Jack Whitaker

Famous for covering the first ever Super Bowl, Secretariat's Triple Crown victory and the Masters, Jack Whitaker enjoyed a half-century career as one of America's premier sports broadcasters. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Jack Whitaker graduated from St. Joseph's University in 1947, three years after being wounded by an artillery strike while serving in the U.S. Army during the Battle of Normandy. Following a brief stint at Pittsville's WPAM, he honed his broadcasting talents further at WCAU-TV, serving as weatherman, sports newscaster and host of a children's show filmed at Philadelphia Zoo. In 1961, Whitaker landed a full-time position at CBS, going on to host the network's anthology "Sports Spectacular" (CBS, 1960-) and pre-game show "The NFL Today" (CBS, 1961-1994), commentate on NFL franchise the Philadelphia Eagles and present game show "The Face Is Familiar" (CBS, 1966). Whitaker also covered the first ever Super Bowl, Major League Baseball, championship boxing, the North American Soccer League and the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, including Secretariat's iconic victory in 1973. But his two-decade spell with CBS was slightly soured in 1966 when Masters chairman Clifford Roberts banned him from covering the tournament for describing the Augusta National Golf Club as a "mob," although he was eventually allowed to return as Henry Longhurst's replacement in the 1970s. In 1982, Whitaker transferred to ABC where he worked on coverage of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and Seoul and the Winter Games in Sarajevo and contributed to "World News Tonight" (ABC, 1953-), "20/20" (ABC, 1978-) and "Nightline" (ABC, 1980). Whitaker also lent his broadcasting talents to ESPN and TNT, published his memoir, Preferred Lies and Other Tales: Skimming the Cream of a Life in Sports, in 1998, and won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Sports Emmys. Whitaker passed away from natural causes at his Pennsylvania home in 2019 aged 95.