“Howard Cosell: I Never Played The Game!”

January 30, 2023·23 min·2 clips

Howard Cosell defends his ego as the greatest sportscaster while being called pompous and phony.

The episode opens with host Stephen Kunis broadcasting from West Hampton Cemetery in Suffolk County, New York, where Howard Cosell is buried. He begins a mock interview with a character portrayal of Cosell by actor Frank Girard. Cosell immediately declares himself the greatest of all time and responds to questions about his pomposity with characteristic defiance. The host raises his infamous use of a racial term on air, which Cosell deflects, and notes it may have cost him his Monday Night Football position. Cosell's backstory is then traced: born Howard William Cohen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1918 to Jewish parents Nellie and Isidore Cohen, he changed his name in college to honor his grandfather. His family moved to Brooklyn when he was nine. He attended NYU for English Literature and then NYU School of Law, graduating in 1940. After World War II, where he earned the rank of major, he opened a law office. One of his first clients was Willie Mays. His involvement with the Little League of New York led to a Saturday morning radio program where children interviewed professional baseball players, which drew him into broadcasting. He describes his interview style as using an accusatory tone to put subjects off balance. His advocacy for Muhammad Ali, including being the first broadcaster to call him by his Islamic name, is discussed as both a personal stance against slavery-derived names and a contribution to Ali's legal victory in the Supreme Court. His most famous call — 'Down goes Frazier' during the 1973 Foreman-Frazier fight — is recalled as the greatest in broadcasting history. He recounts quitting boxing commentary live on air during the Holmes-Cobb fight in 1982 after concluding the match was too dangerous, which led to boxing reforms. His 12 years on Monday Night Football with Frank Gifford and Don Meredith are described dismissively, with Cosell claiming he carried the show. His memoir I Never Played the Game led to his firing from ABC. He explains the title by describing how a junior high P.E. hazing incident ended his athletic aspirations before they began. The episode also covers his wife Emmy's death after 54 years of marriage, his subsequent alcoholism, and the sparse attendance at his funeral. A caller asks about current sports, leading to jokes about women's sports and Tanya Harding. A text from comedian Billy Crystal recalls Cosell giving him his national television debut in 1975 on a short-lived ABC show also called Saturday Night Live.

As heard by us

A fake memorial interview that turns Cosell into a fast-moving roast and never lets the joke breathe.

Howard Cosell gets dragged through a fake memorial interview that turns fame, vanity, and irritation into the whole joke. Stephen Kunis keeps the questions moving, while Cosell answers with ego, insults, and enough swagger to make even the small stuff land like a fresh…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a memorial interview that turns into a full-volume roast?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Over My Dead Body