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Charles (Chuck) Howard (1933 – November 21, 1996) was an American television executive, and a pioneer in televisionsports broadcasting.
Howard was born in 1933. He graduated fromDuke University in 1955, where he was a member of theBeta Theta Pi fraternity.
Following his college graduation, Howard entered the management training program atChase Manhattan Bank.[1] In 1960, he made an abrupt career turn and became a production assistant atEdgar J. Scherick's company,Sports Programs, Inc., the forerunner toABC Sports.
In 1961,Roone Arledge charged him with scouting sports events throughout the world in an effort to discoversports that had a loyal following but might be unknown to Americantelevision viewers. The result was the April 21, 1961 debut ofWide World of Sports, the groundbreaking television sports anthology program.
Arledge, Howard and commentatorJim McKay created the show on a week-by-week basis during its first year of broadcast, establishing a sports television tradition in the process.
Howard went on to become a vice president for programming at ABC Sports and covered nineOlympic Games, theSuper Bowl,World Series,British Open,Kentucky Derby,Indianapolis 500 andNCAA football—as well asAcapulcocliff diving,Demolition Derby,rodeos,bobsled racing,arm wrestling andEvel Knievel's daredevil antics.
Howard is credited with being the first to use a split screen and an isolated camera to highlight a part of a play away from the main action.[2]
On April 8, 1967, due to anAFTRA strike, Howard and directorChet Forte filled-in as commentators for game 4 of theNBA Eastern Conference finals between theBoston Celtics andPhiladelphia 76ers. He oversaw the broadcast of the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich,Germany, notable for the massacre of 11Israeli team members byPalestinian terrorists.
In 1986, Howard left ABC and became the executive producer for theBig Ten Conference's football and basketball broadcasts. In 1991, he was named the executive producer atTrans World International, overseeing such events as theNew York City Marathon, theAmerica's Cup, and world coverage of theMasters golf tournament, as well as figure skating and tennis events.
Howard died ofbrain cancer on November 21, 1996, inPound Ridge, New York.
Wide World of Sports became the longest-running continuing series on ABC, and it won numerousPeabody Awards andEmmy Awards. Howard himself won 11 Emmy Awards as a producer.In 2009, Chuck Howard was one of the eight inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in New York, New York
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