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On March 4th, 2011 - Armenian-American CBS Sports producer and director, Frank Chirkinian passes away at the age of 84 after suffering from lung cancer.

Straight from the man himself...

“I was probably the most innovative and brilliant son of a bitch that ever worked in television. I’ve done so damn many things I can’t remember half of them.”

Straight from Golf Coupons…

“He wasn’t a PGA Pro, but he’s headed to the Golf Hall of Fame. Too bad Frank Chirkinian did not live long enough to attend his induction ceremony this May. He would have enjoyed it. Chirkinian, died on March 4 after a battle with cancer. He didn’t play as a pro, but he influenced how we watch the game. Frank Chirkinian, “The father of televised golf,” died at the age of 84. Many of the things we take for granted today in sports coverage, and golf in particular are because of Chirkinian.

Frank produced the first PGA Championship in 1958, at Llanerch Country Club near his home in Philadelphia, and two years later the first televised Winter Olympics from Squaw Valley. He also dreamed up the idea of putting cameras on blimps to cover sports events.

But it was his work in golf that stood out, and at Augusta National in particular. He produced 38 editions of the Masters for CBS, bringing the majestic fairways and greens of Augusta to fans who could only dream of seeing them in person.

Perhaps you assumed golf leaderboards always listed the golfers in relation to par. Nope. It was Frank who thought this was a good idea and introduced it to sports broadcasting in 1960. Before then, it was just aggregate score. Pretty cool that Frank’s idea will last as long as tournaments are played.”

[Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame]
[Wikipedia]