Howard Cosell

Howard Cosell had a boisterous personality. He once said, “I’ve been accused of being arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, a showoff…and of course I am.” He was sarcastically nicknamed “Humble Howard.” In one of his sports commentaries, he suggested that Terry Bradshaw did not have the intelligence to win in the league. But in 1993, TV Guide named Cosell “The Best All-Time Sportscaster.” Howard called many of Muhammad Ali’s boxing matches. His most famous championship fight call was the George Forman-Joe Frazier fight in Kingston, Jamaica. That’s when Cosell yelled “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier.” You may remember on Monday Night Football, Dec. 8, 1980, Cosell announced the death of John Lennon. In this podcast he answers his critics and suggests that Al McGuire and other coaches had an unfair means of getting their star players. Of course, I gave McGuire a chance to answer that accusation.