Bob Beattie | |
---|---|
Born | Robert Prime Beattie January 24, 1933 |
Died | April 1, 2018
Fruita, Colorado, U.S. | (aged 85)
Education | Middlebury College |
Occupation(s) | Sportscaster, skiing coach |
Years active | 1955–2018 |
Spouses | Cheryl Britton
(
m. 1980;
div. 1987)
|
Robert Prime Beattie [1] ( /biːˈættiː/ bee-AT-tee; [2] January 24, 1933 – April 1, 2018) was an American skiing coach, skiing promoter and commentator for ABC Sports and ESPN. He was head coach of the U.S. Ski Team from 1961 to 1969 [3] and co-founded the Alpine Skiing World Cup in 1966. His work as a ski-racing commentator for ABC included four Winter Olympic Games, from 1976 through 1988.
Beattie was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 24, 1933, [3] [4] to Robert Archibald Beattie (1904–1975), a sales manager for a roofing company, [5] and Katherine Simpson (née Prime; 1906–1995), a homemaker. [6] [2] He had a younger brother, John M. [6] He graduated from Manchester Central High School in 1950. [6] [7] He attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he participated in several sports, including football, tennis, cross country, and skiing. [3] [5] After graduating in 1955 with a degree in education, he remained at Middlebury as an assistant coach. [3]
In 1956, Beattie was named acting coach of the school's ski team after coach Bobo Sheehan left to coach the alpine skiers on the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team. [3] In 1957, Beattie became the head skiing coach for the University of Colorado in Boulder, and during his tenure the team won the NCAA national titles in 1959 and 1960. [8] [3] In 1961, the U.S. Ski Association named Beattie the U.S. Ski Team's head alpine coach. [9] [10] He continued to work concurrently for the university until 1965. [9] [11] [12]
During his coaching years, Beattie was known as a demanding coach, [13] driving his athletes hard. [3] [14] [5] At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Austria, the Beattie-coached U.S. team won two medals, both in the men's slalom: a silver earned by Billy Kidd and a bronze by Jimmie Heuga. [14] They were the country's first-ever Olympic medals in men's skiing. [3] [14] During the 1968 Winter Olympics in France, the U.S. Ski Team won no medals, and Beattie was criticized for his tough coaching style. [5] [15] [16] He stepped down as the U.S. Ski Team's coach in April 1969. [5] [17] [18]
In 1966, Beattie co-founded the World Cup for alpine skiing. [14] After stepping down as U.S. team coach in 1969, [19] he founded the World Pro Ski Tour in 1970 and worked in promoting it, [20] and became a NASTAR commissioner in 1970. [14] ABC Sports hired him as a ski-racing commentator, where he was frequently paired with Frank Gifford, a former NFL running back. Beattie's television work included alpine commentary during ABC's coverage of four Winter Olympics in 1976, 1980, 1984, [3] and 1988, [21] and also covered volleyball at the 1984 Summer Olympics. [22] He later worked as ABC's winter sports correspondent, which also involved non-alpine sports, [23] and occasionally worked as an announcer for non-winter sports on ABC's Wide World of Sports program. [24]
Beattie continued to manage the World Pro Ski Tour until 1982, [14] and started hosting ESPN skiing programs in 1985. [24]
He authored or co-authored three books, [9] including My Ten Secrets of Skiing (Viking Press, NY; 1968) [25] and Bob Beattie's Learn to Ski (Bantam Books, 1967). [26]
He also played the announcer for the arm wrestling championship in the 1987 movie Over the Top.[ citation needed]
Beattie was given the AT&T Skiing Award in 1983. [27] He was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1984. [8] He was inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1986. [9] He was the 1997 recipient of the International Ski Federation's Journalist Award. [28]
Beattie had two children, Zeno and Susan, from his first marriage to Ann Dwinnell. [4] [2] His second marriage was to Olympic skier Kiki Cutter [29] [30] and lasted from 1971 to 1973. [5] He married a third time in 1980, to Cheryl Britton, a manager of a local secondhand clothing store, [5] and that marriage lasted until 1987.[ citation needed] He was married to Marci Rose Beattie (née Cohen) [31] until his death in 2018. [2]
Beattie died on April 1, 2018, in Fruita, Colorado, from a long illness at the age of 85. [32] [4] [2]
Bob Beattie | |
---|---|
Born | Robert Prime Beattie January 24, 1933 |
Died | April 1, 2018
Fruita, Colorado, U.S. | (aged 85)
Education | Middlebury College |
Occupation(s) | Sportscaster, skiing coach |
Years active | 1955–2018 |
Spouses | Cheryl Britton
(
m. 1980;
div. 1987)
|
Robert Prime Beattie [1] ( /biːˈættiː/ bee-AT-tee; [2] January 24, 1933 – April 1, 2018) was an American skiing coach, skiing promoter and commentator for ABC Sports and ESPN. He was head coach of the U.S. Ski Team from 1961 to 1969 [3] and co-founded the Alpine Skiing World Cup in 1966. His work as a ski-racing commentator for ABC included four Winter Olympic Games, from 1976 through 1988.
Beattie was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 24, 1933, [3] [4] to Robert Archibald Beattie (1904–1975), a sales manager for a roofing company, [5] and Katherine Simpson (née Prime; 1906–1995), a homemaker. [6] [2] He had a younger brother, John M. [6] He graduated from Manchester Central High School in 1950. [6] [7] He attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he participated in several sports, including football, tennis, cross country, and skiing. [3] [5] After graduating in 1955 with a degree in education, he remained at Middlebury as an assistant coach. [3]
In 1956, Beattie was named acting coach of the school's ski team after coach Bobo Sheehan left to coach the alpine skiers on the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team. [3] In 1957, Beattie became the head skiing coach for the University of Colorado in Boulder, and during his tenure the team won the NCAA national titles in 1959 and 1960. [8] [3] In 1961, the U.S. Ski Association named Beattie the U.S. Ski Team's head alpine coach. [9] [10] He continued to work concurrently for the university until 1965. [9] [11] [12]
During his coaching years, Beattie was known as a demanding coach, [13] driving his athletes hard. [3] [14] [5] At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Austria, the Beattie-coached U.S. team won two medals, both in the men's slalom: a silver earned by Billy Kidd and a bronze by Jimmie Heuga. [14] They were the country's first-ever Olympic medals in men's skiing. [3] [14] During the 1968 Winter Olympics in France, the U.S. Ski Team won no medals, and Beattie was criticized for his tough coaching style. [5] [15] [16] He stepped down as the U.S. Ski Team's coach in April 1969. [5] [17] [18]
In 1966, Beattie co-founded the World Cup for alpine skiing. [14] After stepping down as U.S. team coach in 1969, [19] he founded the World Pro Ski Tour in 1970 and worked in promoting it, [20] and became a NASTAR commissioner in 1970. [14] ABC Sports hired him as a ski-racing commentator, where he was frequently paired with Frank Gifford, a former NFL running back. Beattie's television work included alpine commentary during ABC's coverage of four Winter Olympics in 1976, 1980, 1984, [3] and 1988, [21] and also covered volleyball at the 1984 Summer Olympics. [22] He later worked as ABC's winter sports correspondent, which also involved non-alpine sports, [23] and occasionally worked as an announcer for non-winter sports on ABC's Wide World of Sports program. [24]
Beattie continued to manage the World Pro Ski Tour until 1982, [14] and started hosting ESPN skiing programs in 1985. [24]
He authored or co-authored three books, [9] including My Ten Secrets of Skiing (Viking Press, NY; 1968) [25] and Bob Beattie's Learn to Ski (Bantam Books, 1967). [26]
He also played the announcer for the arm wrestling championship in the 1987 movie Over the Top.[ citation needed]
Beattie was given the AT&T Skiing Award in 1983. [27] He was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1984. [8] He was inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1986. [9] He was the 1997 recipient of the International Ski Federation's Journalist Award. [28]
Beattie had two children, Zeno and Susan, from his first marriage to Ann Dwinnell. [4] [2] His second marriage was to Olympic skier Kiki Cutter [29] [30] and lasted from 1971 to 1973. [5] He married a third time in 1980, to Cheryl Britton, a manager of a local secondhand clothing store, [5] and that marriage lasted until 1987.[ citation needed] He was married to Marci Rose Beattie (née Cohen) [31] until his death in 2018. [2]
Beattie died on April 1, 2018, in Fruita, Colorado, from a long illness at the age of 85. [32] [4] [2]