Howard Cosell

Howard Cosell (1918–1995) was an American sports journalist. Beginning his career with ABC radio, Cosell rose to fame covering boxer Muhammad Ali while he was still fighting under the name Cassius Clay, and was one of the first to accept addressing the boxer under his new Islamic name, Muhammed Ali. The duo formed a life long friendship that continued until Cosell's death.
Cosell went on to become a staple of ABC Sports, covering the Olympic Games in 1972, 1976, and 1984. While covering the 1977 World Series of baseball in Yankee Stadium, Cosell uttered the oft-repeated quote "The Bronx is burning" in response to a five alarm fire in the neighboring borough, and it was Cosell who announced for ABC News during a 1980 football game that John Lennon had died.
The shows Battle of the Network Stars and Wide World of Sports helped cement Cosell's fame in the world of entertainment and broadcasting. Trained as a lawyer and not an actor, Cosell did appear in the Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends episode "Casey at the Bat," cameoed as himself on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and hosted Saturday Night Live in 1985. He had briefly hosted a shorter lived unrelated series, Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (which predated SNL by three weeks).
==References==
* The character of Louis Kazagger is loosely inspired by Cosell, most evident in their distinct speech patterns.
* The Sesame Street character Showered Rozelle is a spoof of Cosell.
* about exercise features announcer Howard Coolsell.
* "Wide World of Sesame Street," a recurring feature in several Sesame Street episodes, includes an off-screen announcer (Martin P. Robinson) whose voice is modeled after Cosell's.
==External links==
* IMDb
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Category:Sports References
Category:Celebrity References