Curt Gowdy (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American sportscaster….who was well known as the longtime “voice” of the Boston Red Sox….and for his coverage of many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC Sports in the 1960’s and 1970’s. His accomplishments include coining the nickname “The Granddaddy of Them All” for the Rose Bowl Game….while taking the moniker from the Cheyenne Frontier Days in his native Wyoming.
Over the course of a career that stretched from 1949….when he called his 1st MLB Boston Red Sox game to 1989….when he called his final NFL game….Curt Gowdy pro football (both the AFL and NFL), Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball. He was involved in the broadcast of 13 World Series, 16 baseball All-Star Games, 9 Super Bowls, 14 Rose Bowls, 8 Olympic Games and 24 NCAA Final Fours. Gowdy called all the Olympic Games televised by ABC from 1964 to 1988 with Roone Arledge’s sports department at ABC. In the mid-1970’s, Gowdy was host and producer of The Way It Was, for PBS….and in later years provided historic commentary for Inside the NFL, on HBO.
