View source for Curt Gowdy

{{short description|American sportscaster (1919–2006)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox person
 | name              = Curt Gowdy
 | image             = Curt Gowdy.png
 | image_size        = 
 | caption           = Gowdy in the early 1950s.
 | birth_name        = Curtis Edward Gowdy 
 | birth_date        = {{birth date|1919|7|31|mf=y}}
 | birth_place       = [[Green River, Wyoming]], U.S.
 | death_date        = {{death date and age|2006|2|20|1919|7|31|mf=y}}
 | death_place       = [[Palm Beach, Florida]], U.S.
 | resting_place     = [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]]<br>[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
 | awards            = {{ubl
 |[[Ford C. Frick Award]]
 |[[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
 |[[Rose Bowl Game#Rose Bowl Hall of Fame|Rose Bowl Hall of Fame]]
 }}
 | occupation        = [[Sportscaster]]
 | party             = 
 | alma_mater        = [[University of Wyoming]], 1942
 | spouse            = Jerre Dawkins (m. 1949–2006; his death)
 | children          = 2 sons, 1 daughter<!--<br>5 grandchildren-->
 | module            = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
|allegiance    = {{USA}}
 | branch            = [[File:US Army Air Corps Hap Arnold Wings.svg|15px]] [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]]
 | rank              = 
 | unit              = 
 | serviceyears      = 1942–1943
 | battles           = <!--[[World War I]]&nbsp;(stateside) -->
}}
}}

'''Curtis Edward Gowdy''' (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American [[sportscaster]]. He called [[Boston Red Sox]] games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for [[NBC Sports]] and [[ABC Sports]] in the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the nickname "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the [[Rose Bowl Game]], taking the moniker from [[Cheyenne Frontier Days]] in his native Wyoming.

==Early years==
The son of Ruth and Edward "Jack" Gowdy (Curt's father was a manager and dispatcher for the [[Union Pacific]] railroad <ref>{{cite web|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/06df561b|title=Curt Gowdy|author=Matt Bohn|access-date=May 9, 2014|archive-date=May 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224530/http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/06df561b|url-status=dead}}</ref>), Curtis Edward (Curt) Gowdy was born in [[Green River, Wyoming]], and moved to [[Cheyenne, Wyoming|Cheyenne]] at age six. As a high school basketball player in the 1930s, he led the state in scoring. He also showed an early interest in journalism, serving as sports editor of his high school newspaper.<ref>"Clicks from the Rails." ''Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner'', December 29, 1935, p. 30.</ref>  He enrolled at the [[University of Wyoming]] in [[Laramie, Wyoming|Laramie]], where he was a {{convert|5|ft|9|in|cm|abbr=on}} starter on the basketball team and played varsity tennis, lettering three years in both sports for the Cowboys. He was also a member of the [[Alpha Tau Omega]] fraternity.{{citation needed|date = June 2020}}

After graduating in 1942 with a degree in business statistics, he entered the army, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.<ref>"Cowboy Basketball Star Reports for Army Duty July 4." ''Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune'', June 23, 1942, p. 6.</ref> Gowdy planned to become a fighter pilot, but a ruptured disk in his spine from a previous sports injury cut short his military service in the Air Force, leading to a medical discharge in 1943. Gowdy would continue to suffer from persistent back problems for many years.<ref>John Cronley. "Once Over Lightly." ''(Oklahoma City) Daily Oklahoman'', July 12, 1966, p. 13.</ref>

In November 1943, recovering from back surgery, Gowdy made his broadcasting debut in Cheyenne calling a "[[Six-man football|six-man]]" high school football game from atop a wooden grocery crate in subzero weather, with about 15 people in attendance. He found he had a knack for broadcasting, and worked at the small KFBC radio station and at the ''Wyoming Eagle'' newspaper as a sportswriter (and later sports editor). After several years in Cheyenne, he accepted an offer from CBS's [[KOKC (AM)|KOMA]] radio in Oklahoma City in September 1945.<ref>"News." ''Broadcasting'', September 17, 1945, p. 72.</ref>  He was hired primarily to broadcast [[University of Oklahoma|OU]] college football (then coached by new-hire [[Bud Wilkinson]]) and [[Oklahoma State University|OSU]] college basketball games (then coached by [[Hank Iba]]). In 1947–1948, in addition to calling football and basketball on KOMA, Gowdy was also broadcasting the baseball games of the [[Texas League]] Oklahoma City Indians, on station KOCY.<ref>"Gowdy Announces Plans for Injun Broadcasts." ''(Oklahoma City) Daily Oklahoman'', April 11, 1948, p. 32.</ref> When Gowdy announced in early 1949 that he was leaving Oklahoma to work in New York, his replacement was fellow Oklahoma City sportscaster Bob Murphy.<ref>"Murphy Takes Post at KOCY." ''(Oklahoma City) Daily Oklahoman'', February 6, 1949, p. B4.</ref>

Gowdy's distinctive [[play-by-play]] style during his broadcasts of minor league baseball, college football, and college basketball in Oklahoma City earned him a national audition and then an opportunity with the [[New York Yankees]] in 1949, working with (and learning from) [[Mel Allen]] for two seasons.{{citation needed|date = June 2020}}

==Family background==
In June 1949, Curt married Geraldine "Jerre" Dawkins. She had a bachelor's degree in education from [[University of Central Oklahoma|Central State College]], and was studying for a master's degree in Radio Speech at the University of Oklahoma when they became engaged.<ref>"Curtis E. Gowdy and Jerre Dawkins Will Be Married." ''(Oklahoma City) Daily Oklahoman'', February 20, 1949, p. 51.</ref>  Curt and Jerre had three children: Cheryl Ann Gowdy, Curtis Edward Gowdy Jr. (who worked as a sports producer for ABC and [[SportsNet New York|SNY]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sportsvideo.org/main/lts2012/speakers/curt-gowdy-jr-sny-senior-vice-president-production-and-executive-producer/ |title=Curt Gowdy, Jr., SNY, Senior Vice President, Production and Executive Producer : League Technology Summit 2012 |access-date=2015-06-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507163937/http://sportsvideo.org/main/lts2012/speakers/curt-gowdy-jr-sny-senior-vice-president-production-and-executive-producer/ |archive-date=May 7, 2015 }}</ref> and Trevor Gowdy. Curt's nickname was affectionately The Cowboy.

==Boston Red Sox==
Gowdy began his Major League Baseball broadcasting career working as the No. 2 announcer to Mel Allen for Yankees games on radio and television in 1949–50. There, he succeeded [[Russ Hodges]], who departed to become the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]]' lead announcer when the Yankees and Giants decided to broadcast a full slate of 154 games, instead of sharing the same radio network and announcers for the 77 home games of each team that had been broadcast (no away games of either team were broadcast). Two years later, the [[Boston Red Sox|Red Sox]] and the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] followed a similar path, with each team opting for its own networks and announcers to allow each team to broadcast their full schedules, home and away. [[Jim Britt]], who had called home games of both teams, decided to stay with the Braves, opening the top spot on the Red Sox broadcast team.<ref>"Curt Gowdy Replaces Jim Britt as Announcer for Red Sox Games." ''Hartford Courant'', November 4, 1950, p. 11.</ref>

In April 1951 at the age of 31, Gowdy began his tenure as the lead announcer for the Red Sox. For the next 15 years, he called the exploits of generally mediocre Red Sox teams on [[WEEI (AM)|WHDH]] radio and on three Boston TV stations: [[WBZ-TV]], [[WHDH-TV (defunct)|WHDH-TV]], and [[WHDH-TV|WNAC-TV]] (WBZ and WNAC split the Red Sox TV schedule from 1948 through 1955; WBZ alone carried the Red Sox from 1955 through 1957; and WHDH took over in 1958). During that time, Gowdy partnered with two future baseball broadcasting legends: [[Bob Murphy (announcer)|Bob Murphy]] and [[Ned Martin]]. Chronic back pain caused Gowdy to miss the entire 1957 season. He also did nightly sports reports on WHDH radio when his schedule permitted. Gowdy was also the narrator of several Red Sox highlight films during his tenure in Boston which described the season in depth along with its key moments; this would lead to him eventually narrating World Series highlight films during his time with NBC (1968–1974, '77).{{citation needed|date = June 2020}}

Gowdy called [[Ted Williams]]' final at-bat where he hit a home run into the bullpen in right-center field off [[Jack Fisher]] of Baltimore. He also called [[Tony Conigliaro]]'s home run in his first at-bat at [[Fenway Park]] on April 17, 1964, at the age of 19.{{citation needed|date = June 2020}}

He left WHDH after the 1965 season for [[NBC Sports]], where for the next ten years he called the national baseball telecasts of the Saturday afternoon ''[[Major League Baseball Game of the Week|Game of the Week]]'' and ''[[Monday Night Baseball]]'' during the regular season (and the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] in July), and the postseason playoffs and [[World Series]] in October.{{citation needed|date = June 2020}}

==National broadcaster==

===Early ABC Sports career===
Following a stint calling [[NBA on NBC|NBA games]] for NBC from 1955 to 1960, Gowdy moved to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], where he teamed with [[Paul Christman]] to cover [[College Football on ABC|college football]] in 1960 and 1961 and the [[American Football League on ABC|American Football League]] from 1962 to 1964. On February 27, 1966, Gowdy called his final major event for ABC, the [[1966 Daytona 500]] which aired as part of the long running sports anthology series ''[[Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|Wide World of Sports]]''.

===NBC Sports===
In the fall of 1965, he moved full-time to NBC, with whom he would be employed for over a decade. Gowdy was the lead play-by-play announcer for the network for both the [[American Football League]] ([[American Football Conference|AFC]] from 1970 on) and [[Major League Baseball]], but Gowdy also covered a wide range of sports, earning him the nickname of the "broadcaster of everything." He called the 1969 Final Four in Louisville and during the closest played game of the tournament, the semi-final between UCLA and Drake, he confused Drake with Duke, mistakenly calling the Drake Bulldogs by the wrong name no fewer than three times. It was Drake that came within three points of upsetting the mighty Bruins.

Besides Christman, who followed him from ABC to NBC, Gowdy's other football broadcast partners were [[Kyle Rote]], [[Al DeRogatis]], [[Don Meredith]], [[John Brodie]], and [[Merlin Olsen]]. His broadcast partners for baseball included [[Pee Wee Reese]], [[Tony Kubek]], [[Sandy Koufax]], and [[Joe Garagiola]]. He also had many different partners for basketball, including [[Tommy Hawkins]] and [[Billy Packer]]. DeRogatis was also Gowdy's partner for college football games.

====Departure from NBC's baseball telecasts====
After the [[1975 World Series]], he was removed from NBC's baseball telecasts, when sponsor [[Chrysler]] insisted on having [[Joe Garagiola]], who was their spokesman in many commercials, be the lead play-by-play voice. While Gowdy was on hand in the press box for [[Carlton Fisk]]'s home run in Game 6 of the [[1975 World Series|1975 Series]], the calls were made by two of Gowdy's Red Sox successors, [[Dick Stockton]] on TV and [[Ned Martin]] on radio. Gowdy was Martin's color man on that home run. Gowdy returned to the NBC World Series broadcast in 1978 as "Host" with Garagiola handling play-by-play and Kubek and [[Tom Seaver]] providing color.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/687452050/?terms=%22Curt%20Gowdy%22%20%22World%20Series%22&match=1 |title = 10 Oct 1978, 22 - Lexington Herald-Leader at Newspapers.com}}</ref> After umpire [[Frank Pulli]] decided not to call interference on a significant base-running play involving [[Reggie Jackson]] in Game 4 of the [[1978 World Series|1978 Series]], Gowdy interviewed Pulli on NBC shortly before Game 5 began.

===Later work===
He continued as NBC's lead NFL announcer through the 1978 season, with his final broadcast being [[Super Bowl XIII]] between [[1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] and [[1978 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas]]. With NBC anxious to promote [[Dick Enberg]] to the lead NFL position, NBC orchestrated a “trade” with [[CBS Sports|CBS]] for the up-and-coming [[Don Criqui]], who enjoyed a long career with NBC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/2014/aa-time-machine-1979-cbs-nbc-announcer-trade.html|title=Once upon a time, NBC traded Curt Gowdy for Don Criqui|date=October 8, 2014|access-date=January 6, 2020}}</ref> After switching networks, Gowdy called NFL games on CBS for two seasons with former Kansas City Chiefs head coach [[Hank Stram]], and also did [[Major League Baseball on CBS Radio|baseball on radio]]. He returned to ABC to call regional college football in 1982 and 1983. In 1987, Gowdy was the radio voice of the [[1987 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]].

In 1976, when Gowdy otherwise still worked for NBC, he was loaned to ABC to work on their [[1976 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] [[Olympics on ABC|coverage]] in Montreal. Gowdy called [[Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics|swimming]] with [[Donna de Varona]] and [[Basketball at the 1976 Summer Olympics|basketball]] with [[Bill Russell]].

===Notable moments called by Gowdy===
Curt Gowdy was present for some of American sports' storied moments, including Ted Williams' home run in his final at-bat in 1960, [[Super Bowl I]], the [[American Football League|AFL's]] [[Heidi Game|"Heidi" game]] of [[List of American Football League seasons#1968 .5B9.5D|1968]], and (after the 1968 pro football season) the third [[Professional American football championship games|AFL-NFL World Championship]] game ([[Super Bowl III]]) in which [[Joe Namath]] and the [[1968 New York Giants season|New York Jets]] defeated the NFL champion [[1968 Baltimore Colts season|Baltimore Colts]]. Two years later in [[Super Bowl V]], Gowdy called the dramatic 16–13 Colts' win over Dallas. The next year in 1971, Gowdy's telecast on NBC caused many a Christmas dinner to be delayed as the country locked in that Christmas Day to the longest game in pro football history when the [[1971 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]] defeated the [[1971 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]] 27–24 in the final game at Kansas City's [[Municipal Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)|Municipal Stadium]]. He also covered [[Franco Harris]]' "[[Immaculate Reception]]" of [[1972 NFL season|1972]], [[Clarence Davis]]' miraculous catch in a "sea of hands" from [[1974 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]] quarterback [[Ken Stabler]], to defeat the [[1974 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]] in the final seconds of a legendary 1974 AFC playoff game, and [[Hank Aaron]]'s 715th [[home run]] in 1974.

Gowdy endeared himself to long-suffering American Football League fans when it was learned that in an off-air break towards the end of a game, he asked rhetorically: ''"“I want to see [[Tex Maule]], that —————.”"'', a reference to the ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' writer who for years had denigrated the [[American Football League|AFL]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Gowdy's finest hour was Super Bowl III |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/feb/24/20060224-123748-5230r/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=The Washington Times |language=en-US}}</ref> On-air, in contrast to some of his contemporary announcers of NFL games, he avoided their hyperbole and transparent adulation of players, and gave steady, nonpartisan, but colorful descriptions of [[American Football League|AFL]] games.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}} Gowdy was also known for the occasional malapropism, including a consoling comment just after the [[1975 Boston Red Sox season|Red Sox]] lost the [[1975 World Series]]: "Their future is ahead of them!"{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

===Notable assignments===
Over the course of a career that stretched into the 1980s, Gowdy covered pro football (both the [[American Football League|AFL]] and [[National Football League|NFL]]), [[Major League Baseball]], [[college football]], and [[college basketball]]. He was involved in the broadcast of 13 [[World Series]], 16 baseball All-Star Games, 9 Super Bowls, 14 [[Rose Bowl (game)|Rose Bowl]]s, 8 [[Olympic Games]] and 24 [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA Final Four]]s. He also hosted the long-running outdoors show ''[[The American Sportsman]]'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].

Gowdy called all the Olympic Games televised by ABC from 1964 to 1988 with [[Roone Arledge]]'s sports department at ABC.

In the mid-1970s, Gowdy was host and producer of ''[[The Way It Was (TV series)|The Way It Was]]'', for [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]], and in later years provided historic commentary for ''[[Inside the NFL]]'', on [[HBO]].

===Relationship with Roone Arledge===
Gowdy was also close friends with Arledge, and acknowledged that he gives Arledge all the credit for making ABC what it is today, including the creation of the network's sports department, and the innovations for televising sporting events that made the sports departments at NBC and CBS jealous. The two were the creators, and first producers for the ''[[Wide World of Sports (US TV series)|Wide World of Sports]]'' television show.

In [[1970 NFL season|1970]], he was coveted by ABC's Arledge for the new ''[[Monday Night Football]]'', but Gowdy was bound by his contract to NBC Sports (although he continued with [[Grits Gresham]] of [[Natchitoches, Louisiana]], to host ''The American Sportsman'' on ABC).

===Commentating style===
Gowdy was said to have a warm, slightly gravelly voice and an unforced, easy style that set him apart from his peers. (Author [[John Updike]] once described him as sounding "like everybody's brother-in-law.") Unlike many well-known sportscasters, Gowdy never developed [[catchphrase]]s or signature calls, but merely described the action in a straightforward manner. Examples:

{{blockquote|Jack Fisher into his windup, here's the pitch...Williams swings, and there's a long drive to deep right...it could be...it could be...IT IS! A home run for Ted Williams, in his last time at bat in the major leagues!|Calling Williams' final career at-bat on September 28, 1960.}}

{{blockquote|The ball's hit deep... deep...it is gone! He did it! He did it! [[Hank Aaron|Henry Aaron]]... is the all-time home run... leader now!|Calling Aaron's 715th career home run on April 8, 1974.}}

===Retirement===
Gowdy's career wound down after ''The American Sportsman'' was canceled in 1985.

He briefly came out of retirement in [[1987 NFL season|1987]] to call the [[1987 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] on radio, and in [[1988 NFL season|1988]] he returned to NBC to call September NFL games with [[Merlin Olsen]] and old partner [[Al DeRogatis]], while Olsen's regular partner [[Dick Enberg]] was covering the [[1988 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul, South Korea|Seoul]].

In May 2003, a few months shy of his 84th birthday, Gowdy called a [[2003 Boston Red Sox season|Red Sox]]–[[2003 New York Yankees season|Yankees]] game from [[Fenway Park]], as part of the ''[[ESPN Major League Baseball]]'' "Living Legends" series. At the end of the broadcast, he thought he could have done better. ESPN's [[Chris Berman]] said, ''"We'll give you another chance."'' Gowdy replied, ''"Call me back."''

Gowdy also co-hosted the ''[[Drum Corps International]]'' Championships on PBS from 1989 to 1993 with Steve Rondinaro.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dci.org/news/rondinaro-remembers-gowdy|title=Rondinaro remembers Gowdy|website=www.dci.org|date=February 20, 2006 |access-date=January 6, 2020}}</ref>

==Other appearances==

===Film cameos===
Gowdy made cameo appearances in the movies ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!|The Naked Gun]]'' (1988) and ''[[Summer Catch]]'' (2001), and his voice can be heard in ''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]'' (1978) and ''[[BASEketball]]'' (1998).

*''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]'' (1978) – TV Commentator
*''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!]]'' (1988) – The Baseball Announcer #5
*''An American Summer'' (1990) – Himself
*''[[BASEketball]]'' (1998) – World Series Announcer (voice)
*''[[Summer Catch]]'' (2001) – Himself

===Television and radio commercials===
In the 1950s and '60s, 'Curt Gowdy did pre-recorded and live commercials for Red Sox sponsor [[Narragansett Beer]]. His voice speaking the famous line: "Hi Neighbor, have a 'Gansett" was known to Red Sox fans everywhere.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.narragansettbeer.com/2009/07/classic-jingle-curt-gowdy-red-sox-radio-spot|title=Classic Jingle: Curt Gowdy Red Sox Radio Spot|work=Narragansett Beer |date=July 1, 2009|access-date=January 6, 2020}}</ref>
In the 1980s, Gowdy voiced a series of beer commercials for [[Genesee (beer)|Genesee]]. Essentially, these ads had an outdoor enthusiast theme, with Curt's tag line being "Genesee – the great outdoors in a glass."

==Author==
Gowdy, who also did some sportswriting during his early broadcasting days, wrote two books: ''Cowboy at the Mike'' (1966), with [[Al Hirshberg]], and ''Seasons to Remember: The Way It Was in American Sports, 1945–1960'' (1993), with [[John Powers (journalist)|John Powers]]. He also wrote the foreword for the 2000 book ''The Golden Boy,'' authored by Dr. George I. Martin, in which Gowdy described the subject of the book, [[Jackie Jensen]], as possibly the best athlete he had ever covered.

==Radio stations==
In 1963, Gowdy purchased radio stations [[WNNW|WCCM]] and [[WEEI-FM|WCCM-FM]] in [[Lawrence, Massachusetts]], later changing the FM station's call letters to WCGY to somewhat match his name. Gowdy also owned several radio stations in Wyoming, including [[KOWB]] and [[KCGY]] in [[Laramie, Wyoming|Laramie]]. He sold his broadcast interests in Massachusetts in 1994 and his Wyoming stations in 2002. He also owned [[WFTL|WEAT]] and [[WSFS (FM)|WEAT-FM]] in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], and [[WMYF (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)|WBBX]] in New Hampshire. The year away from broadcasting the Red Sox in 1957 awakened him to the fact that he might need an alternate way of making a living, leading to his interest in station ownership.

==Awards==
In 1970, Gowdy became the first sportscaster to receive the [[Peabody Award|George Foster Peabody Award]]. The [[National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association]] named Gowdy as Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year five times (1959–1963) and National Sportscaster of the Year twice (1966, 1969), and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1985, he was inducted into the [[American Sportscasters Association]] Hall of Fame along with his onetime Yankees partner Mel Allen and Chicago legend [[Jack Brickhouse]]. He served as the organization's vice president and was a member of its board of directors. In addition, he was given the [[Ford C. Frick Award]] from the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1984, the [[Pete Rozelle Award]] from the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1993 and a lifetime achievement [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] in 1992, and was selected to the [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]] in 2000. Gowdy was president of the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] for several years, and that institution's [[Curt Gowdy Media Award]] is presented annually to outstanding basketball writers and broadcasters; he was one of its first two recipients.

Curt Gowdy's 23 Halls of Fame honors/inductions: 
# Conservation Hall of Fame International – April 16, 1973
# Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] – 1973<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#sports}}</ref>
# International Fishing Hall of Fame – 1981
# National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame – 1981
# Sportswriters & Broadcasters Hall of Fame – 1984
# Ford C. Frick Award recipient, awarded by the National Baseball Hall of Fame – 1984
# American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame – 1985
# Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – 1990, Curt Gowdy Media Award recipient
# Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame – 1990
# Gold Medal Hall of Fame Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in New England
# Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame – 1992
# Pro Football Hall of Fame – 1993, Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award recipient
# Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame – 1994
# American Football League Hall of Fame – 1995
# University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame – September 25, 1998 <ref>"1998 University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees." ''Casper (WY) Star-Tribune'', February 22, 1998, p. 27</ref>
# Florida Sports Hall of Fame – 1999
# Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame – 2000<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/redsox/history/red-sox-hall-of-fame |title=Red Sox Hall of Fame |website=MLB.com |accessdate=June 25, 2021}}</ref>
# Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame – 2001
# International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Fishing Hall of Fame – 2003
# Wyoming Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame – 2003
# Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame – 2004
# National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame – 2005
# Rose Bowl Hall of Fame – 2005 inductee (January 3, 2006)

==Curt Gowdy State Park==
A state park in Wyoming, opened in 1971, was officially named for Gowdy on March 27, 1972, one of numerous honors bestowed on the native son from the state of Wyoming on "Curt Gowdy Day." The {{convert|11,000|acre|km2|abbr=on}} [[Curt Gowdy State Park]] is halfway between his high school hometown of Cheyenne and his college town of Laramie. Additional land was acquired by the state for the park in 2006. "It has two beautiful lakes, hiking trails, camping, boating, fishing, and beauty," said Gowdy. "It has everything I love. What greater honor can a man receive?"

Gowdy was proud of his Wyoming heritage and loved the outdoors, and said that he was "born with a fly-rod in one hand," and that the sports microphone came a little later. In 2002, he recalled that his father, Edward Curtis Gowdy, who had taught him to hunt and fish, was the best fly-fisherman in the state. "We had free access to prime-time fishing and hunting. The outdoors was a way of life for me. I should have paid them to host ''The American Sportsman''."

On July 31, 2013, on the 94th anniversary of his birth, the state park opened an interpretive center with exhibits about the history of the park and Gowdy's work to preserve area natural resources. Milward Simpson, director of the Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources Department, describes the 7,400-square foot building, which also includes meeting rooms and a lobby, as a monument to the "fantastic legacy" left by Gowdy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2013/08/01/news/20local_08-01-13.txt|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130802114443/http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2013/08/01/news/20local_08-01-13.txt|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 2, 2013|title=Trevor Brown, "Park opens visitors' center as a tribute to Curt Gowdy"|work=[[Wyoming Tribune-Eagle]]|access-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref>

==Death==
Gowdy died at the age of 86 at his winter home in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], after an extended battle with [[leukemia]]. His funeral procession circled Fenway Park and he was interred in [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. Pallbearers included his former NBC baseball broadcast partner and New York Yankees shortstop [[Tony Kubek]].

==Curt Gowdy Post Office Building==
On October 12, 2006, the [[United States Postal Service]] building in [[Green River, Wyoming]], was officially designated as the "Curt Gowdy Post Office Building," honoring the place of Gowdy's birth. The legislation required for the USPS name change was introduced by Wyoming House Representative [[Barbara Cubin]].<ref>{{USStatute|109|329|120|1769|2006|10|12|HR|5224}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Gowdy|first1=Curt|last2=Hirschberg|first2=Al|title=Cowboy at the Mike|year=1966|location=Garden City, NY|publisher=Doubleday}}

==External links==
*[https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/frick/curt-gowdy Curt Gowdy] Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
*[http://www.conigliofamily.com/AFLcontributors.htm#GowdyText American Football League Hall of Fame] Curt Gowdy's citation
* {{emmytvlegends name|curt-gowdy}}
*{{IMDb name | id = 0332954 | name = Curt Gowdy }}
*[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060220/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/obit_gowdy;_ylt=Asrzfy0TiX.WwU6Y7E3gjmis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3cm82NXAwBHNlYwM3NTU- Ex-Red Sox Broadcaster Curt Gowdy Dies]
*{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/20/legendary_sportscaster_curt_gowdy_dies/|title=Curt Gowdy dies at 86|date=February 20, 2006|publisher=The Boston Globe}}
*{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/02/21/sportscaster_curt_gowdy_dies_at_86/|title=Sportscaster Curt Gowdy dies at 86|date=February 21, 2006|publisher=The Boston Globe}}
*[http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060220&content_id=1316460&vkey=pr_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos Red Sox mourn the loss of Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} – [[Boston Red Sox]] press release
*[http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/memorial/06/gowdy.html Sports E-Cyclopedia's Memoriam to Curt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622040701/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/memorial/06/gowdy.html |date=June 22, 2006 }}
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/sports/othersports/21gowdy.html?ex=1298178000&en=8bcf40bed43809d7&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Curt Gowdy dies at 86] ''[[The New York Times]]'' February 21, 2006
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930033411/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=109-s20060227-20 In memory of Curt Gowdy] – U.S. Senator [[Craig L. Thomas|Craig Thomas]] February 27, 2006
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060917111940/http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/curt.htm Curt Gowdy State Park – 1972] west of [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]]
*[https://archive.org/details/HankAaron-715thHomeRun-ThreeDifferentCalls Curt Gowdy, Milo Hamilton and Vin Scully's Calls of Aaron's 715th Home Run] from Archive.org
*{{Find a Grave|13399280}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|before=[[Ray Scott (sportscaster)|Ray Scott]] and [[Vin Scully]] | title=[[World Series]] network television<br>play-by-play announcer<br>(with [[Harry Caray]] in [[1964 World Series|1964]] and [[Joe Garagiola]] in [[1975 World Series|1975]]) | years=[[1964 World Series|1964]]<br>[[1966 World Series|1966]]–[[1975 World Series|1975]] | after=[[Joe Garagiola]]}}
{{succession box|before=[[Chris Schenkel]]| title=American television prime time anchor, [[Winter Olympic Games]] | years=[[1972 Winter Olympics|1972]]| after=[[Jim McKay]]}}
{{succession box | before=First| title=[[List of Super Bowl broadcasters|Super Bowl television]] play-by-play announce<br>([[American Football Conference|AFC package carrier]]) |years=[[Super Bowl I|1966]]–[[Super Bowl XIII|1978]] | after=[[Dick Enberg]]}}
{{succession box| before = [[Bob Wolff]] | title = Lead play-by-play announcer, ''[[Major League Baseball on NBC]]''| years = [[1966 Major League Baseball season|1966]]–[[1975 Major League Baseball season|1975]]<br>(alternated with [[Joe Garagiola]] from 1974 to 1975) | after = [[Joe Garagiola]]}}
{{succession box| before = [[Chris Schenkel]] | title = Lead play-by-play [[List of Major League Baseball Game of the Week broadcasters|announcer]],<br>''[[Major League Baseball Game of the Week]]''| years = [[1966 Major League Baseball season|1966]]–[[1975 Major League Baseball season|1975]] | after = [[Joe Garagiola]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Major League Baseball on ABC}}
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{{Major League Baseball on NBC}}
{{Major League Baseball on NBC Radio}}
{{NBA on NBC}}
{{1984 Baseball HOF}}
{{Ford C. Frick Award}}
{{Curt Gowdy Media Award}}
{{Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award}}
{{Sports Lifetime Achievement Award}}
{{New York Yankees HOF}}
{{Boston Red Sox HOF}}
{{Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowdy, Curt}}
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