Broadcast great Gowdy dies

FORT MYERS, Fla. – He was the smooth voice of sports history, a welcome companion who brought listeners Ted Williams’ last home run, the first Super Bowl and dozens of other dramatic moments.

Curt Gowdy, who died Monday at age 86, told generations of Americans about the games they loved from the broadcast booths at 13 World Series, 16 All-Star baseball games, numerous Rose Bowls, the 1976 Montreal Olympics and as radio voice of the Boston Red Sox from 1951-65.

“He was the first superstar of sports television because he did all of the big events,” veteran NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg said. “He’s the last of the dinosaurs. No one will ever be the voice of so many major events at the same time ever again.”

Gowdy died of leukemia at his winter home in Palm Beach, Fla.

Before cable television spawned a new breed of announcer – those who use shouts and hip phrases instead of subdued sounds and straightforward description – Gowdy was a star who just wanted to tell a story, a well-liked man who stayed that way as his fame grew.

He once said, “I tried to pretend I was sitting in the stands with a buddy watching the game, poking him in the ribs when something exciting happened. I never took myself too seriously. An announcer is only as good as yesterday’s performance.”