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Before he died, Howard Cosell’s controversial book destroyed his reputation
For years, the sounds of Howard Cosell evaluating the latest in sports — both on and off the field — filled many a US household. Cosell, a longtime ABC Sports commentator best known for his boxing and Monday Night Football work, provided commentary on some of the sports’ most historic events.
Cosell’s main issue was that he couldn’t get out of his own way, which is why his memoirs wrecked his reputation.
Howard Cosell was a well-known and influential sportscaster
Howard Cosell worked for ABC Sports from 1953 through 1985.
Cosell began at ABC when Mickey Mantle was in his third season with the Yankees, the American Football League had not yet begun, and not every Major League Baseball team had yet integrated.
From little league games to Muhammad Ali boxing contests, Cosell called it all.
Cosell was a staunch supporter of Ali’s activism and stood by him when the great boxer declined to fight in the Vietnam War.
Among Cosell’s most memorable events was his famous “Down goes Frazier!” call during Joe Frazier’s bout against George Foreman in 1973 and his iconic Monday Night Football announcement that John Lennon of the Beatles had died in New York.
In 1994, Cosell was inducted into the Television Sports Hall of Fame.
Cosell was not without controversy
Howard Cosell was frequently embroiled in numerous feuds and conflicts.
Dick Young, a legendary New York sports columnist, frequently referred to Cosell as a “fake.”
Whether it was Monday Night Football or the World Series, Cosell had a penchant for speaking over his fellow commentators.
During a Monday night game in 1983, Cosell allegedly labeled Redskins receiver Alvin Garett, who is black, a “little monkey.”
According to the Washington Post, they received approximately 20 calls that night regarding the word, which the callers mistook for a racial slur.
“No one respects Alvin Garett more than I do,” Cosell said, denying using the slur.
Cosell, known for his boxing calls, abandoned the sport in 1982 because he felt it had become too cruel.
South Korean boxer Duk Doo Kim had died two weeks previously following a match.
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Howard Cosell’s memoirs ruined his career
Stuart Scott, a beloved ESPN anchor, died tragically.
I Never Played the Game, Howard Cosell’s autobiography, was published in September 1985 and sparked immediate controversy.
Cosell slammed the other ABC Sports commentators.
He wrote that his longstanding Monday Night Football companions, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith, didn’t belong in the booth.
Cosell left the Monday Night Football broadcasting booth before the 1984 season.
Cosell described MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn as “the man who has never existed who could outdrink Kuhn.”
“His right leg is completely hollow.”
Cosell was withdrawn from that year’s World Series by ABC.
Despite being a key figure in the development of football, Cosell has yet to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Howard Cosell died of a myocardial embolism in April 1995, over a decade after publishing the contentious book.
