his honor.

[RJ]

Flip Palot & Mark Sosin On TFL Radio Show This Saturday (2/25)
Flip Palot of the Walker Kay Chronicles and Mark Sosin of Mark Sosin's Saltwater Journal will both be my guests on The Fishing Line radio show this Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. on WGBB 1240AM radio.

We'll be reliving and remembering the great American Sportsman Curt Gowdy. Mark & Curt were friends for 40 years and Flip and Curt about the same as Flip was actually a cameraman on the American Sportsman!

The phone lines will be open at 631-888-8811 if you would like to speak with either gentleman. You can listen on WGBB or through our streaming audio at mms://216.211.192.26/wgbb or look for the link on our home page at www.thefishingline.com