Top TV Moments: Howard Cosell

Howard Cosell occupies a unique place in the Comfort TV era.

As a sportscaster he was both revered and reviled enough to transcend almost any event he covered. Cosell’s enthusiastic fan base appreciated his no-nonsense candor and rebukes of corrupt institutions. But there were also those who couldn’t stand his big ego and oft-mocked hair, and would change the channel to avoid even a moment in his company. 

Hmmm…sounds like a certain Commander in Chief.

In the pre-cable era, before ESPN turned many sportscasters into household names, Cosell’s was the voice associated with any sporting match of significance that aired on ABC, from The Olympics to the World Series to championship boxing, as well as the famed “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King.

He reached the pinnacle of his profession but remained a deeply insecure man who may have wished to be liked as much as he was respected. That might explain his forays into other types of television, from sitcoms to variety shows to a series of celebrity competitions that are as beloved by this blog as any 1970s TV classic.

Monday Night Football (1970-1983)

If you’re looking for the moment when football began to surpass baseball as America’s national pastime, this is it. These weekly primetime games were appointment TV in homes and bars across the country, especially during the years when the broadcast booth was manned by Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith. At halftime, Cosell’s narration of Sunday game highlights set a standard that would be emulated by everyone from George Michael to Chris Berman. 

The Partridge Family (1971)

What would any 1970s sitcom be without an ecology episode? “Whatever Happened to Moby Dick?” finds the Partridges singing to save the whales at Marineland. 

When a legal snafu threatens the project, Howard Cosell steps in to help Shirley and her family save the day. It seems like an odd assignment for a famed sportscaster; perhaps ABC figured a little extra star power would help this atypical episode. 

Nanny and the Professor (1971)

What’s odd about “Sunday’s Hero” is that, for the first and only time in a situation comedy, Howard Cosell plays a character other than himself. Here he’s Miles Taylor, a colleague of Professor Everett who arranges a pick-up football game between the faculty and some local college and high school students. 

Fol-de-Rol (1972)

This pilot for a prime-time series from Sid & Marty Krofft is a fascinating failure. Set at a Renaissance-style “pleasure fair,” Fol-de-Rol featured such stars as Rick Nelson, Cyd Charisse, Ann Sothern, Totie Fields and Mickey Rooney interacting with various Krofft plush creations. Cosell appears in a skit about Noah’s ark, in which he describes the journey of “a good little man against a good big storm,” and interviews passengers like “Mr. Lion” and “Mr. Pelican” while a chorus jams to George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.” You can understand why the show aired once and disappeared, but like any Krofft project it has wonderful music and captivating moments amidst the slapstick and cornball jokes. If you watch it on YouTube, don’t blame me if the opening theme gets stuck in your head for days.

The Odd Couple (1972)

This is the best of Howard Cosell’s sitcom appearances, since the show’s premise lent itself naturally to a guest spot from a renowned sportscaster. “Big Mouth” put Oscar Madison into the Monday Night Football booth next to Cosell, where their long-simmering feud continues during the game. Like many print journalists, Oscar finds the transition to TV difficult, and freezes on the air. “There’s nothing wrong with your television sets, ladies and gentleman,” Cosell says during one of those moments, “It's just Oscar Madison telling you all he knows about football.”

Frank Sinatra – The Main Event ­(1974)

After retiring from the concert stage in 1970, Frank Sinatra made a triumphant return with this live performance from New York’s Madison Square Garden. Howard Cosell’s (allegedly) ad-libbed introduction of Sinatra – which runs nearly three minutes – is nearly as famous as the show itself. Near its climax, Cosell’s voice battles Woody Herman’s orchestra for aural supremacy and doesn’t give any ground. 

Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell (1975)

With eclectic lineups of actors, comedians, musicians, politicians and sports stars, some beamed in via satellite from remote corners of the world long before that became commonplace, this variety series was an ambitious experiment that would probably be more interesting to watch now than it was back in 1975. How could any show be boring with Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Roberta Peters and Evel Knievel? Even the segments that bombed back then would fun to watch, like a singing duet featuring Cosell and Barbara Walters. I want this on DVD now. 

Battle of the Network Stars (1976-1988)

Cosell hosted 18 of the 19 Battle shows, in which he was happily paired with such lovely cohosts as Suzanne Somers, Erin Gray, Donna Mills and Morgan Fairchild. No wonder he kept coming back. Sports purist that he was, this might have seemed like an uncomfortable match at first, but he clearly enjoy his semi-annual visits to Pepperdine University, being kissed by the pretty starlets and teasing Gabe Kaplan on his inability to keep a kayak straight. He also genuinely admired the effort and joy of competition put forth by the actors, having already become jaded by the attitudes of many professional athletes. 

The Carpenters First Television Special (1976)

Unfortunately, we don’t get to hear Howard sing with Karen as he did with Barbara Walters. Instead, he’s calling the action from Riverside Raceway, where Richard Carpenter matches his skills against professional drivers Al Unser and Danny Ongias. Not exactly what fans of the duo’s music hoped to see. Thankfully, the rest of the special is wonderful.

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

In “The Mystery of the Solid Gold Kicker,” college football star Chip Garvey (Mark Harmon) is framed for murder and then blackmailed by gamblers. Thankfully, Nancy Drew is on the case. Howard Cosell’s appearances here are restricted to the broadcast booth, where his fervent play-calling adds authenticity to the big-game atmosphere, but it would have been more fun if he had interacted with Nancy and the other characters. At least he finally met Harmon while celebrating the actor’s remarkable obstacle course runs on The Battle of the Network Stars.