Geoffrey Mason (producer)

Geoffrey Mason (born 1940) is an American television sports producer. He worked as a produced for seven Olympics Games, six Soccer World Cups and a Super Bowl but is most known for being the producer coordinating ABC's coverage on the day of the Munich Massacre in 1972.[1] In 2010 he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.[2]

Originally from Marblehead, Massachusetts[3] he served in the Navy and attended Duke University. His career in sports began as a yacht racing correspondent for the Boston Herald he then went to work as a production assistant at ABC Sports. He spent the next five decades working in sports broadcasting at ABC, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and the NFL Network.[2]

He was the producer in charge at ABC sports on the day of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics. The team from ABC Sports there to cover the games instead pivoted to providing live coverage of the terrorist attack as it unfolded. Broadcasting live images of the event that were watched by hundreds of millions around the world. He was portrayed by John Magaro in the film September 5[1] a film Mason served as a consultant on.[3]

Other events he served as producer for were the hours long 1980 match at Wimbledon, and the day a World Series game was interrupted by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[1]

In 1983 he took a leave from NBC sports to and checked into the Betty Ford Clinic suffering from alcoholism. He later served as a board member for the Clinic for seventeen years[2] and spoke at the 2011 funeral of Betty Ford as a representative of the clinic.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Zeitchik, Steven (2024-11-18). "This Is The Man Who Basically Invented Livestreaming – in 1972". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  2. ^ a b c "Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame". Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. 2025-07-06. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  3. ^ a b Levy, Dustin B (2025-02-13). "'September 5': Naples' Geoffrey Mason key figure in Munich Olympics hostage crisis movie". Naples Daily News. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  4. ^ Landsberg, Mitchell (2011-07-13). "Betty Ford's courage and commitment are praised". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
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