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Geoffrey Mason, who had a 50-year career in sports television and was best known as the coordinating producer of ABC’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, has died. He is 85 years old.
ESPN mason died sunday Naples, Florida. He died of natural causes, according to his family.
“Jeff was a great visionary in television who never sought credit. He preferred to lead and mentor teams, connect people to projects, and work on people and recovery of all kinds. He was a great teacher and mentor to everyone who came into his orbit,” said former ESPN President Steve Bernstein.
During his career, Mason competed in eight Olympic Games. He was a young producer in his control room in Munich, Germany, on September 5, 1972, when the Palestinian armed group Black September attacked the Olympic Village and abducted members of the Israeli Olympic team.
ABC Providing 22 hours of continuous coverage, the rescue effort ultimately failed, resulting in the deaths of six Israeli coaches and five athletes. Jim McKay broke the news: “They’re all gone.”
Mason is a consultant on all aspects of the script and production of the 2024 feature film September 5th, which recreates the day in the ABC control room. The Munich International Broadcast Center is 100 meters away from the Olympic Village hostage crisis.
The film recreates the moment West German police burst into the control room and pointed a gun in Mason’s face. This happened as an ABC camera showed a tactical team taking up position on the roof above the hostages. Mason eventually cut off the camera feed.
It is estimated that nearly 900 million people around the world have watched ABC’s coverage at some point.
“Jeff told me that day that they didn’t have a chance to think. Their only goal was to stay on the air, keep the story going and do their job as a sports broadcaster,” said John Magaro, who plays Mason in 2025. “Once the clock started ticking, there was no chance to think.”
Mason has spent his career primarily at ABC and ESPN, but he has also worked for NBC, Fox, NFL Network and other television entities. In 1967, he began working as a production assistant at ABC Sports, where he worked on “Wide World of Sports” and the 1968 Winter and Summer Olympics. Over the years, he has won 24 Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.
He also worked on Super Bowl XXV, “Monday Night Football,” the World Series, horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500 and the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup Championships.
He is also known for his coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup in Fremantle, Australia.
“Jeff Mason is a friend and colleague who has had a storied career that has touched nearly every corner of the sports television industry,” said CEO Bob Iger. walt disney companyowns ABC and ESPN. “He has a passion for this industry, which is reflected in his excellent work ethic and the continued love and enthusiasm he brings to everything he does.
Mason was selected as a founding board member of the V Cancer Research Foundation by Jim Valvano and a long-time board member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. In 2011, he delivered the eulogy at Betty Ford’s funeral.
Mason was a U.S. Navy veteran and graduated from Duke University in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Survivors include wife Chris, son Jeff Jr. and brother David.
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AP Film Writer Jack Coyle contributed to this report.
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AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports