Early life and career

After graduating from Northeast Catholic High School, in 1943 and Saint Joseph's University in 1947, Whitaker began his broadcasting career at WPAM in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. In 1950, he moved to WCAU where he did play-by-play for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants of the National Football League.

CBS Sports

He entered network sports in 1961 at CBS, where he hosted the anthology series CBS Sports Spectacular among other duties. He worked for CBS for more than two decades. Whitaker is probably best remembered for his coverage of golf and horse racing. He covered thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown Events, golf's four major championships, the very first Super Bowl, championship boxing, the National Professional Soccer League in 1967, the North American Soccer League a year later, and Major League Baseball. He was a studio host for The NFL Today at CBS, the network's pre-game show.

The Whitaker character, played by Gary McKillips, appears in the June 2007 ESPN Original Entertainment production Ruffian. The film is based upon the storied 1975 match race between unbeaten filly Ruffian and Kentucky Derby-winning colt Foolish Pleasure. Ruffian broke her leg during the race and was later euthanized. The Whitaker character is shown introducing the race in the paddock area of Belmont Park in New York.

While Whitaker is best known as a sportscaster, he was also a game show host. In the summer of 1966, he hosted The Face Is Familiar, a celebrity panel show for CBS.

In the latter part of his career, Whitaker has moved away from play-by-play or color commentary, and has become known for his essays at major sporting events.

Whitaker was banned from covering the Masters golf tournament for CBS after referring to a patron gallery at Augusta National Golf Club as a "mob" during a 1966 telecast.

ABC Sports and ABC News

Moving to ABC in 1982, Whitaker served as a reporter for both news and sports divisions. He was a part of ABC's sports team at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and the 1984 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. He has also reported sports for ABC's World News Tonight, Nightline, and 20/20.

Whitaker won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality in 1979 and received the Maryland Jockey Club's Hilltop Award for outstanding coverage of thoroughbred racing. He was named "Best Announcer" by Sports Illustrated in 1976. In 1997 he was named to the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame, in 2001 he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in Salisbury, North Carolina and in 2005 he was inducted into the Saint Joseph's University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Whitaker has a bowling center named for him and fellow broadcaster John Facenda. Facenda-Whitaker Lanes is located in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, and was named for Facenda and Whitaker in 1959, when the two were broadcasting news and sports, respectively, at WCAU. It is not clear whether or not either Facenda or Whitaker had any ownership interest in the center.