Another heartbreaking report: The NFL president’s confirmed death at an early…
NEW YORK: Steve Sabol, a majoring in art history, shot the NFL simultaneously as a blockbuster film and a ballet.
The president of NFL Films, a father-son team that transformed sports broadcasting, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 69 from brain cancer in Moorestown, New Jersey. With its admirers captivated by the people and story turns he so skillfully documented, he leaves behind a league that is greater than before.
“Steve Sabol was the creative genius behind the remarkable work of NFL Films,” the league confirmed Sabol’s passing in a statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Steve had amazing skill and intensity, and his love of football matched it. The NFL will always carry Steve’s legacy. He was a wonderful friend, a man who transformed our perception of football and sports, and a significant contributor to the NFL’s success.”
In March 2011, Sabol was admitted to the hospital due to a seizure, and it was determined that he had a tumor on the left side of his brain.
Ed Sabol’s son was working with him as a cinematographer at NFL Films from the company’s founding in 1964. They brought a number of innovations that are now considered standard, such as blooper reels, super slow-motion replays, and microphones attached to players and coaches. Additionally, they employed John Facenda, dubbed the “Voice of God,” to recite lyrical descriptions in a somber tone.
Ed Sabol’s sole sports filming experience prior to obtaining the rights to document the 1962 NFL championship game was taping Steve’s high school football games in Philadelphia.
Before his father was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, Steve Sabol told The Associated Press, “We see the game as art as much as sport.” “That helped us nurture not only the game’s traditions but to develop its mythology: America’s Team, The Catch, The Frozen Tundra.”
