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 hurling, rodeo, curling, jai-alai, firefighter's competitions, wrist wrestling, powerlifting, surfing, logger sports, demolition derby, slow pitch softball, barrel jumping, and badminton. NASCAR 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 American television program to air coverage of – among events – Wimbledon (1961), the Indianapolis 500 (highlights starting in 1961; a longer-form version in 1965), the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship (1962), the Daytona 500 (1962), the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1962), the Monaco Grand Prix (1962), the Little League World Series (1961), The British Open Golf Tournament (1961), the X-Games (1994) and the Grey Cup (1962).
1960s
1961 DayEventApril 29The first edition of WWOS Penn Relays from Franklin Field in Philadelphia Drake Relays from Des Moines, Iowa.May 6Oklahoma vs Syracuse football gameMay 13PBA World Championship from Paramus, New JerseyMay 20FA Cup Soccer Final from London. May 27Indianapolis 500 Time Trials.June 3World Championship tennis from Mexico CityJune 10Canada Cup Golf ChampionshipJune 17Le Mans Grand PrixJune 24 & July 1National AAU Track & Field Championships.July 8Firecracker 250 stock car race, Masters Water-Skiing TournamentJuly 15National Gymnastics ChampionshipsJuly 22USA-USSR Track & Field Meet in Moscow. July 29Japanese All-Star baseballAugust 5Frontier Days rodeo from CheyenneAugust 12Women's AAU Swimming and Diving Championships from Philadelphia.August 19Arnold Palmer vs. Gary Player golf matchAugust 26Men's AAU Swimming and Diving Championships.September 2World Water Ski ChampionshipsSeptember 9American Football League Opening Game: San Diego at Dallas
1962 DayEventJanuary 7AFL All-Star GameJanuary 14World Barrel Jumping Championships January 21Water-Skiing championships from AcapulcoJanuary 28Oregon Invitational Indoor Track MeetFebruary 4National Ski Jumping ChampionshipsFebruary 11Los Angeles Invitational from the 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 18Bob-sledding championships from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and men's finals in surfing.February 25First coverage of the NASCAR 500 Stock Car Championship from Daytona Beach, FloridaMarch 4 and 11World Skiing Games from Chamonix, FranceMarch 25NCAA Basketball Championship: Cincinnati – Ohio State from Louisville.April 1World Figure Skating Championships for the first time from Prague, Czechoslovakia.April 14Grand National Steeplechase from Aintree. June 10Grand Prix of Monaco.July 1Masters Water Ski TournamentJuly 15British Open from Troon, Scotland.September 15 & 22America's Cup from Newport, R.I.
1963 DayEventJanuary 19Jim Beatty receives the first Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year Award.February 2World Bobsled Championships from Innsbruck, Austria. March 16New England Invitational Dog Sled Race.March 24Men's Indoor National AAU Swimming & Diving Championships, Yale University, New Haven, Conn March 30Holmenkollen Ski Jumping Championship from Oslo, Norway.May 11Pan American Games from São Paulo, Brazil. May 18Trout Fishing Expedition from Argentina.June 9Grand Prix of Monaco.July 6First Wide World of Sports broadcast of Wimbledon.August 17USA-USSR Track & Field Meet.August 24The first broadcast of the Little League World Series from Williamsport, Pa.September 221963 Italian Grand Prix, Jim Clark won the Italian Grand Prix and his first titleDecember 28Davis Cup final between the United States and Australia from Adelaide, Australia.
1964 DayEventJanuary 4The World Barrel Jumping Championship from Grossinger, New York and the Orange Bowl Regatta from Miami, FloridaJanuary 11The International Ski Jumping Championship from Innsbruck, Austria and the International Surfing Championships from Makaha Beach in HawaiiJanuary 18Peggy 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 25World Cyclo Ball Championship from Basel, Switzerland.February 1Championship Tarpon Fishing from Big Pine Key, Florida and National Ice Boat Racing from Green Lake, WisconsinFebruary 8The finals of the Fort Worth RodeoFebruary 15The New York Athletic Club indoor track meetApril 11Challenger Cassius Clay, soon to adopt the Muslim name of Muhammad Ali, knocks out champion Sonny Liston in the seventh round in Miami Beach, FloridaMay 16A group of climbers, three Frenchmen and one Englishman, climb the northwest tower of the Eiffel Tower.May 30U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials. June 27Interview with Jim Bunning after his perfect game against the New York Mets.July 11British Open from St. Andrews.July 25Vera Čáslavska wins the all-around in a USA-Czechoslovakia dual meet. August 15U.S. National Swimming Championships in Los Altos, CaliforniaAugust 22All-American Soap Box Derby broadcast from Akron, Ohio.August 29Little League World Series.September 61964 Italian Grand Prix, John Surtees won the Italian Grand Prix from Bruce McLaren September 26Oklahoma Live Rattlesnake Hunt.November 21National 100 in Sacramento.
1965 DayEvent Commentators ReportersMarch 13International Toboggan Championship, better known as the Cresta Run, from St. Moritz, Switzerland.March 20American Internationals features the first appearance by Jean-Claude Killy on WWOS.March 27 Live coverage of the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring Charlie Brockman Phil Hill Chris Economaki Les KeiterApril 10In addition to the U.S. National Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, the show featured Robert F. Kennedy's ascent of Mt. Kennedy in Canada, to place the family flag atop the mountain named in honor of his brother, and a segment on the Houston Astrodome with Roger Maris trying to hit the roof of the stadium.April 17NCAA Wrestling Championships. May 29The rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston from Lewiston, Maine.May 30 Grand Prix of Monaco. Jim McKay Phil HillJune 5First 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 EconomakiJuly 24Coverage of the Matterhorn Climb from Zermatt, Switzerland.August 1USA-USSR Track & Field Meet, live from the Soviet Union.August 71965 German Grand Prix Jim Clark showed everyone by winning the race and the drivers championship.September 11Southern 500 stock car race. Jim McKay Rodger Ward
1966 DayEventJanuary 1Horse racing on Ice from St. Moritz becomes the first Wide World of Sports segment in color.February 26European Cup basketball from Milan, Italy.April 2Muhammad Ali defeats George Chuvalo in a 15-round decision to retain his World Heavyweight Championship in Toronto, Canada. 1966 12 Hours of SebringApril 9AAU Indoor Swimming & Diving Championships.May 7Willie Mays hits his 512th home run, breaking the all-time National League record.May 21Muhammad Ali retains his World Heavyweight Championship title with a sixth-round TKO of Henry Cooper in London.June 18Live coverage of Le Mans Grand Prix Charlie Brockman Phil Hill Chris EconomakiJuly 30Jim Ryun sets his first world mile record in Berkeley at the age of 19, breaking the previous mark by 2.3 seconds.September 10Muhammad Ali defeats Karl Mildenberger in a heavyweight title defense, live from Frankfurt, West Germany with a 12th-round TKO.October 8International Figure Skating Revue in Berlin. November 26Muhammad Ali defends his world heavyweight title for the sixth time in 1966 on Wide World of Sports against Cleveland Williams.December 24World Alpine Ski Championships from Portillo, Chile.December 31Grand Prix of America.
1967 Day Events Commentary ReportersJanuary 28Joie Chitwood's Auto Thrill Show from N.Y.February 11Muhammad Ali unifies his World Heavyweight Championship against Ernie Terrell in Houston, Texas.March 4World Figure Skating Championships in Vienna, Austria.March 11Interview with Muhammad Ali and Wilt Chamberlain.March 25Evel Knievel debuts on Wide World of Sports by clearing 15 cars as a filler act during motorcycle races in Gardena, CaliforniaApril 8AAU Indoor Championships in Dallas.April 22London 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 HillMay 20Mickey Mantle hits his 500th home run.May 27English Rugby League Cup Final.June 3British 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 EconomakiJune 24National AAU Track & Field Championships in 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 EconomakiJuly 29 & August 5Pan American Games from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1968 DayEventJanuary 27Wide World of Sports first journey to the village of Kitzbühel for 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 Robert Kennedy's 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 DayEventJanuary 4Hula Bowl in HawaiiJanuary 11Mexican 1000 Cross Country Road Racing Championships.February 8U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Seattle.March 1World Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo.March 29NCAA Swimming Championships.May 3Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.June 7Indianapolis 500.June 28World 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 WaldheimJuly 26Vince Lombardi's first day of training camp with the Washington Redskins.August 23Little League World Series.October 18Lew Alcindor makes his pro debut with the Milwaukee Bucks.
1970s 1970