In 1983, Howard Cosell, the inimitable voice of ‘Monday Night Football’—and ‘the most hated man on earth,’—cherished his position atop the sports broadcasting world
Frank Deford, the longtime Sports Illustrated writer, died on Sunday at age 78. From the August 8, 1983, issue of Sports Illustrated, here is his profile of Howard Cosell, who gave “Monday Night Football” its voice and was the most prominent sports broadcaster of his era. Find more classic Deford stories in the SI Vault.
Quickness and momentum. You take the whole last generation of sports, listening to them, even reading about them, watching the games, analyzing them, arguing about them, instant-replaying them, second-guessing them, and all you’ll distill from them is quickness and momentum.