WLKY Sports Director Fred Cowgill retires after 38 years

THIS IS WLKY SPORTS. UH, TONIGHT WE’RE ENDING WITH A SPECIAL SPORTS CAST AS FRED WRAPS UP AN INCREDIBLE CAREER. 38 YEARS HERE AT WLKY. YEAH. FRED, WE WANT TO PRESENT TO YOU ON BEHALF OF THE LOUISVILLE MAYOR’S OFFICE, THIS OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION TODAY IS FRED COWGILL DAY. THAT’S RIGHT. METRO CRAIG GREENBERG, MAYOR. GREETINGS TO ALL WHOM THIS PRESENTS SHALL COME. KNOW YE THAT MAY 24TH, 2024 IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. FRED COWGILL DAY. HOW COOL IS THAT? JUST KNOW THIS IS A TOUGH ON US. IS IT FOR YOU, BUDDY? THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU TO THE STATION TO FRED. WE ALSO WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU, OUR VIEWERS, WITH YOU A SPECIAL LOOK BACK AT YOUR CAREER HERE AT WLKY. HERE’S KENT TAYLOR WAKE UP SPORTS FANS. DAD. WOW. ALL AWESOME. HELLO EVERYBODY. FRED COWGILL. HELLO AGAIN EVERYBODY. HEY, RICK. HEY, VIC AND HELLO AGAIN EVERYBODY. HELLO AGAIN EVERYBODY. IT’S A TRADEMARK OPENING LINE, A FAMILIAR GREETING FOR GENERATIONS OF LOUISVILLE SPORTS FANS. RALPH FREDERICK COWGILL CAME TO WLKY AFTER GROWING UP WITH A BAD HAIRCUT IN SUBURBAN NEW YORK CITY. HIS TV CAREER STARTED AT CNN, AND RIGHT NOW IN THE STUDIO IS WITH US. THE OWNER OF THE ATLANTA BRAVES AND ALSO CABLE NEWS NETWORK TED TURNER, AND EVENTUALLY BROUGHT HIM TO WLKY SLOGAN. EVERYBODY IN ALMOST FOUR DECADES AS THE SPORTS DIRECTOR AT THIS STATION, FRED HAS DONE IT ALL. I’M LAID, DONE IT. BUILDING HIS NAME WITH A FRANCHISE CALLED I CHALLENGE FRED AND THE WINNING FRED IS. YOU LOST THE CHALLENGE DROP. GIVE ME 50. SO. YES, SIR. OH. NICE CHALLENGE. PUSHY GUY. GET IT? PUSHY. PUSHY GUY. NICE HANDICAPPING. SON. YOU DID A GOOD JOB OF THAT. I’M LUCKY THOUGH. I MEAN, I CAME FROM DEAD LAST IN THE LAST RACE TO GET YOU. I MEAN, I THOUGHT I WAS DEAD. I THOUGHT I THOUGHT I HAD YOU. HE COVERED IT ALL FROM THE US WIN AND THE RYDER CUP AT VALHALLA IN 2008. HE PUT INTO WORDS WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW? CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? ALL THOSE PEOPLE CHEERING IT’S A YOU CAN’T PUT INTO WORDS. IT’S UNBELIEVABLE TO AMERICAN PHAROAH’S TRIPLE CROWN WIN IN 2015. WELCOME TO BELMONT PARK IN NEW YORK CITY, WHERE JUNE THE 6TH, 2015 WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE GREAT DATES IN SPORTS HISTORY, AND HIS PASSION FOR THE JOB WAS EVIDENT, AS WAS HIS PASSION FOR PROVIDING A FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE SPORTSCASTERS. HUNDREDS OF FRED’S FORMER INTERNS HAVE MADE A CAREER OUT OF THIS BUSINESS. A LASTING LEGACY IS DEFINED AS THE POSITIVE IMPACT YOUR LIFE HAS ON OTHER PEOPLE. WELL MISSION ACCOMPLISHED MY FRIEND. JOB WELL DONE. WHY CAN’T WE SAY HELLO EVERYBODY, TIME FOR ONE LAST SIGNATURE WAVE. I’M OUT OF HERE. LET HIM AT HIS NEXT. SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON THE BLITZ. BYE BYE EVERYBODY. MORE PEOPLE GET THEIR NEWS FROM WLKY THAN FROM ANY OTHER LOUISVILLE TELEVISION STATION. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. I CAN’T BELIEVE THERE’S STUFF IN THERE WE HAVEN’T SEEN THAT’S GREAT. LOOK WHO JOINED US ON HIS DAY OFF. WELCOME J. THANK YOU TO BE HERE I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I WAS NOT GOING TO MISS THIS DAY, BUDDY. YOU’RE OFF TODAY. COME ON. HEY, HEY. THIS IS. AND HE BROUGHT A CAKE. I BROUGHT A CAKE. CONGRATULATIONS, FRED. WE CAN ALL DIVE IN AFTER THE NEWSCAST. I’M HUNGRY. LET’S GO. MY FRIEND. IT’S BEEN AN HONOR. I LOVE YOU. YEAH, IT HAS BEEN TOUGH FAMILY. YOU’RE A FRIEND. THANK YOU. 35 YEARS AGO, YOU AND I WERE IN SPORTS DEPARTMENT, MAN. YES, SIR. THIS IS TOUGH. GOING TO MISS YOU 28 YEARS. WE HAVE. THE FOUR OF US HAVE BEEN TOGETHER. WHAT A RIDE. THIS IS EVERY DAY. I MEAN, LOCAL TV THAT IS UNHEARD OF. GOOD FRIENDS. IT’S BEEN GREAT. IT GOES BEYOND ONE DIMENSIONAL TO SAY THE LEAST. I GUESS I’M SUPPOSED TO TALK NOW. YOU CAN TALK IF YOU CAN TALK NOW. OKAY. HI. AND SO IT HAS COME TO THIS. HELLO AGAIN. EVERYBODY ROUGH ESTIMATES SAY I’VE DONE THIS 30,000 TIMES. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME INTO YOUR HOMES FOR ALMOST 38 YEARS. KENT TAYLOR OFFICIALLY TAKES OVER AS SPORTS DIRECTOR MONDAY. HE IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, ONE OF THE BEST SPORTSCASTERS I KNOW AND AN EVEN BETTER MAN. YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS. THIS AIN’T EASY IN MY STAY HERE, I’VE GOTTEN TO MEET AND COVER AMAZING ATHLETES, TRAVEL FROM LOS ANGELES TO MY HOME STATE OF NEW YORK, AND EVERY PLACE IN BETWEEN COVERED FIVE NATIONAL COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS, 38 KENTUCKY DERBIES, 12 BREEDERS CUPS, TWO TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS, FOUR PGA’S AND A US RYDER CUP WIN. VICKI, RICK AND JAY AND I HAVE BEEN TOGETHER 28 YEARS, A LIFETIME BY TV STANDARDS. THANK YOU. IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. THANK YOU TO ALL THE BOSSES, ALL THE COWORKERS ALL ALONG THE WAY. THIS HAS BEEN A PRICELESS, AMAZING SUCCESS STORY. IT IS DEEPLY PERSONAL. AND VERY BITTERSWEET. WHILE I’VE ALWAYS STARTED MY SPORTSCASTS WITH HELLO AGAIN EVERYBODY, I WON’T SAY THE OPPOSITE NOW. I’VE OFTEN SAID I WAS A MISPLACED LOUISVILLIAN AT BIRTH. IT TOOK ME 28 YEARS TO FIND MY WAY HOME HERE. I AIN’T GOING ANYWHERE. I AM STEPPING ASIDE, BUT I’M NOT GOING AWAY. YOU’LL SEE ME FROM TIME TO TIME. MAYBE AT A GOLF COURSE OR AROUND THE HORSES. IF YOU DO, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO SAY HI. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TRAVELED DOWN THIS PATH WITH ME. IT HAS BEEN A DREAM COME TRUE. AND TO YOU, THE VIEWERS WHO HAVE WELCOMED ME INTO YOUR HOMES FOR THE LAST 38 YEARS, IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE. AND I GOT THROUGH THAT WITHOUT CRYING. YOU DID A GOOD JOB, FRED. BUDDY. I’M GOING TO MISS JUST HAVING YOU IN THE NEWSROOM BACK THERE WITH HIS TRADEMARK FLAT SCREAMING AND YELLING AT TENNESSEE BALL GAMES AND YANKEE BASEBALL. WHO, ME? HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE CHEERING THEM ON RIGHT? I DON’T THINK PEOPLE GET HOW MUCH TIME WE SPEND TOGETHER. YEAH, THIS IS MY WORK FAMILY. I MEAN, WE HAVE OUR OWN FAMILIES WHO HAVE SACRIFICED CINDY, AND THE KIDS HAVE SACRIFICED A LOT AS ALL OF YOURS HAVE. AND THAT WE HAVE HAD THIS TOGETHER. IT’S PRICELESS, I KNOW. OKAY, SO WE WANT TO END THE SHOW THE WAY YOU DO. CAN WE JOIN YOU IN YOUR SIGN OFF? ALL RIGHT, BIG WAVE TO CINDY. WAVE. LITTLE WAVE TO FREDDIE CHRISTIAN, CARAY AND SCARLETT. THERE WE GO. THAT WAS GOOD. I ALWAYS WANTED THEM TO KNOW I WAS THINKING OF THEM. YOU’RE A LEGEND. WE LOVE YOU, FRED. YES.