Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
2005 Inductee
Over the course of a career that spanned five decades and all three broadcast networks, Curt Gowdy called hundreds of football, basketball, baseball, Olympic, and outdoorsman events on his way to becoming one of the most heralded sportscasters of all time.
The “Cowboy at the Mike” was a gifted basketball and tennis player at the University of Wyoming but suffered a spinal injury in World War II which forced him off of the court and into the broadcast booth.
Gowdy became the voice of college football when it premiered on ABC in the early 1960s. He also lent his talents to the American Football League, eventually calling nine Super Bowls, including the first in 1967. He also voiced the NBC Baseball Game of the Week for the first time, eventually calling 16 World Series and 16 baseball All-Star games. Among Gowdy’s other star-studded credits are 12 Rose Bowls, eight Olympic Games, 24 NCAA Final Fours, Ted Williams’ last at-bat in 1969, the “Immaculate Reception” in 1972, and Hank Aaron’s 715th home run in 1974.
Gowdy earned 13 Emmys over the course of his career, was presented the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in 1991, and was the first individual sports figure to win the Peabody Award for Outstanding Journalistic Achievement. He passed away in 2006.
