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It Happened!: A Uniquely Lucky Life in Sports Television

2025

Synopsis

Jim Lampley’s story is a 50-year travelog of an unlikely career that catalogs the evolution of sports television—from his emergence as the first sideline reporter, through hosting and covering 14 Olympics, to working with all major sports networks.

It Happened! charts Jim’s notable career, with highlights including:

Becoming the first live reporter on the sideline of a nationally televised college football game.

Following in the footsteps of Jim McKay as host on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and Howard Cosell as halftime host for ABC’s Monday Night Football.

Partnering with ABC, CBS, NBC, Turner, and HBO.

Ascending to host of HBO’s Wimbledon weekday telecasts.

Reaching “icon” status as the 30-year face and voice of HBO World Championship Boxing.

Learn how Jim’s brilliance as an announcer and his revolutionary nature led to innovations in sportscasting, three sports Emmys, and induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Personal anecdotes and hard-earned lessons combine as Jim digs deep and shares celebrity stories from the upper echelons of superstar athletes and Hollywood hotshots, but also offers an introspective look at his personal life and trials. It Happened! tells it all.

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