Howard Cosell

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Howard William Cosell , actually Howard William Cohen (born March 25, 1918 in Winston-Salem , North Carolina , † April 23, 1995 in New York City , New York ) was an American sports commentator and sports reporter.

Life

Cosell grew up in Brooklyn, New York . His parents, accountant Isidor Cohen and his wife, wanted their son to be a lawyer. Cosell attended New York University , which he left with a JD degree . In 1941 he was admitted to the New York State Bar. During World War II he served in the United States Army Transportation Corps . He then returned to the legal profession and during this time mainly represented the interests of actors and athletes . As legal advisor for the New York Little League , Cosell was approached by a manager of the ABC if he wanted to comment on a game in the Litte League, whereupon Cosell carried out this activity for three years for free before he decided in 1956 to work full-time as a sports reporter. With the help of a sponsor, he was able to host his first weekly program Speaking of Sports on ABC.

Between 1961 and 1974 he was the sports anchorman for WABC-TV in New York and during this time he became famous throughout the United States for his comments and reports on all kinds of sporting competitions, but above all for his boxing coverage. In 1975, Cosell even got its own late night show under the title Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell , but it had non-sporting topics and guests.

style

When it began in the mid-1950s, Cosell's nature of the commentary differed significantly from what had previously been common under the journalistic form of sports commentary. Until then, it was common to have unreserved admiration for the athletes, but Cosell, on the other hand, often used a cheeky counterpoint in his reports or made biting comments on what was happening. Cosell used to summarize this style under the catchphrase I'm Just Telling It Like It Is . His interviews with the boxer Muhammad Ali in particular caused a sensation because the two distinct but highly different personalities seemed to complement each other perfectly.

Cosell had a lasting influence on the way in which sporting events were reported between the 1960s and the 1980s. He tried not to comment on the events "in isolation", but also to see them in a societal, political and even historical context.

Special events

When, during the second game of the World Series in October 1977, not far from the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx , where they were held, an abandoned elementary school burned and the flames were already clearly visible in the sky, which was clearly visible from a television camera installed in a helicopter was, Cosell commented with the words: There it is, ladies and gentlemen, The Bronx is burning . Since then, Cosell has been identified with this statement in particular in the United States, where it has become a household name .

In December 1980, Cosell announced the death of John Lennon to millions of television viewers during a football game .

Honors

The United States Sports Academy in Daphne awarded Cosell an honorary doctorate in 1988 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Honorary Doctorates. In: ussa.edu. United States Sports Academy, archived from the original on May 4, 2014 ; accessed on May 4, 2014 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cosell, Howard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cohen, Howard William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American sports commentator and sports reporter
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Winston-Salem , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH April 23, 1995
Place of death New York City , New York