“September 5” is a new film from our sister company, Paramount, about the television coverage of the famous Palestinian terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics. We have reflections on that day from Sean McManus, who until ‘until recently ran CBS Sports and, before that, CBS News. But in 1972, he was just a teenager in Munich, watching his famous father, ABC sportscaster Jim McKay, relay the terrible news to the world…
In September 1972, I was in high school and my mother, sister and I accompanied my father to the 1972 Munich Olympics. The organizing committee was trying to erase the memory of the 1936 Olympics overseen by Adolf Hitler. None of the security guards carried weapons and they all wore light blue suits, making it a “calm Olympics.”
The start of the Games was spectacular, with stars like Olga Korbut and Mark Spitz.
Then, in the early morning hours of September 5, everything went horribly wrong.
The ABC sports team heard gunshots coming from the Olympic Village. My father was summoned from the pool where he was swimming laps. He sat in the anchor’s chair and for the next 15 hours covered the first ever terrorist attack live on television.
McKay: “Arab terrorists, armed with machine guns, went to the Israeli team’s headquarters and immediately killed one man. They have since held 14 others hostage.”
I joined my father in the studio and was by his side until the early morning.
The professionalism of the men and women of ABC Sports was remarkable as they took on the most horrific circumstances and presented them to a live audience of more than 900 million people.
Around 3:30 a.m. my father was having a conversation with Peter Jennings and [sports commentator] Chris Schenkel. And you could tell he had received news through his earpiece.
ABC Sports
He looked at Peter and said, “You know, my father used to say that our greatest hopes and worst fears rarely come true.” Well, our worst fears came true tonight. They now said there were 11 Israeli hostages; two were killed in their bedroom. Nine were killed at the airport this evening. They are all gone.
We returned home early in the morning. My father asked for his key at reception. The concierge gave him a telegram. We read it together. “Jim, you were superb yesterday. You and your industry have reason to be proud. Congratulations, Walter Cronkite.”
I get emotional when I talk about it, because my father, in that moment, was the perfect combination of objectivity, professionalism and, perhaps most of all, humanity.
To watch a trailer for “September 5,” click on the video player below:
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Story by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Ed Givnish.
