Tony Kornheiser
A sharp-tongued sportswriter turned multimedia personality who reshaped sports talk with his wit, skepticism, and conversational chaos.
Born 1948 (age 78)·American television talk show host and sportswriter/columnist·Birthday: July 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Tony Kornheiser didn't just report on sports; he filtered them through the lens of a bemused, often cranky, everyman. Starting as a newspaperman at Newsday and The Washington Post, his columns were less about box scores and more about the absurd theater surrounding the games. That distinctive voice—sarcastic, self-deprecating, and deeply human—found its ultimate platform on ESPN's 'Pardon the Interruption,' which he co-created in 2001. The show's rapid-fire, clock-driven format, built around Kornheiser's chemistry with Michael Wilbon, didn't just debate sports; it made the debate itself the entertainment, influencing a generation of sports media. Beyond PTI, his long-running podcast and radio show became a daily salon for his eclectic interests, from pop culture to complaints about modern life, cementing his role as a singular, conversational institution.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Tony was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Tony Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Tony's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-created and co-hosted ESPN's groundbreaking sports debate show 'Pardon the Interruption,' which premiered in 2001 and won multiple Emmy Awards.
- Wrote a widely-read and influential sports column for The Washington Post for nearly three decades, from 1979 to 2008.
- Built a dedicated national audience with 'The Tony Kornheiser Show,' a daily podcast and radio program known for its freewheeling, personal format.
Did You Know?
He was once a substitute high school English teacher before breaking into journalism.
He is famously afraid of flying and bridges, a topic he frequently discusses on his show.
His first major newspaper job was at Newsday, where he started in 1970.
“I root for laundry. The players change, the owners change, the stadiums change. I root for the shirt.”
