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Sen. Thomas [R-WY]: Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and memory of Curtis Edward Gowdy. Sadly, Curt passed away on February 20, at the age of 86. Curt was born...

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Sen. Craig Thomas [R-WY]: Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and memory of Curtis Edward Gowdy. Sadly, Curt passed away on February 20, at the age of 86.

Curt was born on July 31, 1919, in Green River, WY. Curt's passion for sports began early in life. He grew up in Laramie, WY, hunting and fishing in some of America's most beautiful country. When Curt began playing basketball in high school, he became Wyoming's leading high school scorer, standing only 5 feet 9 inches tall. After high school graduation, Curt enrolled at the University of Wyoming, where he played as a forward on the Cowboy basketball team, earning three varsity letters. He also lettered three times in tennis before graduating from the University in 1942 with a degree in business statistics.

With college behind him, Curt joined the Army Air Forces to serve his country as a fighter pilot in World War II. However, a ruptured disk from an earlier sports injury disqualified him from service, and he was medically discharged. While recuperating from a spinal operation in Cheyenne, a radio station asked him to announce for the eastern Wyoming high school football championship game in November of 1943. And so began the career of one of the greatest play-by-play sports announcers our country has ever known.

Soon after covering the Wyoming high school football championship, Curt was hired by a CBS radio affiliate in Oklahoma City to call University of Oklahoma football games. In 1949, he joined Mel Allen to broadcast New York Yankee games, and 2 years later, he became the No. 1 broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox. He remained the radio voice of the Red Sox for 15 years. As Dick Vitale stated, "Gowdy had a love affair with the microphone and his fans had a love affair with him." During this time, Curt also began television broadcasting, covering college and American Football League games in addition to baseball.

When NBC picked up the AFL games in 1966, Curt Gowdy became the leading personality of NBC Sports. He covered World Series, Super Bowls, NCAA final four championships, Olympic Games and somehow found time for his "Game of the Week" broadcast. Curt also remained the host and producer of ABC's "The American Sportsman" for nearly 20 years.

In later years, Curt was the host and producer of the public television series, "The Way It Was," reminiscing of great games with a panel of players who had participated in them. Gowdy also provided historic commentary for the HBO Sports program "Inside the NFL." In 2003, Gowdy returned to Fenway Park to call a Red Sox game against the Yankees as part of an ESPN promotion that brought back great broadcasters. He also coauthored two books, "Cowboy at the Mike" and "Seasons to Remember: The Way It Was in American Sports."

For his outstanding work, Curt was recognized in many ways. In 1970, he was the first sportscaster to be awarded the Peabody Award for Outstanding Journalistic Achievement. He was named the National Sportscaster of the Year seven times, and he received several Emmy awards for his work in television, including a lifetime achievement Emmy in 1992.

Curt was also inducted into numerous sports halls of fame. These include the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame, the International Fishing Hall of Fame, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, the Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame, the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame, and the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1993, he received the Pro Football Hall of Fame Pete Rozelle Award for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football. In addition, the Basketball Hall of Fame media award was named in honor of Curt, who served as president of the Basketball Hall of Fame for seven consecutive 1-year terms.

Wyoming swells with pride for our native son. Our State declared March 27, 1972, "Curt Gowdy Day," and held a large celebration in his honor. During the festivities, the University of Wyoming awarded Curt an honorary law degree, and the State named an 11,000-acre State park after him. Most recently, Curt was selected as a Wyoming Citizen of the Century Sports Finalist.

Mr. President, Curt made a point to get back to his home State regularly. He once referred to Wyoming fondly as the place "where I grew up with a fly rod in one hand and, a little later, a radio mike in the other." Those of us who had the pleasure of knowing Curt remember him that way. He will be sorely missed.