States. For other uses, see Wide World of Sports (disambiguation). This article has multiple issues.

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help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template
messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2020) Some of this article's listed
sources may not be reliable. (February 2020) Wide World of Sports Wide World of Sports logo Genre
Sports anthology series Created by Edgar Scherick Presented by Jim McKay Becky Dixon
Frank Gifford Julie Moran Robin Roberts Country of origin United States Original language English No.
of seasons 37 Production Executive producer Roone Arledge Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 90 minutes Production company ABC Sports Original release Network ABC Release
April 29, 1961 – January 3, 1998 ABC's Wide World of Sports is an American sports anthology
television program that aired on ABC from April 29, 1961, to January 3, 1998, primarily on Saturday
afternoons. Hosted by Jim McKay, with a succession of co-hosts beginning in 1987, the title continued to be
used for general sports programs on the network until 2006. In 2007, Wide World of Sports was named by Time
on its list of the 100 best television programs of all time. Weekend sports news updates on sister radio network
ABC Sports Radio, operated by Cumulus Media Networks, continue to be branded under the similar title ABC's
World of Sports. The program also lent its name to an athletic facility at Walt Disney World, the ESPN Wide
World of Sports Complex, which was originally known as Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex from its
opening in 1997 (one year after The Walt Disney Company acquired ABC and an 80% stake in ESPN) until
2010. History[edit] Origins[edit] Wide World of Sports was the creation of Edgar Scherick through his
company, Sports Programs, Inc. After selling his company to ABC, he hired a young Roone Arledge to produce
the show. The series' April 29, 1961, debut telecast featured both the Penn and Drake Relays. Jim McKay (who
hosted the program for most of its history) and Jesse Abramson, the track and field writer for the New York
Herald Tribune, broadcast from Franklin Field with Bob Richards as the field reporter. Jim Simpson called the
action from Drake Stadium with Bill Flemming working the field.[1] During its initial season in the spring and
summer of 1961, Wide World of Sports was initially broadcast from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. Eastern Time on
Saturdays. Beginning in 1962, it was pushed to 5:00 to 6:30 P.M., and later to 4:30 to 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time to
allow ABC affiliates in the Eastern and Central Time Zones to carry local early-evening newscasts. Successful
spin-offs[edit] In 1961, Wide World of Sports covered a bowling event in which Roy Lown beat Pat Patterson.
The broadcast was so successful that in 1962, ABC Sports began covering the Professional Bowlers Tour. In
1964, Wide World of Sports covered the Oklahoma Rattlesnake Hunt championships; the following year, ABC
premiered outdoor program The American Sportsman, which remained on the network for nearly 20 years. In
1973, the Superstars was first televised as a segment on Wide World of Sports; the following year, the
Superstars debuted as a weekly winter series that lasted for 10 years. Athlete of the Year[edit] In 1963, ABC
Sports producers began selecting the Athlete of the Year. Its first winner was track and field star Jim Beatty for
being the first to run a sub-4-minute mile indoors. Through the years, this award was won by such now
legendary athletes of Muhammad Ali, Jim Ryun, Lance Armstrong, Mario Andretti, Dennis Conner, Wayne
Gretzky, Carl Lewis and Tiger Woods. The award was discontinued in 2001. The end of Wide World of
Sports[edit] In later years, with the rise of cable television offering more outlets for sports programming, Wide
World of Sports lost many of the events that had been staples of the program for many years (many, although
not all, of them ended up on ESPN, a sister network to ABC for most of its existence). Ultimately, on January 3,
1998, Jim McKay announced that Wide World of Sports, in its traditional anthology series, had been canceled
after a 37-year run. The Wide World of Sports name remained in use afterward as an umbrella title for ABC's
weekend sports programming. In August 2006, ABC Sports came under the oversight of ESPN, under the
relaunched banner name ESPN on ABC. The Wide World of Sports title continues to occasionally be revived
for Saturday afternoon sports programming on ABC; it was used during the 140th Belmont Stakes as a tribute to
Jim McKay following his death in June 2008, and in 2017 it was used for the revival of the Battle of the
Network Stars with a remake of the show's opening sequence. Most of ABC's sports programming since Wide
World of Sports ended as a program has been displaced from ABC and moved to ESPN; the cable network
began producing its own anthology series on Saturday afternoons in 2010, ESPN Sports Saturday, which
consists of documentaries originally featured on ESPN's E:60 and 30 for 30 programs, and a modified version of
the ESPN interactive series SportsNation, titled Winners Bracket. Format[edit] This section does not cite any
sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (February 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Sports
featured on Wide World of Sports[edit] Main article: List of events broadcast on Wide World of Sports
(American TV program) Drag racer Don Nicholson during a Wide World of Sports interview in 1966. Wide
World of Sports was intended to be a fill-in show for a single summer season, until the start of fall sports
seasons, but became unexpectedly popular. The goal of the program was to showcase sports from around the
globe that were seldom, if ever, broadcast on American television. It originally ran for two hours on Saturda
**Multiple Choice Questions:**

1. Who was the original host of ABC's Wide World of Sports?

 A) Becky Dixon
B) Frank Gifford
C) Jim McKay
D) Robin Roberts

**Correct Answer: C) Jim McKay**

2. When was ABC's Wide World of Sports officially canceled after a 37-year run?
A) April 29, 1961
B) January 3, 1998
C) June 2008
D) August 2006

**Correct Answer: B) January 3, 1998**

**Fill-in-the-Blank Questions:**

1. The Wide World of Sports program was created by Edgar Scherick through his company, Sports Programs,
Inc. After selling his company to ABC, he hired a young Roone Arledge to produce the show.

**Correct Word: Roone Arledge**

2. Wide World of Sports was intended to showcase sports from around the globe that were seldom, if ever,
broadcast on American television. It originally ran for two hours on Saturdays.

**Correct Word: Saturdays**

**Works Cited:**

1. "Wide World of Sports (American TV program)" -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_World_of_Sports_(American_TV_program)
2. "ABC's Wide World of Sports" - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054563/
3. "ABC's Wide World of Sports - TV Series (1961–1998)" - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054563/
4. "Remembering ABC's Wide World of Sports" - https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/04/29/wide-world-of-
sports
5. "ABC's Wide World of Sports" - https://www.tv.com/shows/abcs-wide-world-of-sports/