- Don McGuire
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Don McGuire is a television sports executive. He was Executive Producer at Turner Sports' TBS and TNT,[1] Raycom Sports, and The Golf Channel.
He has won multiple Emmy awards and was responsible for the startup of Raycom Sports in 1983 and the fast growth of Ted Turner's sports operations from 1987-1995.
Contents
Career
ABC Sports
McGuire started his career as an announcer on radio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was discovered by Dick Ebersol while Ebersol was at ABC Sports in 1974 and was one of three finalists for ABC's NCAA Football sideline reporter position, eventually given to Jim Lampley and Don Tollefson.
NBC Sports and Raycom Sports
McGuire joined NBC Sports in 1978, hired by Executive Producer Don Ohlmeyer to both produce and be talent on Olympic features for the 1980 Moscow Olympics[2] McGuire soon became producer of studio shows for NBC including NCAA basketball and NFL 78 and 79, hosted by Bryant Gumbel McGuire left NBC after that network lost TV right to the NCAA Basketball Championships[3] but was the Feature Producer in 1979 on the highest-rated college game ever, the Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird championship between Michigan State and Indiana State. McGuire is featured in Seth Davis' new book "When March Went Mad" about the Bird/Johnson game in 1979.
McGuire helped start Raycom Sports in 1983 producing hundreds of college football and basketball games yearly for syndication.
Turner Sports
In 1987, he was hired by Robert Wussler to be Executive Producer of TBS Sports. He was Executive Producer on the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics,[4] the 1991 Pan American Games from Havana, Cuba,[5] the 1990 World Cup from Italy and the 1994 Goodwill Games from St Petersburg Russia.
He was the executive who first hired Doug Collins, Hubie Brown, Chuck Daly, Don Sutton, Ernie Johnson, Jr, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley at TNT.
References
Categories:- Living people
- American television executives
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