"They're all gone": The tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics
"September 5" is a new movie from our sister company, Paramount, about television coverage of the notorious Palestinian terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics. We have thoughts about that day from Sean McManus, who, until recently, led CBS Sports and, before that, CBS News. But back 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 of 1972, I was a senior in high school, and my mother, sister and I accompanied my dad to the 1972 Munich Olympics. The organizing committee was trying to help erase the memory of the 1936 Olympics overseen by Adolf Hitler. None of the security guards carried guns, and they all wore light blue suits, making this the "serene Olympics."
The beginning of the Games was spectacular, featuring such stars as Olga Korbut and Mark Spitz.
Then, in the early morning hours of September 5th, it all went horribly, horribly wrong.
The ABC sports crew heard gunshots coming from the Olympic Village. My dad was summoned from the swimming pool where he was doing laps. He sat in the anchor chair, and for the next 15 hours covered the first-ever live terrorism attack on television.
McKay: "Arab terrorists, armed with submachine guns, went to the headquarters of the Israeli team and immediately killed one man. They've been holding 14 others hostages since then."
I joined my dad in the studio and was by his side until the early morning hours.
The professionalism of the men and women of ABC Sports was remarkable, as they were dealing with the most horrible of circumstances and presenting it to a live audience of over 900 million people.
At approximately 3:30 in the morning, my dad was having a conversation with Peter Jennings and [sports commentator] Chris Schenkel. And you could tell he had gotten some news through his earpiece.
He looked at Peter and he said, "You know, my dad used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Well, our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were 11 Israeli hostages; two were killed in their rooms. Nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone."
We drove home in the early morning hours. My dad asked for his key at the front desk. The concierge handed 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 that, because my dad at that very moment was the perfect combination of objectivity, professionalism and – maybe most of all – humanity.
To watch a trailer for "September 5" click on the video player below:
For more info:
- "September 5" opens in theaters December 13
Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Ed Givnish.
