Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder Documentary on ESPN

Lets tune and watch the last part of the ESPN 6-part documentary series “30 for 30″ which will feature Jimmy the Greek, on Tuesday night. Being an American sports commentator Jimmy the Greek was best known for his controversial racial comment.

The real name of Jimmy the Greek was Jimmy Snyder. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, to Greek immigrants. He put a lumsum amount in oil drilling and coal mining but was unsuccessful to make a profit out of these ventures. He came to Las Vegas in 1956 and became an NFL linesmaker and a sports announcer.

With 20 years of successful career as a linesmaker he was offered a position on CBS’s The NFL Today as a football analyst. He held this position with great popularity.

In 1988, Jimmy the Greek was fired by CBS after he made some racially insensitive comments on the superiority of black athletes over the whites.

He spent the rest of his life living in Las Vegas and died of a heart attack on April 21, 1996 at the age of 76.

Twenty-one years after he was fired for racially insensitive comments, The Greek is now making a triumphant return as the subject of the dark and interesting The Legend of Jimmy Greek, another entry in ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series (it airs on Tuesday night).
The documentary is directed by Fritz Mitchell who worked as a researcher on The NFL Today from 1984 to 1986 and has an affinity for his subject. Peabody Award-winning filmmaker will examine Snyder’s impact on the growth of sports gambling, while also taking a fresh look at The Greek’s tragic downfall.

For this moment just have a look at the video of Jimmy the Greek.