The American Sportsman is an Americantelevision series that aired from 1965 to 1986 onABC which presented filmed highlights involving the program's hosts andcelebrities participating inhunting and/orfishing trips along withoutdoor recreational activities such aswhitewater kayaking,hang gliding andfree climbing. It was typically presented on Sunday afternoons, frequently following coverage of livesporting events.
From 1965 to 1967, the program was hosted byJoe Foss, formerSouth DakotaRepublicanGovernor,American Football League commissioner, andWorld War II hero. It was later hosted byGrits Gresham, an outdoorsman fromNatchitoches, Louisiana, before its best known host,Curt Gowdy.
Some of the celebrities shown includedBing Crosby,Andy Griffith,General Jimmy Doolittle,Burt Reynolds,Larry Hagman,Phil Harris,Bert Jones,Redd Foxx,William Shatner, andShelley Hack. Regarding the famous people who appeared on the show, Gowdy noted, “They were all wonderful sportsmen, and for many of them it was a chance for them to get away from Hollywood, the movies, entertainment, politics or sports. For me, theAmerican Sportsman series was some of the best times in my life.”[1]
The show has its roots in a 20-minute segment depictingCurt Gowdy andJoe Brooks fly fishing in theAndes Mountains inArgentina in 1964. The segment appeared onWide World of Sports and immediately was spun off into its own series airing at 3 PM EST on Sundays January through March on ABC.[2] The show's first episode was on January 31, 1965.[3]
Episodes have been rebroadcast onESPN Classic in recent years. A revival of the show titledThe New American Sportsman ran from 2002 to 2006 onESPN2, hosted byRick Schroder (season one),Deion Sanders (season two) and Tom Ackerman (seasons three and four). Several members of the production team of the classic series (including executive producer Bud Morgan and head writer Pat Smith) were involved with the revival.[4] Celebrities appearing includedMorgan Freeman,Robert Duvall,Ethan Hawke,Bo Jackson,Jack Nicklaus,Kevin Costner andWilliam Shatner (the latter of whom also appeared on the original show several times).
The show had three themes. The version through 1973 had music and lyrics byHarry Bluestone (which started "Follow me, and find contentment" and is well remembered).[5] The mid-1970smarch was by Curtis Biever andLou Stein. The final version which began to be used in 1979 was byEdd Kalehoff.[6]