List of events broadcast on Wide World of Sports (American TV program)
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List of events broadcast on Wide World of Sports (American TV series)
)
ABC's Wide World of Sports was intended to be a fill-in show for a single summer season, until the start of fall sports seasons, but became unexpectedly popular. The goal of the program was to showcase sports from around the globe that were seldom, if ever, broadcast on American television. It originally ran for two hours on Saturday afternoons, but was later reduced to 90 minutes.
Usually, "Wide World" featured two or three events per show. These included many types not previously seen on American television, such as
Grand National/Winston Cup racing was a Wide World of Sports staple until the late 1980s, when it became a regularly scheduled sporting event on the network. Traditional Olympic sports such as figure skating, skiing, gymnastics and track and field competitions were also regular features of the show. Another memorable regular feature in the 1960s and 1970s was Mexican cliff diving. The lone national television broadcast of the Continental Football League
was a Wide World of Sports broadcast of the 1966 championship game; ABC paid the league $500 for a rights fee, a minuscule sum by professional football standards.
Wide World of Sports was the first U.S. television program to air coverage of – among events –
X-Games (1994) and the Grey Cup
(1962).
1960s
1961
| Day | Event |
| April 29 | The first edition of WWOS Des Moines, Iowa .
|
| May 6 | Oklahoma vs Syracuse football game |
| May 13 | PBA World Championship from Paramus, New Jersey |
| May 20 | FA Cup Soccer Final from London.
|
| May 27 | Indianapolis 500 Time Trials. |
| June 3 | World Championship tennis from Mexico City |
| June 10 | Canada Cup Golf Championship |
| June 17 | Le Mans Grand Prix |
| June 24 & July 1 | National AAU Track & Field Championships .
|
| July 8 | Firecracker 250 stock car race, Masters Water-Skiing Tournament |
| July 15 | National Gymnastics Championships |
| July 22 | USA-USSR Track & Field Meet in Moscow. |
| July 29 | Japanese All-Star baseball |
| August 5 | Frontier Days rodeo from Cheyenne |
| August 12 | Women's AAU Swimming and Diving Championships from Philadelphia. |
| August 19 | Arnold Palmer vs. Gary Player golf match |
| August 26 | Men's AAU Swimming and Diving Championships. |
| September 2 | World Water Ski Championships |
| September 9 |
1962
| Day | Event |
| January 7 | AFL All-Star Game[2] |
| January 14 | World Barrel Jumping Championships |
| January 21 | Water-Skiing championships from Acapulco[3] |
| January 28 | Oregon Invitational Indoor Track Meet[4] |
| February 4 | National Ski Jumping Championships[5] |
| February 11 | Los Angeles Sports Arena, Jim Beatty sets indoor mile record of 3:58.9, becoming the first man in history to run a sub-4:00 mile indoors.
|
| February 18 | Bob-sledding championships from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and men's finals in surfing.[6] |
| February 25 | First coverage of the NASCAR 500 Stock Car Championship from Daytona Beach, Florida |
| March 4 and 11 | World Skiing Games from Chamonix, France[7][8] |
| March 25 | . |
| April 1 | World Figure Skating Championships for the first time from Prague, Czechoslovakia. |
| April 14 | Grand National Steeplechase from Aintree. |
| June 10 | Grand Prix of Monaco. |
| July 1 | Masters Water Ski Tournament |
| July 15 | Troon, Scotland .
|
| September 15 & 22 | America's Cup from Newport, R.I. |
1963
| Day | Event |
| January 19 | Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year Award .
|
| February 2 | World Bobsled Championships from Innsbruck, Austria. |
| March 16 | New England Invitational Dog Sled Race .
|
| March 24 | Men's Indoor National AAU Swimming & Diving Championships, Yale University, New Haven, Conn |
| March 30 | Holmenkollen Ski Jumping Championship from Oslo , Norway.
|
| May 11 | Pan American Games from São Paulo, Brazil. |
| May 18 | Trout Fishing Expedition from Argentina. |
| June 9 | Grand Prix of Monaco. |
| July 6 | First Wide World of Sports broadcast of Wimbledon. |
| August 17 | USA-USSR Track & Field Meet. |
| August 24 | The first broadcast of the Little League World Series from Williamsport, Pa. |
| September 22 | 1963 Italian Grand Prix, Jim Clark won the Italian Grand Prix and his first title |
| December 28 | Davis Cup final between the United States and Australia from Adelaide, Australia. |
1964
| Day | Event |
| January 4 | The World Barrel Jumping Championship from Grossinger, New York and the Orange Bowl Regatta from Miami, Florida |
| January 11 | The International Ski Jumping Championship from Innsbruck, Austria and the International Surfing Championships from Makaha Beach in Hawaii |
| January 18 | Peggy Fleming wins the first of five consecutive national titles at the age of 15 at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. |
| January 25 | World Cyclo Ball Championship from Basel, Switzerland. |
| February 1 | Championship Tarpon Fishing from Big Pine Key, Florida and National Ice Boat Racing from Green Lake, Wisconsin |
| February 8 | The finals of the Fort Worth Rodeo
|
| February 15 | The New York Athletic Club indoor track meet |
| April 11 | Challenger seventh round in Miami Beach, Florida
|
| May 16 | A group of climbers, three Frenchmen and one Englishman, climb the northwest tower of the Eiffel Tower. |
| May 30 | U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials. |
| June 27 | Interview with Jim Bunning after his perfect game against the New York Mets. |
| July 11 | British Open from St. Andrews. |
| July 25 | Vera Čáslavska wins the all-around in a USA-Czechoslovakia dual meet.
|
| August 15 | U.S. National Swimming Championships in Los Altos, California |
| August 22 | All-American Soap Box Derby broadcast from Akron, Ohio. |
| August 29 | Little League World Series. |
| September 6 | 1964 Italian Grand Prix, John Surtees won the Italian Grand Prix from Bruce McLaren |
| September 26 | Oklahoma Live Rattlesnake Hunt. |
| November 21 | Sacramento .
|
1965
| Day | Event | Commentators | Reporters |
| March 13 | International Toboggan Championship, better known as the Cresta Run, from St. Moritz, Switzerland. | ||
| March 20 | American Internationals features the first appearance by Jean-Claude Killy on WWOS. | ||
| April 10 | In addition to the U.S. National Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, the show featured Houston Astrodome with Roger Maris trying to hit the roof of the stadium.
| ||
| April 17 | NCAA Wrestling Championships .
| ||
| May 29 | The . | ||
| May 30 | Grand Prix of Monaco. | Jim McKay Phil Hill | |
| June 5 | First coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on Wide World of Sports after covering the time trials the four previous years. | Charlie Brockman Rodger Ward | |
| June 19 | Live coverage via satellite of the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans | Jim McKay Phil Hill |
Chris Economaki |
| July 24 | Coverage of the Matterhorn Climb from Zermatt, Switzerland. | ||
| August 1 | USA-USSR Track & Field Meet, live from the Soviet Union. | ||
| August 7 | 1965 German Grand Prix Jim Clark showed everyone by winning the race and the drivers championship. | ||
| September 11 | Southern 500 stock car race. | Jim McKay Rodger Ward |
1966
| Day | Event |
| January 1 | Horse racing on Ice from St. Moritz becomes the first Wide World of Sports segment in color. |
| February 26 | European Cup basketball from Milan, Italy. |
| April 2 | |
| April 9 | AAU Indoor Swimming & Diving Championships. |
| May 7 | Willie Mays hits his 512th home run, breaking the all-time National League record. |
| May 21 | World Heavyweight Championship title with a sixth-round TKO of Henry Cooper in London.
|
| July 30 | Jim Ryun sets his first world mile record in Berkeley at the age of 19, breaking the previous mark by 2.3 seconds. |
| September 10 | heavyweight title defense, live from Frankfurt, West Germany with a 12th-round TKO.
|
| October 8 | International Figure Skating Revue in Berlin. |
| November 26 | world heavyweight title for the sixth time in 1966 on Wide World of Sports against Cleveland Williams .
|
| December 24 | World Alpine Ski Championships from Portillo, Chile. |
| December 31 | Grand Prix of America. |
1967
| Day | Events | Commentary | Reporters |
| January 28 | N.Y.
| ||
| February 11 | . | ||
| March 4 | World Figure Skating Championships in Vienna, Austria. | ||
| March 11 | Interview with Muhammad Ali and Wilt Chamberlain. | ||
| March 25 | Evel Knievel debuts on Wide World of Sports by clearing 15 cars as a filler act during motorcycle races in Gardena, California | ||
| April 8 | AAU Indoor Championships in Dallas. | ||
| April 22 | London to Brighton Antique Car Run. | ||
| May 10 | Grand Prix of Monaco Denny Hulme won a tragic race in which Lorenzo Bandini died. This was first color broadcast of the Monaco race. | Jim McKay Phil Hill | |
| May 20 | Mickey Mantle hits his 500th home run. | ||
| May 27 | English Rugby League Cup Final. | ||
| June 3 | British yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester completes his 28,500-mile around the world trip.
| ||
| June 10 | A. J. Foyt wins the Indianapolis 500. | Jim McKay Rodger Ward |
Chris Economaki |
| June 24 | Bakersfield, California. Jim Ryun set a world record in the Mile run, 3:51.1 which lasted for eight years. The mark remained the American record until the Dream Mile in 1981, also on Wide World of Sports.
| ||
| July 1 | A. J. Foyt and Dan Gurney win the Le Mans 24-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance. | Jim McKay Phil Hill |
Chris Economaki |
| July 29 & August 5 | Winnipeg, Manitoba , Canada.
|
1968
| Day | Event |
| January 27 | Wide World of Sports' first journey to the village of alpine ski racing .
|
| March 2 & 9 | World Figure Skating Championships from Geneva. |
| March 9 | International Cliff Diving Championships from Acapulco. |
| March 30 | Jean-Claude Killy is featured in races from Rossland, British Columbia. |
| June 8 | Pre-empted by Senator Funeral .
|
| June 15 | Indianapolis 500. |
| June 29 | Old Man of Hoy Rock Climb in Scotland. |
| September 7 | U.S. Men's Olympic Swimming Trials .
|
| September 14 & 21 | U.S. Olympic Men's Track & Field Trials from Echo Summit , California.
|
| November 9 | Grand Prix of Mexico. |
1969
| Day | Event |
| January 4 | Hula Bowl in Hawaii |
| January 11 | Mexican 1000 Cross Country Road Racing Championships. |
| February 8 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Seattle. |
| March 1 | World Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| March 29 | NCAA Swimming Championships .
|
| May 3 | Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. |
| June 7 | Indianapolis 500. |
| June 28 | World Heavyweight Championship fight between Joe Frazier and Jerry Quarry, won by Frazier in the seventh round, plus Olympic champion George Foreman's first professional fight against Don Waldheim
|
| July 26 | Vince Lombardi's first day of training camp with the Washington Redskins. |
| August 23 | Little League World Series. |
| October 18 | Lew Alcindor makes his pro debut with the Milwaukee Bucks .
|
1970s
1970
| Day | Event |
| January 3 | Howard Cosell interviews Curt Flood about the Major League Baseball Reserve Clause. |
| January 17 | World Wristwrestling Championships from Petaluma, California |
| February 21 | World Heavyweight Championship from New York City.
|
| February 28 | 1970 Daytona 500 |
| March 14 | World Figure Skating Championships in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. |
| March 21 | International Ski Flying Championship from Oberstdorf. On his third jump, Vinko Bogataj tumbled down the jump and became forever more the "agony of defeat". |
| March 28 | Report on Phoenix 150 – Live coverage of the race in segments. – Live coverage of three races.
Florida Derby |
| April 18 | 1970 Gwyn Staley 400 – Live Coverage of the latter stages of the race. |
| May 2 | Dan Gable loses his final match in collegiate competition to Larry Owings of Washington at the NCAA Championships. It was the only loss of his collegiate career. |
| May 9 | 1970 Rebel 400 – Live Coverage of the latter stages of the race. |
| May 10 | 1970 Monaco Grand Prix |
| June 6 | 1970 Indianapolis 500 |
| June 13 | World Invitational High Diving Championship in Montreal, Canada LeMans 24-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance from Le Mans, France. |
| July 4 | 1970 Firecracker 400 |
| July 25 | 1970 Nashville 420 – Live Coverage of the latter stages of the race. |
| October 31 | In Atlanta, Muhammad Ali defeats Jerry Quarry in the third round, in his first fight in three years. |
| November 14 | World Gymnastics Championships in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. |
| November 21 | World Heavyweight Championship fight in Detroit .
|
| December 26 | World Cup Soccer final .
|
1971
| Day | Event |
| January 23 | World Cup victory in Europe in alpine skiing for the United States in St. Moritz .
|
| February 13 | University Park, Pa.
|
| February 20 | World Weightlifting Championships in Columbus, Ohio. |
| February 20 | Daytona 500. |
| March 13 | Analysis of the World Heavyweight Championship fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier with Muhammad Ali. Plus a report on Mario Andretti's victory in the Grand Prix of South Africa .
|
| April 10 | flag-to-flag television coverage of a NASCAR race.
|
| April 17 | The U.S. Table Tennis Team, following its historic trip inside the People's Republic of China , appears on Wide World of Sports live via satellite from Tokyo with its own "home movies" of their trip.
|
| June 5 | Grand Prix of Monaco. |
| August 28 | Coverage of the USA–Cuba volleyball match from Havana marks the first time an American television network sports department covers a sports event in Cuba since Premier Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. |
1972
| Day | Event |
| January 22 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships .
|
| January 29 | Kip Keino in an indoor mile run in Los Angeles.
|
| February 12 | Rosarito Beach, Mexico .
|
| February 26 | President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai attend the Chinese Gymnastics Exhibition. |
| A. J. Foyt becomes the first man to win the Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Daytona 500. | |
| April 1 | Mark Spitz finishes his collegiate career at Indiana with victories in the 100- and 200-yard butterflies. |
| April 15 | USA-People's Republic of China Table Tennis competition from Detroit. |
| June 3 | Steve Prefontaine wins the third of four consecutive NCAA titles in the 5000 meters on his home track of Hayward Field in Eugene. |
| July 8, 15 & 22 | World Chess Championships between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky from Reykjavík, Iceland. |
| August 19 | U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials features Mark Spitz taking a critical step towards the Olympics .
|
| September 5 & 6 | The Munich massacre killed 11 Israelis, 5 terrorists and 1 police officer. |
| September 23 | world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson with a seventh-round knockout in New York City.
|
| November 25 | World Ski Flying Championships and a report on Olga Korbut .
|
1973
| Day | Event |
| January 13 | The Harlem Globetrotters make their debut on Wide World of Sports. |
| January 27 | . |
| March 3 | World Figure Skating Championships in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. |
| March 24 | Olga Korbut and the USSR Gymnastics Team visit New York City for a performance in Madison Square Garden. |
| March 31 | Ken Norton wins a 12-round decision against Muhammad Ali in their heavyweight fight from San Diego, California. |
| May 26 | USA-China gymnastics meet in Madison Square Garden. |
| June 16 | Monaco Grand Prix Jackie Stewart win equals Jim Clark's all-time record. |
| August 4 | Dutch Grand Prix Jackie Stewart wins a tragic race which Roger Williamson was burned to death. Stewart's win broke Jim Clark's all-time record. |
| August 11 | German Grand Prix Jackie Stewart wins his 27th and final Grand Prix victory. |
| September 15 | Muhammad Ali wins his rematch with Ken Norton rematch in 12 rounds. |
| November 10 | Triple Crown winner Secretariat's final race from Toronto , Ontario.
|
| Evel Knievel jumps over 50 smashed cars in the Coliseum in Los Angeles. |
1974
| Day | Event |
| January 6 | The Harlem Globetrotters in London. |
| January 26 | Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier scuffle during the telecast as they watch tape of their first fight in 1971. |
| February 9 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships |
| February 17 | Evel Knievel jumps 11 Mack trucks in Highland Falls, Texas. The show, which also included the National Finals Rodeo. |
| March 2 | second fight in New York City.
|
| March 16 | World Lightweight championship from Panama City, Panama .
|
| March 17 | World Figure Skating Championships from Munich. |
| March 31 | World Heavyweight Championship fight.
|
| April 7 | Oxford-Cambridge Regatta. |
| May 26 | 1974 Monaco Grand Prix |
| August 31 | Evel Knievel's daredevil motorcycle jump in Toronto and Philippe Petit's high wire walk from New York City. |
| September 14 | Evel Knievel attempts to jump the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho in a machine called a skycycle in front of 33,000 fans. The parachute opened prematurely and Evel crashed into the canyon wall and had to be pulled out of the water. |
| September 21 | Wide World of Sports returns to Havana, Cuba for the World Boxing Championships, which featured Teófilo Stevenson. |
| October 6 | Helmut Koinigg died.
|
1975
| Day | Event |
| January 5 | . |
| January 19 | Philippe Petit high wire walks between the two towers of the cathedral in Laon, France. |
| March 29 | World Heavyweight Championship fight.
|
| May 25 | 1975 Monaco Grand Prix. |
| May 31 | Evel Knievel's attempt to jump 140 feet over 13 double-deck buses in Wembley Stadium in London ends in failure when he's thrown off his bike on the landing ramp and has the motorcycle land on top of him. |
| June 28 & August 9 | Nadia Comăneci wins the all-around and three of four individual apparatus finals at the European Women's Gymnastics Championships in Skien, Norway. |
| July 26 | Coverage of the North American Continental Boxing Championships. |
| First Wide World of Sports coverage of the Tour de France. | |
| August 16 | Coverage of Göteborg , Sweden, making him the first to break the 3:50 barrier.
|
| September 13 | Kuala Lampur, Malaysia .
|
| October 4 | National Drag Racing Championships |
| October 25 | rated show in the history of Wide World of Sports.
|
1976
| Day | Event |
| January 1 | Olga Korbut and the USSR Gymnasts Team visit Disneyland. |
| January 11 | Wide World of Sports telecasts tape of Muhammad Ali defeating Joe Frazier in the "Thriller in Manilla" heavyweight title fight. |
| January 25 | The Harlem Globetrotters play at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York. |
| February 29 | USA-Romania gymnastics featuring Nadia Comăneci. |
| March 7 | Göteborg , Sweden.
|
| March 21 | Dorothy Hamill parade in Greenwich, Conn. |
| March 28 | American Cup Gymnastics Championships .
|
| May 22 | Dorothy Hamill's last amateur performance. |
| May 30 | 1976 Monaco Grand Prix |
| June 26 | U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials from Eugene, Oregon |
| October 2 | Exclusive Sports Illustrated still photographs of the Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton heavyweight fight and interviews with Ken Norton, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. |
| October 30 | Evel Knievel's final jump on Wide World of Sports is over seven Greyhound buses in the Kingdome in Seattle. Mario Andretti wins the Japanese Grand Prix but James Hunt finishes third and crowned world champion by one point over Niki Lauda. |
1977
| Day | Event |
| January 2 | Interview with Muhammad Ali. |
| January 22 | Profile of 16-year-old apprentice jockey Steve Cauthen. |
| January 23 | The USA-People's Republic of China gymnastics meet from Peking .
|
| February 5 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Hartford, Conn. |
| February 12 | A special gymnastics competition from and the USSR gymnastics team. That marked Olga's final competitive appearance on Wide World of Sports. |
| February 19 | Coverage of the Mr. Universe contest. |
| February 20 | Chinese Acrobats of Taiwan. International Tooggan (Cresta) Championships from San Moritz |
| March 5 | World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo, Japan. |
| May 7 | Wood Memorial (April 23) on his way to the Kentucky Derby title.
|
| May 14 | Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Willie Rodriguez in the second fight of his professional career. |
| May 22 | 1977 Monaco Grand Prix |
| July 2 | USSR .
|
| July 23 | Arthur Ashe's report on Apartheid and sports in South Africa. |
| September 3 | USA-East Germany Swimming and Diving Meet. |
| October 1 | New York Cosmos .
|
| October 29 | The ascent of mountain climber Eldorado Canyon in Eldorado Springs, Colorado
|
1978
| Day | Event |
| January 21 | Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comăneci performs at Madison Square Garden. |
| February 4 & 5 | Garmisch, West Germany .
|
| February 12 | USA-Cuba Amateur boxing marks the first live telecast from Cuba since Castro came to power in 1959. |
| February 25 | Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
|
| March 11 | World Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. |
| March 12 | Affirmed's first race as a 3-year-old. |
| March 18 | Jimmy Bryan 150 live from Avondale .
|
| April 1 | Olga Korbut's retirement ceremonies in Moscow. |
| April 2 | Alydar's victory in the Florida Derby. |
| April 22 | Angel's Landing in Zion National Park almost ends a bit early when he falls on the way up, but he was able to complete the climb.
|
| April 23 | Gabriel 200 live from Angel's Landing in Zion National Park almost ends a bit early when he falls on the way up, but he was able to complete the climb.
|
| May 7 | 1978 Monaco Grand Prix |
| July 8 | USA-USSR Track and Field Meet from Berkeley. |
| August 26 & September 2 | World Swimming Championships from West Berlin. |
| September 16 | Gould Grand Prix Live from Brooklyn, Michigan. Grand Prix of Italy in Monza Mario Andretti won the Championship sadly his teammate and rival Ronnie Peterson died in the first chicane pileup . |
| October 1 | Daily Express Indy Silverstone |
| October 28 | World All-Around Gymnastics Championships. |
1979
| Day | Event |
| January 13 | World Gymnastics Championships. |
| January 14 | The fifth highest rated show in the history of Wide World of Sports, featuring the Harlem Globetrotters .
|
| February 4 | Alexis Argüello and Alfredo Escalera for the WBC Super Featherweight title. Arguello retained his title with a 13th-round knockout. |
| February 10 | Spectacular Bid's first race as a 3-year-old in the Hutcheson Stakes. |
| March 4 | American Olympic medal hopeful World Cup giant slalom in Lake Placid .
|
| March 17 | World Figure Skating Championships in Vienna, Austria. |
| March 18 | World Ski Flying Championships from Planica, Yugoslavia .
|
| April 28 | Devils Tower climb in Wyoming : a free climb of Devils Tower's 700-foot face.
|
| May 13 | World Table Tennis Championships in Pyongyang, North Korea. |
| May 27 | 1979 Monaco Grand Prix |
| June 9 | At the World Cup in Tokyo, Nadia Comăneci scores two perfect 10.0s en route to the all-around title. |
| December 15 | World All-Around Gymnastics Championships. |
1980s
1980
| Day | Event |
| January 12 | Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel. |
| February 9 | In the final tune-up for the Americans prior to the Soviet Union. The show also included Shirley Muldowney's first victory in the Winternationals .
|
| February 17 | Fort Worth, Texas. The same show includes the World Frisbee Championships .
|
| February 24 | Olympic Games awards ceremony for the United States hockey team following its 4–2 victory over Finland. |
| March 23 | The first telecast on Wide World of Sports the Endurance (now called the Ironman) Triathlon World Championship from Oahu. |
| May 17 | Preakness Stakes. |
| May 18 | 1980 Monaco Grand Prix |
| May 24 | Women's volleyball from . |
| May 31 | George Willig climbs Castleton Tower in Utah. |
| July 19 | Welterweight Championship .
|
| August 16 | U.S. National Swimming Championships .
|
| September 27 | In his second bid for the Middleweight championship, Marvelous Marvin Hagler scores a third-round TKO of Alan Minter in a fight marred by a crowd riot.
|
| December 27 | U.S. Figure Skaters in China: A Special Performance. |
1981
| Day | Event |
| January 17 | The Hollywood .
|
| February 7 & 8 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships. |
| March 7 | World Figure Skating Championships in Hartford, Conn. |
| March 8 | Nadia Comăneci and the Romanian gymnastics team performs at Madison Square Garden. |
| March 28 | Report on Borovetz, Bulgaria .
|
| April 5 | NCAA Championships in Austin close the door on Rowdy Gaines' career with American records in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles before he announces his retirement. |
| April 18 | Wood Memorial. |
| July 11 | Dream Mile from Oslo. |
| USA-USSR Track and Field Meet from Leningrad .
| |
| August 29 | Report on week of mile world records: Steve Ovett in West Germany and Sebastian Coe in Belgium. Ovett lowered the mark to 3:48.40, then Coe lowered it to 3:47.33. |
| September 5 | Featherweight Championship with a victory over Wilfredo Gómez .
|
| October 17 | Welterweight Championship fight .
|
1982
| Day | Event |
| January 16 | The Harlem Globetrotters at Walt Disney World. |
| February 6 & 7 | World Alpine Ski Championships. |
| February 6 | Brian Boitano makes his debut on Wide World of Sports. |
| February 14 | Special ice skating performance by Peggy Fleming from Lake Tahoe. |
| February 21 | Kathleen McCartney only 10 yards from the finish line. Moss and McCartney appear in the WWOS studios the following week to discuss the finish.
|
| March 14 | World Figure Skating Championships. |
| June 26 | Bislett Games in Oslo. |
| July 11 | 1982 FIFA World Cup Final from Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain marks the first time the match was telecast live on an American television network.
|
| August 21 | U.S. Platform Diving Championships. |
| August 27 | Little League World Series. |
| November 27 | Teófilo Stevenson fights Tyrell Biggs from Reno, Nev. |
| December 11 | Super Bantamweight title against Lupe Pinto .
|
1983
| Day | Event |
| January 22 | The Harlem Globetrotters return to New York City. |
| February 27 | Dave Scott wins his second Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii. During that same show, Shirley Muldowney, wins her second title at the Winternational Drag Racing Championships in Pomona. |
| March 12 | Mary Lou Retton makes her first appearance on Wide World of Sports at the American Cup. |
| April 17 & 23 | The Santa Monica, California to New York City.
|
| May 15 | 1983 Monaco Grand Prix |
| June 25 | U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis. |
| July 2 | The National Sports Festival, now known as the Olympic Festival, in Colorado Springs |
| August 6 | U.S. Swimming Championships .
|
| August 20 | The Baton Rouge, La. It becomes the first sports show to win a Christopher Award .
|
| September 24 | Report on the America's Cup. |
| November 5 | World Gymnastics Championships from Budapest, Hungary. |
1984
| Day | Event |
| January 7 | The Harlem Globetrotters in Hong Kong. |
| January 21 | The men's and ladies' finals at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Salt Lake City .
|
| Franz Klammer records his fourth victory on the famed Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria. | |
| February 18 | The USA-Cuba amateur boxing matches from Reno. |
| February 19 & 25 | Race Across America. |
| March 17 | World Gymnastics Championships in Budapest. |
| March 24 | Mark Breland attempts to win his fifth New York Golden Gloves title. |
| March 31 | Swale wins the Florida Derby. |
| May 5 & 12 | The American Cup provides the American gymnasts with their final major international competition prior to the Olympic Games. |
| May 26 | Farewell ice skating performances by Scott Hamilton and Torvill and Dean. |
| June 3 | 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. |
| July 7 | Daytona Beach .
|
| July 21 | Final performance by Nadia Comăneci from Bucharest, Romania. |
| September 8 & 22 | The World Cycling Championships from Barcelona, Spain. |
1985
| Day | Event |
| January 5 | Live coverage of Mark Breland's second professional fight against Marlon Palmer in Atlantic City, N.J. |
| January 12 | Hahnenkamm Downhill in Kitzbühel. |
| January 20 | Second professional fights of Pernell Whitaker (vs Danny Avery), Evander Holyfield (vs Eric Winbush) and Meldrick Taylor (vs Dwight Pratchett), live, from Atlantic City. |
| February 3 | Brian Boitano wins the first of four consecutive national titles at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas City. In the same show, Pirmin Zurbriggen wins the downhill at the World Alpine Ski Championships in Bormio, Italy. |
| February 10 | World Alpine Ski Championships in Bormio, Italy. |
| February 16 | The Harlem Globetrotters in New Orleans. |
| April 6 | Matt Biondi sets his first individual American records in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. |
| April 20 | The second professional fight of Olympic gold medalist Tyrell Biggs. |
| May 18 | UCLA Invitational Track and Field Meet. |
| May 19 | 1985 Monaco Grand Prix. |
| June 8 | Welterweight title in London.
|
| July 27 | Wide World of Sports coverage, via satellite, of the Dream Mile from Oslo, Norway. |
| August 24 | Microminiature camera in the mask of a home plate umpire was introduced during Wide World of Sports live coverage of the Little League World Series from Williamsport, Pa. |
| September 28 | . |
1986
| Day | Event |
| January 11 | The Harlem Globetrotters visit Kansas City. |
| January 18 | World Gymnastics Championships in Montreal, Quebec. |
| February 8 | |
| February 15 | Welterweight title against Danilo Cabreira in Dublin , Ireland.
|
| March 8 | Daniela Silivaş wins the gold medal in the balance beam at the World Championships in Montreal , Quebec.
|
| March 15 | Report on the comeback of Shirley Muldowney. |
| March 15 | NCAA Wrestling Championships .
|
| March 29 | In a delayed broadcast, World Middleweight Championship .
|
| April 6 | Santa Anita Derby. |
| May 24 | Grand Prix of Monaco. |
| June 28 | Irish Derby in Kildare .
|
| July 5 | Dream Mile. |
| July 12 | Junior Heavyweight crown live from Atlanta .
|
| July 26 | Steve Cruz in Las Vegas .
|
| August 30 | Men's World Cup Gymnastics Championships from Beijing, China. |
1987
| Day | Event |
| January 10 | The last live telecast of the Harlem Globetrotters from Kansas City. |
| January 17 | Ironman Triathlon. |
| January 31 | World Alpine Ski Championships. |
| February 1 & 7 | Report on America's Cup yacht races from Fremantle, Australia. |
| February 7 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Tacoma, Washington
|
| February 28 | Women's World Cup individual finals from Beijing. |
| March 1 | Race Across America. |
| March 21 | NCAA Wrestling Championships, while John Smith wins his first NCAA title.
|
| March 22 | Mountain Man Winter Triathlon from Avon and Beaver Creak, Colo. |
| March 29 | The first broadcast on Wide World of Sports of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. |
| April 11 | NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas .
|
| May 16 | Squaw Valley to Auburn, California
|
| May 31 | 1987 Monaco Grand Prix. |
| June 27 | U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in San Jose, California |
| August 1 | U.S. Nationals in Clovis, California
|
| August 15 | International Special Olympics from Notre Dame, Indiana |
1988
| Day | Event |
| January 2 | The Harlem Globetrotters journey to West Berlin. |
| January 23 | Ironman Triathlon. |
| January 30 | World Gymnastics Championships from Rotterdam. |
| March 19 | Romanian World Gymnastics Championships .
|
| March 26 | The battle for the World Cup overall title between Pirmin Zurbriggen and Alberto Tomba is decided in the final races of the year in Saalbach , Austria, with Zurbriggen winning his second straight overall title.
|
| May 7 | The Kentucky Derby becomes a fixture on Wide World of Sports and witness a piece of history as Winning Colors became only the third filly to win horse racing's first leg in the triple crown. |
| May 15 | 1988 Monaco Grand Prix. |
| May 21 | Preakness Stakes. |
| June 11 | Belmont Stakes. |
| July 2 | Dream Mile in Oslo. |
| July 16 | In an exclusive interview with Wide World of Sports, owner-trainer Louee Russel announces the retirement of Preakness and Belmont winner Risen Star. |
| July 16 & 23 | U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials .
|
| August 6 & 20 | U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials. |
| August 20 | Weltklasse Meet. |
1989
| Day | Event |
| January 28 | The Sydney, Australia .
|
| February 4 | World Alpine Ski Championships in Vail, Colo. |
| February 11 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Baltimore .
|
| March 4 | Light Heavyweight Championship in Bismarck, North Dakota .
|
| April 8 | Santa Anita Derby. |
| April 1 | Evander Holyfield–Michael Dokes heavyweight fight and a live studio interview with Holyfield. |
| April 15 | "The Hell of the North": Paris–Roubaix. |
| May 6 | Kentucky Derby. |
| May 7 | Monaco Grand Prix
This was last Monaco GP that was broadcast as a traditional episode of Wide World of Sports. ABC would broadcast later Monaco Grands Prix, including at least one under the WWOS title, however it was not the same program. |
| May 20 | Preakness Stakes. |
| June 10 | Belmont Stakes. |
| June 24 | Light Heavyweight titles .
|
| July 1–22 | Tour de France. |
| August 26 | Little League World Series |
1990s
1990
| Day | Event |
| January 13 | The Bahamas .
|
| January 27 | The men's and ladies' figure skating competition from the World Challenge of Champions in Moscow. |
| February 3 | Bill Shoemaker has one final race at Santa Anita. |
| February 24 | Ironman Triathlon World Championship. |
| March 3 | Same day coverage of the finish of the Trans-Antarctica Expedition[clarification needed] from Mirny Station. |
| March 17 | Susan Butcher wins her fourth Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. |
| March 24 | Tom Jager shatters the world record for the 50-meter freestyle in a head-to-head battle with Matt Biondi at the U.S. Spring Championships. |
| World Gymnastics Championships. | |
| March 31 | Junior Welterweight/Super Lightweight titles.
|
| April 21 | Paris–Roubaix. |
| May 5 | Kentucky Derby. |
| May 12 | 12-year-old Chinese star Fu Mingxia wins the U.S. International Diving Championships. |
| July 21 | Tour de France. |
| August 4 | Kim Zmeskal wins the all-around at the USA-USSR Gymnastics Meet. |
1991
| Day | Event |
| January 19 | Men's World Cup Downhill from Wengen is canceled after Gernot Reinstadler of Austria falls during a qualifying run and later dies from internal injuries. Meanwhile, the U.S. Ski Team withdraws from the World Cup circuit due to the Gulf War .
|
| January 26 | World champion Svetlana Boginskaya is upset by teammate Tatiana Lisenko in the all-around at the World Cup Gymnastics Championships. Meanwhile, the World Challenge of Champions feature 1984 Olympic Games gold medalists Torvill and Dean, |
| February 2 | The NFL Draft .
|
| February 16 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Minneapolis. Plus, a feature on Nancy Kerrigan and her legally blind mother Brenda.
|
| March 2 | Riddick Bowe versus Tyrell Biggs. |
| March 16 | Rick Swenson wins his record fifth Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. |
| April 13 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Plus, Mark Spitz begins his very public comeback to competitive swimming with a spot on the 1992 Olympic team as his goal.
|
| April 27 | Mark Spitz meets Matt Biondi in another 50-meter butterfly match race. Biondi wins, but Spitz finishes closer to Biondi than he did to Tom Jager the week before. |
| April 29 | Wide World of Sports' 30th anniversary show with hosts Jim McKay and Frank Gifford .
|
| May 4 | Kentucky Derby. |
| June 1 | Mike Tyson scores a TKO of Razor Ruddock in a heavyweight fight, taped on March 18. |
| June 8 | Belmont Stakes. |
| July 13 | As the International Olympic Committee lifts its ban prohibiting South Africa from competing in the Olympics, WWOS features U.S. javelin thrower Tom Petranoff, who was banned by U.S. track officials from worldwide competition for having competed in South Africa in violation of the international sports boycott. Petranoff talks about his relocation to South Africa and his desire to compete for his new country in the Olympics. |
| August 10 | U.S. Treasury Department and obtains the exclusive rights to televise the Cuban hosted Pan American Games. The telecast features over 20 hours of comprehensive coverage and a rare look inside Cuba. The highlight of the trip is an ABC WWOS exclusive interview, conducted by Jim McKay with Fidel Castro .
|
1992
| Day | Event |
| February 1 | A special report on Mike Tyson's trial and conviction of rape. |
| February 29 | Kim Zmeskal becomes the first American to win the women's all-around title at the World Championships. |
| March 14 | The pairs figure skating team of Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov earn six perfect 6.0s for artistic impression to win the World Challenge of Champions. |
| April 4 | An up close and personal look at Bill Shoemaker, one year after a car accident left him paralyzed. Meanwhile, A.P. Indy wins the Santa Anita Derby and Belmont Stakes (on June 6) on Wide World. Those wins would propel him to Horse of the Year honors. |
| April 11 | AIDS .
|
| May 2 | Kentucky Derby. |
| July 4 | Jim McKay reports on Sarajevo, eight years after the 1984 Winter Olympics. |
| July – August | WWOS cameras follow Rick Hoyt as they bike across the country. The father and son team begin their trip in Santa Monica, California and end it in Boston .
|
| August 29 | Little League World Series. |
1993
| Day | Event |
| January 6 | As Crenshaw Senior High School .
|
| January 16 | WWOS debuts a new series about athletes living on the edge and expanding the horizons of sport, with a feature on Extreme Skiing. |
| January 23 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships .
|
| January 30 | The Lord's Prayer ".
|
| February 13 | AIDS .
|
| March 6 | Anchorage to Nome, Alaska .
|
| March 20 | 1992 Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie defeats 1988 Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano for the first time in his professional skating career at the DuraSoft Colors World Challenge of Champions. |
| April 3 | Santa Anita Derby. |
| April 10 | WWOS broadcasts the first-ever World Winter Games (Special Olympics) from Austria. |
| April 24 | World Gymnastics Championships. |
| May 1 | Kentucky Derby. |
| May 15 | Preakness Stakes. |
| May 22 | A retrospective show which features the top 10 elements of WWOS (1961–present). Viewers voted through USA Today for their favorite shows, including A. J. Foyt and the '67 Indy 500, Muhammad Ali and appearances by the Harlem Globetrotters. |
| June 5 | Belmont Stakes. |
| August 21 | World Track and Field Championships. |
| August 21 | Travers Stakes. |
| August 28 | At the Little League World Series, Maria Sansone, at 12-years of age, becomes the youngest network sports announcer when she covers the LLWS for WWOS. |
1994
| Day | Event |
| January 6, 8, 15, 29, and February 5 | WWOS begins its 34th season with a new host, U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. The entire event is overshadowed by the attack on reigning national champion, Nancy Kerrigan, at a practice rink. WWOS correspondents report on the story as it unfolds with exclusive interviews with Kerrigan and they examine Tonya Harding 's role in the attack as it comes into question.
|
| January 22 | WWOS debuts a joint venture with Sports Illustrated TV's From the Pages of Sports Illustrated with a feature on Archie Manning's son Peyton. |
| January 29 | WWOS debuts its series of features leading up to the 1994 World Cup of soccer, with Jim McKay as host. |
| WWOS debuts its The Great Alaskan Sled Dog Race." On Feb. 12, "Kids on Ice – A Skating Adventure!" takes a closer look at one young skater's road to the U.S. junior national championships. On June 11, "A day at the Races", host Maria Sansone offers a behind the scenes look at horse racing.
| |
| April 2 | Two events return to WWOS after long hiatuses: from World Ski Flying Championships and from Silver Springs, Florida, the World High Diving Championships .
|
| April 9, May 21, June 11 and August 20 | WWOS tracks the recovery and grueling rehabilitation process undertaken by Jeff Lukas, who was severely injured by thoroughbred race horse Tabasco Cat. |
| April 23 | World Gymnastics Championships. |
| May 7 | WWOS debuts the Cable Cam at the 120th Kentucky Derby. This innovative camera is suspended from a cable in the infield of the track and is able to follow the progress of the horses on the backstretch at speeds of up to 35 mph. |
| May 14 | Feature on the figure skating pairs team of Paul Martini and Barbara Underhill. One of Underhill's twins recently drowned in the family pool. They dedicate their performance at the Durasoft Colors World Challenge of Champions to her child. |
| July–August | St. Petersburg , Russia.
|
| August 13 | On day two of the Major League Baseball strike, Al Michaels moderates a panel discussion from Los Angeles, with Los Angeles Dodgers' player representative Brett Butler, Sports Illustrated Editor-at-Large Steve Wulf in New York and Peter Angelos, principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles in Maryland. |
| August 20 | commissioner of Major League Baseball on day 9 of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. Meanwhile, Holy Bull wins the Travers Stakes .
|
| August 27 | A three-hour rain delay forces WWOS to go off the air on many ABC affiliates before the Little League World Series World Championship Game can be completed. The West Coast sees the remainder of the game live from Williamsport, Pa. |
1995
| Day | Event |
| January 21 | Indy car circuit with eight victories, including a second Indy 500 .
|
| January 28 | Joe Robbie Stadium, site of Super Bowl XXIX. Also, Bob Beattie reports on the cancellation of the World Alpine Ski Championships , due to lack of snow, for the first time since the event's inception in 1931. WWOS had planned extensive coverage beginning Feb. 4.
|
| February 11 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The Ladies' event airs live in prime time on ABC .
|
| February 18 | Renée Roca and Gorsha Sur defeat Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow for the U.S. Ice Dance title. Punsalan and Swallow also admit in an exclusive ABC interview that, in '94, they lobbied Congress to not grant Sur, a native Russian, U.S. citizenship, so that they could represent the U.S. at the '94 Olympics. |
| Picabo Street win's her third, of what would be a U.S.-record five downhills in a row. By season's end she would become the first American ever to win the World Cup Downhill title. | |
| February 25 | Bonnie Blair wins her third World Sprint Speedskating championship in her final event on U.S. ice. Also, four-time Olympic gold medalist Johann Olav Koss makes his television commentating debut on ABC and interviews fellow Lillehammer gold medalist Dan Jansen. |
| March 4 | World Freestyle Skiing Championships. |
| March 11 | Florida Derby. |
| March 18 | As Nadia Comăneci returns to Romania for the first time since her 1989 defection, WWOS details her brilliant career. |
| May 6 | Kentucky Derby. |
| May 28 | Indianapolis 500. |
| June 10 | At the Triple Crown titles in one season.
|
| June 24 | World Mountain Bike Champions. |
| July | Tour de France. |
| July 8 | During an appearance at the Special Olympic World Games, Monica Seles announces she will return to pro tennis in a comeback after she was stabbed by a fan in 1993. |
| July 22 | Mike Tyson retrospective: one month before his return to the ring. |
| August 5 | Brickyard 400 |
| August 5, 6, 12 & 13 | World Track and Field Championships. |
1996
| Day | Event |
| January 20 | U.S. Figure Skating Championships .
|
| February 27 | European Figure Skating Championships. |
| February 17 | Tatyana Lebedeva, a 22-year-old Russian skier, collides with Harold Shownower, a former U.S. Ski Team coach and FIS official, while training for the women's downhill at the World Alpine Skiing Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain. Lebedeva catches air off a bump and when she comes back to the ground, Shownower had mistakenly skied onto the course and right into her path. Both suffered fractured legs and were airlifted off the mountain. |
| February 24 and March 2 | Alberto Tomba, the three-time Olympic gold medalist from Italy, ends a decade of frustration at the World Alpine Skiing Championships by winning two gold medals. |
| March 2 | Christine Witty becomes the women's champion at the 27th World Sprint Speed Skating Championships. Meanwhile, three-time and reigning World Sprint Champion Bonnie Blair makes her network commentating debut.
|
| March 21 and 23 | The World Figure Skating Championships live from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Three-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge wins his first world championship, while the newest U.S. champion, Rudy Galindo, earns the bronze. On the afternoon of March 23, WWOS featured taped coverage of the ladies' short program and the unsuccessful comeback of former world champion Midori Ito to the amateur ranks. That evening, WWOS provided live coverage of Michelle Kwan's first world championship. |
| May 4 | Kentucky Derby. |
| May 18 | Preakness Stakes. |
| May 26 | Indianapolis 500. |
| June 8 | Belmont Stakes. |
| June 15 | WWOS road racing analyst Svetlana Boguinskaya, now competing for Belarus, makes her comeback to the international scene by placing second in the all-around at the European Women's Gymnastics Championships .
|
| June 29, July 6 & 13 | Tour de France. |
| August 3 | Brickyard 400 |
| September 23 | The first U.S. women's gymnastics team to win the Olympic team gold medal—including WWOS stars Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu and Dominique Dawes—star in the Tour of Olympic Gymnastics Champions. The show airs in prime time and leads into Monday Night Football. |
1997
| Day | Event |
| January 11 | National figure skating champion Rudy Galindo wins his first professional title at the Nutrasweet World Challenge of Champions in Innsbruck. |
| January 25 & February 1 | European Figure Skating Championships. |
| February 1 | The Summer "X Games" premiere with skysurfing, street luge, and bike stunts on the June 21, 1997 Wide World from San Diego .
|
| February 15 & 16 | Fourteen-year-old Nashville, World Champion Todd Eldredge wins his fourth national title.
|
| March 20 & 22 | World Figure Skating Championships. Fourteen-year-old Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest World figure skating champion in history by upsetting the reigning national and world champion Michelle Kwan. |
| April 19 | Wide World airs network television's first women's professional boxing match. Former kickboxer Yvonne Trevino wins the WIBF Superflyweight championship live from Las Vegas in a first-round TKO over Brenda Rouse. |
| May 3 | At the 123rd Wood Memorial win on April 12, but rain/mud obscured the view.
|
| May 17 | Preakness Stakes. |
| May 25–27 | Indianapolis 500. |
| June 7 | Belmont Stakes. |
| August 23 | Little League World Series. |
References
- ^ Vogan, Travis (2018). ABC Sports: The Rise and Fall of Network Sports Television.
- ^ "The Daily Inter Lake from Kalispell, Montana on January 7, 1962 · Page 12". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Corpus Christi Caller Times Archives, Jan 21, 1962, p. 53". NewspaperArchive.com. January 21, 1962. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "This week in TV Guide: January 27, 1962". www.itsabouttv.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Daily World from Opelousas, Louisiana on February 4, 1962 · Page 44". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Madison Wisconsin State Journal Archives, Feb 18, 1962, p. 18". NewspaperArchive.com. February 18, 1962. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Lowell Sun Newspaper Archives, Mar 4, 1962, p. 19". NewspaperArchive.com. March 4, 1962. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "El Paso Herald-Post from El Paso, Texas on March 10, 1962 · Page 11". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018.