Remembering a Broadcasting Legend

Howard Cosell was, self admittedly, “arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, and verbose.” As a sports broadcaster, we loved to hate him, which made him perfect for his role on Monday Night Football, a job he quit 28 years ago today. Hired in 1970, he provided a much-needed edge for the highly popular prime-time football broadcast, becoming a huge success, even spawning a Muppet, Lewis Kazagger. He was one of the first of the caustic, opinionated sports broadcasters, and fans tuned in to hear him “just telling it like it is.” Though MNF continues to this day, it’s never achieved the cultural relevance it did during Cosell’s heyday. Here’s a classic of Cosell announcing the death of John Lennon, during a football broadcast.