Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jack Whitaker Dies at 95 in His Sleep
August 19, 2019
Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Whitaker died Sunday aged 95.
CBS (h/t ESPN), where he worked for 22 years, reported Whitaker died in his sleep of natural causes.
Among his career highlights, Whitaker called the first Super Bowl in 1967 and Secretariat's successful Triple Crown bid in 1973.
CBS Sports and ESPN paid tribute to the broadcasting legend:
So too did his friends and former colleagues:
Randy Moss @randy_moss_TVJack Whitaker was pure elegance and class, and working with him the last few years of his broadcasting career is one of the highlights of mine. Even when he was in his late 70s, Jack’s was the sharpest mind on any telecast he worked. An amazing talent and wonderful man. Godspeed.
caton bredar @CBredarMy first experiences in TV were working as runner/researcher for ABC’s racing coverage. How lucky was I to assist Jack Whitaker, so smart, so professional with a great sense of humor. His essays remain the gold standard in sports journalism in my eyes. RIP Jack. https://t.co/IxeyICUEBj
Whitaker, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a World War II veteran.
At the age of 20, he was wounded by an artillery strike after landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on June 9, 1944, three days after the D-Day landings.
He began his broadcasting career at WCAU-TV, where among other things he announced the local weather in Philadelphia.
At CBS, after starting out at their Philadelphia station, he began working in network sports in 1961, and he covered a range of sports from golf and horse racing to NFL, soccer and baseball.
Newscaster Jon Belmont offered further insight into his career:
Whitaker moved to ABC Sports in 1982 and covered both the Summer and Winter Olympics in 1984 as well as the latter again in 1988.
In 2012, he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
"There will never be another Jack Whitaker in sports broadcasting," said CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, per CBS News' Brian Pascus. "His amazing writing ability, on-air presence and humanity are unmatched."