Thursday, 07 May 2026

    Jack Whitaker

    • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Commentators 2026
    • Embed from Getty Images
    • Sport(s): Football, Golf, Baseball, Boxing, Soccer, Horse Racing & Olympics
    • Statistics & Accolades: National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame
      Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame
      American Sportscaster Association Hall of Fame
      Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
      Saint Joseph’s University Athletic Hall of Fame
      1x Sport Emmy Award Winner
      Sports Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award
    • Throughout the 1950s, Jack Whitaker was one of the main voices for the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia in news and, occasionally, sports. This changed in 1961, when he ventured into sports on a national basis, calling games for the Philadelphia Eagles, but would also do many other sports for the network, lending his slow and thoughtful prose to add gravitas to any event he worked.

      Funny enough, he was banned from covering the Masters when he made a throwaway comment of “Here comes the mob” in reference to the gallery approaching the end of the 1966 playoff. It would be six years before he was allowed to call the event, and the Masters was better off with Whitaker doing the call.

      Whitaker moved to ABC in 1982, and while he continued to work for ABC Sports, including multiple Olympics, he used his authoritative voice more often for ABC News.

      We are proud to nominate Jack Whitaker for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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