This 1983 CBS NFL Today program took place on January 9, 1983 featuring TheNFL Today crew of Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George and Jimmy The Greek Snyder at the pregame sports desk….with Pat Summerall and John Madden calling the NFC Divisional game between the Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Bucs…..along with Tom Brookshire and Wayne Walker behind the mike at the Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons game.
TheNFL Today crew of Musburger, Cross, George and Snyder is one of the most iconic network pregame and studio hosts group of all time on network television back in the day….so, some history on this crew.
Phyllis George is a former Miss America 1971 and Miss Texas 1970….which takes her to the “top shelf” in my book….cuz she is a true Texan…..and that’s “high cotton” where I come from. Phyllis George is an American businesswoman, actress, and former sportscaster….who was also the First Lady of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983.
CBS Sports producers approached George to become a sportscaster in 1974….and the following year, she joined the cast of The NFL Today….while co-hosting live pregame shows before National Football League games with Brent Musburger and Irv Cross from 1975 to 1984 on The NFL Today….for she was one of the first women to have a nationally prominent role in television sports coverage. Another duty George had with CBS Sports was working on horse racing events, including the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes
Irc Cross was employed as an analyst and commentator for CBS Sports from 1971….when he became the first African-American to work full-time as a sports analyst on national television….while remaining at CBS until 1994. In addition to his work on CBS’ NFL coverage….which included his being a co-anchor of The NFL Today from its inception in 1975 through 1989….as he, Phyllis and Brent were together behind the studio desks for a long time.
Jimmy the Greek was an American sports commentator and Las Vegas bookmaker….as his bookmaking sports line eventually led to a 12-year stint on the CBS Sunday morning show….along with The NFL Today, a pregame show for National Football League (NFL) games…..where he was known simply as “Jimmy the Greek”….when he would appear in segments with sportscaster Brent Musburger and predict the results of that week’s NFL games. While already famous in gambling circles….his rough charm made him into a minor celebrity. He had fairly major conflicts with Musburger….of whom he once punched in the face at a bar when the show anchor insulted his intelligence….and Phyllis George….whom he once brought to tears before a show by making a comment about her husband….which led to Jimmy taping his segments with Musburger in advance….so, that he and George were not on the set at the same time….but this core group featured on this video herewith….was able to overcome these obstacles and continue CBS’ massive Sunday ratings success for several years.
It was legendary sportscaster Brent Musburger’s association with The NFL Today that made him famous. During his tenure, CBS’ NFL pregame show was consistently the # 1 rated pregame show. One of the signatures of the program was Musburger’s show-opening teases to the various games CBS would cover, along with live images from the various stadiums. Musburger’s accompanying intro to each visual, “You are looking live at …” became one of his catch phrases. In promoting the network, his voice often tailed off on the last letter of “CBS” (“C.B. eeezz”), creating another catch phrase. Musburger made headlines when he got into a fist-fight with The NFL Today‘s betting analyst Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder in a Manhattan bar on October 27, 1980….however, the fist-fight incident was quickly regarded as water under the bridge as the two cheerfully appeared on The NFL Today the following week wearing boxing gloves on camera.
This particular The NFL Today program also covers the AFC Divisional games between the San Diego Chargers vs Pittsburg Steelers and the New York Jets vs Cincinnati Bengals games and highlights from the day before…..which makes this video a thumbprint of NFL history in time….of days gone bye that are too soon being forgotten.
