Pete Axthelm

Pete Axthelm (August 27, 1943 – February 2, 1991) was an American sportswriter and columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek and its Inside Sports. During the 1980s, his knowledge of sports and journalistic skill aided him in becoming a sports commentator for The NFL on NBC and NFL Primetime and horse racing on ESPN. While on the pregame telecasts for the NFL in the early 1980s, Axthelm was NBC's answer to CBS' Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder on The NFL Today, providing betting angles to the games. Axthelm took the Law School Admission Test in his senior year, earning a perfect score, but only did so to please his mother. While at Yale, he had met New York Herald Tribune columnist Jimmy Breslin, who recommended him to his editors; Axthelm was hired by the newspaper and served as its horse racing beat writer before graduating from Yale. Axthelm skipped his Yale graduation to cover races at Belmont Park for the Herald Tribune. While in Mexico City, Axthelm played a minor role in the protest by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the medal ceremony for the 200 meters. Axthelm, who covered the Games wearing a button bearing the letters OPHR (Olympic Project for Human Rights, an organization founded by Harry Edwards), had befriended Smith and Carlos during the Games. Instead of sitting in the press box for the 200 m final, Axthelm was in the stands with their wives. The two sprinters won medals, Smith gold and Carlos bronze, and Axthelm then ran out of the stands to meet them before the medal ceremony. Carlos had worn an OPHR button during his run, but Smith had not; when Smith asked for a button, Axthelm took his button off and handed it to Smith.