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Videos of the Week: 1988 Summer Olympics

Last week, we gave you assorted video clips of three network’s coverage of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Today, we’ll explore how NBC covered the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. What you saw then, pales in how NBC covers the games today.

Boxing had extensive coverage on NBC (something that would never happen today). Swimming was shown live during the Today show.

Trying to piggyback on excellent ratings for ABC four years earlier, NBC tried to use live coverage in mornings, primetime and late night to gain ratings, but because these games began in September, right when the NFL and MLB were in the midst of their coverage, ratings suffered in comparison.

So let’s give you some clips.

Here’s Marv Albert and the Fight Doctor, Ferdie Pacheco having the dubious honor of having to call one of the worst injustices in Olympic history, Roy Jones, Jr. losing to Park Si-Hun in a decision in the light middleweight division. I love Ferdie’s line, “If Roy loses here, there’s something rotten in Korea,” just before Park’s hand was raised (although it’s not in this video).

The late Charlie Jones calling Florence Griffith-Joyner’s triumph in the 200 meters. She also won the 100 pulling a double gold in these Olympic games.

Here’s Charlie calling the women’s 4 x 400 relay in which FloJo anchored and the U.S. finished with the silver.

Charlie calls the men’s 100 meters with Ben Johnson defeating Carl Lewis. Johnson would later be stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for a banned substance. Note that Charlie and partner Frank Shorter don’t speak until the 3:18 mark. And Charlie’s great call of “9! 7! 9!”

This is Charlie calling the men’s 110 meter hurdles. Roger Kingdom of the US took the gold.

You can’t go without a mention of Carl Lewis in these games and this is Charlie Jones and Dwight Stones calling Lewis in his signature event, the long jump.

Continuing with the long jump, here’s Bob Costas interviewing 1968 long jump gold medalist Bob Beamon and a look at Larry Myricks in the event. By the way, Bob was not the primetime host for NBC, Bryant Gumbel was and in 1992, Bob took over as the main host for NBC, a role he carries to this day. Bob was the late night host in 1988.

From gymnastics, this is Team USA’s entrance into the hall.

Here’s the the USA’s Phoebe Mills on the Floor Exercise. Dick Enberg, Bart Connor and Mary Lou Retton were on the call for NBC.

Elena Shushunova of the USSR won the gold medal in the all around gymnastics final. Here’s her floor exercise routine which got a 10.00.

NBC also had extensive coverage of volleyball and this is the USA-Peru women’s match as called by Bob Trumpy and Chris Marlowe.

NBC’s official song for the 1988 Olympics was Whitney Houston’s One Moment in Time and here’s the video as produced by NBC Sports for the end of the Games.

Here are NBC’s closing credits for the Olympics. Part I of II. Bryant Gumbel and Dick Enberg wrap up NBC’s coverage from Seoul. Why this person did not allow embedding is beyond me. The theme used by NBC is “Olympic Spirit” written by John Williams. NBC could not use the familiar “Bugler’s Dream” because ABC used it during the Winter Olympics in Calgary just 7 months before and still had the rights to the song. NBC would get the rights to the now-familiar Olympic theme in 1992 in time for the Barcelona games.

But here is Part II of the closing credits and I can embed this. Ok. Whatever.

That does it for this look at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Next week, we’ll look at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona.

Your Monday Morning Links

Well, it was Father’s Day yesterday and it was time to take dad out for lunch. I was out of the house for most of the day which meant I could not blog yesterday, but I’m back now and let’s get to the links.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says putting the U.S. Open in primetime paid off for NBC.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post says Charlie Jones’ death reminds him of NBC unceremoniously letting him go after losing NFL TV rights in 1997.

Newsday’s Neil Best writes in his blog that the USGA should eliminate its Monday 18 hole playoff. And Neil is grateful that Tiger Woods gets his work done before sunset.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell writes that Tiger will wear the same shirt for the 18 hole playoff that he did for the 4th round of the U.S. Open yesterday.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says the overnight ratings for the 3rd round of the U.S. Open on NBC were very good for a Saturday night.

And the Sports Media Watch says the U.S. Open helped NBC win Saturday night’s primetime race.

Here’s the NBC press release about the Saturday primetime ratings for the U.S. Open.

Tom Jones in the St. Petersburg Times’ Two Cents blog is not a fan of NBC’s Dan Hicks or seeing a lot of Tiger Woods.

Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is enjoying the U.S. Open and the College World Series on TV.

John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal has a very nice article on CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus’ thoughts on his father, Jim McKay’s passing. And nice of the SBJ to make this available to everyone.

Jay Posner from the San Diego Union-Tribune says sports on demand whether it be on the internet or on TV is the future.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune breaks news that the Big Ten Network and Comcast are about to sign a deal for the channel to be on its cable systems in the Midwest.

Dusty Saunders from the Rocky Mountain News writes that Colorado Avalanche TV announcer Mike Haynes feels lucky to be alive.

ESPN.com’s Jamele Hill apparently wrote a column about Celtics fans that made references to Hitler and the Cold War. Not smart.

The EPL Talk soccer blog likes how ESPN paired Derek Rae and Andy Gray during Euro 2008 over the weekend.

Michael Starr of the New York Post says Fox and ESPN plan to make concerted efforts to get the 2014 and 2016 Olympics from NBC.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News reports that NBC Universal has bought a majority stake in World Championship Sports Network, a broadband service that shows Olympic sports.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer talks with Comcast SportsNet President Jon Litner about the network’s strategy. Also from the Inquirer, Michael Klein writes that Comcast has suspended Daily News columnist Bill Conlin for comments made on the network and Klein reports that when Conlin may not return when he’s eligible to come back (scroll down).

Chris Reidy of the Boston Globe has the video of a new Sovereign Bank ad showing NESN Red Sox analyst Jerry Remy playing air guitar. Last year, Remy was shown on NESN playing air guitar before an on-air stint and fell off a table. If you haven’t seen that now-famous incident, here it is:

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star talk about a father and son making their work debut together.

Enjoy the U.S. Open playoff.

It’s a Saturday Link Afternoon

I’ve been Mr. Fixit today, running errands and fixing things around the house. I just wondered what we did before HGTV or DIY Network. Without them, there’s no way we could not do the simpler repairs around the house. But thanks to them, we can fix things around the kitchen sink or the back yard without having to call to help. But I digress.

Let’s get to your links.

Starting with the North County Times, the paper has an obituary of NBC sportscaster Charlie Jones who died on Thursday.

Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times writes a remembrance of Jones.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle also remembers Jones who started his career in Texas.

Jim Harris of Arkansas Sports 360 says Jones was well remembered in his native Arkansas.

Ken McMillan of the Times Herald-Record in New York also discusses Jones’ career.

Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times writes his thoughts of Charlie Jones. Jones also looks at Tim Russert and his love of sports.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks with Bob Costas about his thoughts on Jim McKay and also writes about Charlie Jones’ death. Caesar also writes about a lawsuit filed by a former sports radio talk show host against his former station.

Jerry Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News says being a third choice of ABC Sports Executive Producer Roone Arledge turned out to be the charm for the late Jim McKay.

Barry Horn writes in the Dallas Morning News about Texas Rangers TV voice Josh Lewin attempting not to make personal atacks on players.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News has his weekly sports media column.

The Sports Media Watch has its weekend ratings predictions. And the SMW says ratings for Game 4 of the NBA Finals fell back due in part to the Lakers being up more than 20 points late in the game.

And that does it for today.

Mourning Broadcasters

In a span of a short seven days, we have lost three broadcasters. Each man has helped to shape the industry. And as we go into Father’s Day weekend, we find that Jim McKay, Charlie Jones and Tim Russert were devout family men.

Last Saturday, June 7, Jim McKay of ABC Sports died in Maryland at the age of 86. McKay, the longtime host of Wide World of Sports has been remembered as a globe-trotting broadcaster, but was best known for calmly anchoring coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre that killed 11 Israeli athletes. At his funeral, the Baltimore Sun reports that not only did people from the broadcasting industry attend to say goodbye, but so did people who only knew him from television. In a day of 24 hour information, McKay was well thought of. Of the tributes I have read, there has not been a negative word said about him. And sports media critics who can be some of the most jaded individuals, all came out with kind words about McKay. Jim was a man who started his career in the early days of television and defined hosting Olympic broadcasts. And there was no one better when it came to finding that one tidbit to humanize an athlete whether it be at an Olympics or at a barrel jumping event.

On Friday afternoon, word came out that Charlie Jones had died at the age of 77. Jones had a stellar career with ABC and NBC. While Jones did not have the star quality of McKay or Bob Costas, he was a solid play-by-play man. He had died Thursday just four days before his 54th wedding anniversary. While Jones called as many as 28 different sports in his career, he was best known for his calling of American and National Football League games from 1960 until 1997. When NBC started to make its own Olympic tradition, Charlie called track & field, swimming and kayaking. And he could sit in the 18th tower for golf tournaments as well as host Wimbledon. He was very versatile and had a reputation for being one of the nicest men in broadcasting. And just this year, he had started a blog. His last entry was on Monday, paying tribute to his friend, Jim McKay.

But overshadowing the news of Charlie Jones’ passing was the sudden death of NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and long-time host of Meet the Press, Tim Russert. It seemed fitting to me that Russert died at work Friday. Russert had hosted Meet the Press since 1991 and was recording a voiceover for Sunday’s program when he collapsed. Russert became Washington Bureau Chief in 1988, joining NBC News after being press secretary for New York Governor Mario Cuomo. One of the best tributes to a journalist is to say that he/she was tough, but fair. One by one, politicians and fellow journalists have paid tribute to Russert, paying him the ultimate respect. The one thing you hear from the cable news channels tonight is how devoted Tim was to his family. He adored his father, known as Big Russ, and the subject of a New York Times bestselling book, “Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life“. He also adored his son, Luke who had graduated from Boston College just last week. And Russert was also a big sports fan, constantly cheering for his Buffalo Bills and the New York Yankees. From MSNBC, here are the past and present anchors for NBC Nightly News, Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams talking about the impact of Russert on Sunday morning television.

All three men, McKay, Jones and Russert influenced broadcasting in one way or another. There’s one common denominator about each and every one of them and it’s a lesson for those who want to get into the business. All were no nonsense broadcasters who did not call attention to themselves. McKay, especially in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, wanted to make sure the information he reported was correct. He refused to pass along an erroneous report that the 9 surviving Israeli athletes had been freed and were alive. When it came time to report the news that all of the athletes were dead, McKay used the simple words, “They’re all gone.”

Jones called NFL games passionately and objectively. He gave the down and distance before every play. Identified the offensive player carrying the ball and the defensive player making the tackle. And after every change of possession, gave the score. He didn’t yell, he didn’t scream. When a big play happened, Charlie used the right tone of voice to convey the importance of the moment. And he was one of the best at calling track & field. Here’s Charlie’s call of the men’s 100 meters in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul that Ben Johnson won, but was later disqualfied for steroids use. To help set the scene, Charlie and his partner, Frank Shorter were silent for more than 3 minutes.

And this is Charlie’s call of the women’s 200 meters won by the late Florence Griffith-Joyner.

Finally, one of the lasting thoughts I have from the tributes to Tim Russert come from Russert himself. He said when he was given the job of hosting Meet the Press, he talked to its original host, Lawrence Spivak. When Tim asked Spivak how to host the program, Spivak told him, learn everything you can about the guest and take the other side. For 17 years, Russert has asked tough questions of his guests, but they came out knowing Russert was fair in every sense of the word.

Each man will be missed as broadcasting has lost three men who greatly influenced the industry.

NBC’s Charlie Jones, 1930 – 2008

Last Saturday, we learned that Jim McKay passed away. Today, it was long-time AFL/NFL and track & field voice Charlie Jones. Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that Jones died at the age of 77.

Tom Hoffarth says Jones died Thursday just before he was supposed to go to dinner with friends. Tony Manolatos of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Jones died four days before his 54th wedding anniversary.

NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chairman Dick Ebersol gave a statement when he learned of Jones’ passing.

Jones worked for ABC calling the American Football League in 1960 and went to NBC when the league changed networks in 1965. He remained with NBC until 1997 when it lost the rights to the NFL.

In addition, he called track & field during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, then did swimming in the 1992 Barcelona Games. He also called baseball, golf and hosted Wimbledon while at NBC.

After leaving NBC, Jones did work for both Prime and FSN, calling the Chicago Marathon and did some sporadic work for ABC calling college football.

Interestingly enough, Charlie had his own blog and on Monday, wrote a post about Jim McKay’s passing.

Jones was a pro at calling the NFL and had a reputation as one of the nicer people in broadcasting.

ADDENDUM – Nice of NBC Sports to mention Jones’ passing during its U.S. Open coverage today. Jimmy Roberts mentioned it during an update and Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller both said they would miss him.