# What did you think of Howard Cosell? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 25, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013 "2019-06-25T02:14:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/41 "2019-06-29T01:02:38Z")
There were a lot of colorful characters in sports back in the day. Cosell, Ali, Joe Namath, Bill Lee, Mark Fidrych… I’m sure I’m forgetting a few. It was sort of like a crazy parade, and Cosell didn’t seem so out of place amongst all of it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/42 "2019-06-29T01:40:42Z")
Cosell was one of the smartest sports announcers of his time. His commentary (he did a daily show on WABC radio) was astute and clever. He was great at boxing and pretty good at football and I always liked him. He did suck at baseball, though. I remember once he criticized a guy who was out at the plate, saying he had taken too big a turn at third. It was a perfectly normal turn, but Cosell evidently thought he could have made a right angle turn instea. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/43 "2019-06-29T01:52:28Z")
I enjoyed Howard Cosell’s announcing and highlights unabashedly, particularly when he and Don Meredith got into it, and more particularly when Don Meredith was drunk. Which was a often. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/44 "2019-06-29T02:21:39Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I enjoyed Howard Cosell’s announcing and highlights unabashedly, particularly when he and Don Meredith got into it, and more particularly when Don Meredith was drunk. Which was a often. Howard was equally notorious for imbibing during a broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/45 "2019-06-29T03:30:00Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I found him somewhat entertaining during the early days of MNF, when a Prime Time Sports Event with three announcers was an innovation, and Cosell and Dandy Don were part of the show. He was awful on baseball. I never followed boxing so can’t speak to that aspect of his work. > > However I found his reputation as a maverick who spoke truth to power and Told It Like It Was to be grossly overblown. He offered few if any controversial insights on MNF. At the time in Chicago we had Harry Caray announcing the White Sox, and after hearing Harry routinely ream out Sox players and management, I was not impressed with Cosell. (For those of you who remember Harry from his neutered funny-old-man days with the Cubs, trust me, he was _very very different_ with the White Sox.) Read his books and tell me he wasn’t an original and unique voice in sport. He was also a lawyer. Sent from my LGMS210 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![LaughingSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/laughingsnowman/32/422_2.png) [@LaughingSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaughingSnowman)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/46 "2019-06-30T08:13:52Z")
Couldn’t stand him. If I watch an old boxing match on Youtube and he’s doing commentary I immediately mute it. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/47 "2019-07-01T00:35:28Z")
Slightly related. I do like this meme. [https://i.imgflip.com/1ufdeg.jpg](https://i.imgflip.com/1ufdeg.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/48 "2019-07-01T01:31:32Z")
Nice photo. HC was pretty good in those _Odd Couple_ episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/49 "2019-07-01T02:25:30Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Read his books and tell me he wasn’t an original and unique voice in sport. As long as I can read them and not HEAR that original and unique voice. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/50 "2019-07-01T02:56:51Z")
I enjoyed him for both boxing and football; don’t know that I ever saw a baseball him with him. But it was his coverage during the Olympics I will always remember best. Not good memories but etched into my brain. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/51 "2019-07-01T03:39:32Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > There were a lot of colorful characters in sports back in the day. Cosell, Ali, Joe Namath, Bill Lee, Mark Fidrych… I’m sure I’m forgetting a few. It was sort of like a crazy parade, and Cosell didn’t seem so out of place amongst all of it. +1 Well put…very zen-esque. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/52 "2019-07-01T04:16:23Z")
I agree with **jaycat** with regard to the colorful characters in sports back in the day. Even more, though, was the fact that Cosell became The Guy You Always Watched Because You Hated Him. I recall watching Monday Night Football every week, because even though Cosell was irritating, you wanted to keep watching so he’d give you more reasons to hate him. He never failed to disappoint; whether it was through misunderstanding the rules of the sport, an argument with another sportscaster, or some other reason. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/53 "2019-07-01T05:13:35Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I agree with **jaycat** with regard to the colorful characters in sports back in the day. > > Even more, though, was the fact that Cosell became The Guy You Always Watched Because You Hated Him. I recall watching Monday Night Football every week, because even though Cosell was irritating, you wanted to keep watching so he’d give you more reasons to hate him. He never failed to disappoint; whether it was through misunderstanding the rules of the sport, an argument with another sportscaster, or some other reason. Cosell never misunderstood the rules of the game. He was a Yale educated lawyer. People disliked him because he was an articulate Jewish New Yorker who completely went against the sportscaster stereotype. His positions on player rights and corruption in boxing were not popular in his day but became accepted in later times. He was well ahead of his time. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/54 "2019-07-01T07:14:58Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Cosell never misunderstood the rules of the game. He was a Yale educated lawyer. People disliked him because he was an articulate Jewish New Yorker who completely went against the sportscaster stereotype. His positions on player rights and corruption in boxing were not popular in his day but became accepted in later times. He was well ahead of his time. Didn’t know he had kids. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/55 "2019-07-01T08:07:43Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > He was a Yale educated lawyer. Cosell earned his degree from New York University. > [@TonySinclair](#): > > Didn’t know he had kids. His daughter Hillary has followed his legacy by becoming a sports producer and a writer. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/56 "2019-07-01T12:35:30Z")
I’m the type who normally roots for villains anyway, and Cosell was definitely the dark lord of announcers. I liked his chemistry on MNF with Frank Gifford and Dandy Don Meredith. Giff would be as neutral as Switzerland while Cosell and Meredith would be exact opposites: erudite vs folksy, serious vs droll, academic vs hands-on. I remember one game where a ball carrier evaded all the tacklers and effortlessly strode into the endzone. Meredith said “He was tip toein’ through the tulips!” Cosell said “Ah yes, Nick Murphy and his six-string guitar.” Meredith replied “I was thinking of Tiny Tim myself.” In another game, both teams were scoring huge. The final turned out to be something like 56-49, and Cosell was ecstatic. “Without any doubt or uncertainty whatsoever, this has been the greatest game of Monday Night Football ever presented. Wouldn’t you agree Giff?” Giff, never showing any bias in his playcalling, replied “Uhhhh, without a doubt, it’s what one can expect from Monday Night Football.” I could just listen to them, not watch the game, and be just as entertained. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/57 "2019-07-01T13:26:07Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > People disliked him because he was an articulate Jewish New Yorker who completely went against the sportscaster stereotype. Yanno, it was possible to think he was an arrogant ass who was both ignorant and apathetic about most of the sports he tried to announce \*without \*being anti-Semitic or anti-intellectual. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/58 "2019-07-01T21:23:03Z")
Youtube has a really great set of clips showing Ali’s & Cosell’s time together. It kind of hit me in the feels there at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/59 "2019-07-05T12:40:01Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > He annoyed the crap out of me. Not only did he have a fingers-on-the chalkboard voice, he was smug, sanctimonious, patronizing and loquacious. Well yes…but he made a picturesque figure when he was out walking his pet rat. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013/60 "2019-07-08T00:17:32Z")
I’ll never forget a home-made bedsheet banner they showed on a Monday Night Football game that said, “Will Rogers Never Met Howard Cosell!” Hilarious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-think-of-howard-cosell/836013.md?page=2)