C13Originals and Jon Meacham Podcast Studio Launches Sports Extension of Award-Winning Documentary Franchise
With Doc Rivers Narrating, “It Was Said: Sports” to Highlight Impactful Sports Speeches
New York, NY (September 7, 2021)—Shining City Audio, a recently launched history-focused podcast studio joint-venture between C13Originals and Jon Meacham, today announced details for It Was Said: Sports.
This new documentary podcast franchise created, directed, and produced by C13Originals, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham, and narrated by NBA legend Doc Rivers, is the sports-focused version of the 2021 Webby Award-Winning “Best Podcast Series,” It Was Said, featuring some of the most important and inspirational sports speeches throughout history.
Drawing from powerful figures like Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, and Hank Aaron, Season One of It Was Said: Sports will take listeners through six speeches whose impact, legacy, and significance goes far beyond the world of sports. Rivers, Meacham, and a wide range of notable guests–including Michael Strahan, Urban Meyer, and Al Michaels–will offer expert insight, firsthand perspective and analysis into each speech’s origins, the orator, the context of the times they were given, and why they are still relevant today.
Throughout the course of six episodes, It Was Said: Sports will feature:
- Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck’s “For America” poem following the 9/11 attacks, delivered on September 17, 2001, exemplifies how sports helped heal a nation after tragedy
- Iconic athlete Muhammad Ali, one of the most well-known names and faces in the world, takes a stand in a speech in protest of the Vietnam War on April 28, 1967
- Iconic tennis champion Billie Jean King championed women’s rights, and equal pay, in sports and laid a critical foundation for a fight that continues under superstar female athletes today in her Northwestern Commencement Speech on June 16, 2017
- Heisman-winner and then Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow’s September 27, 2008 “The Promise” speech after a home loss showed the world what true leadership is: acknowledging expectations, taking public accountability for the failure and vowing to improve
- MLB All-Star and Atlanta Braves icon Hank Aaron’s August 1, 1982 Hall of Fame acceptance speech gave insight into who he was, the brutal racism he faced while in pursuit of the homerun crown and how he carried the torch of equal rights with grace and integrity
- Harry Flournoy, co-captain of the 1966 Texas Western national title basketball team, delivered a powerful statement on race in his remarks at the team’s induction into the NCAA Hall of Fame
Season One of It Was Said: Sports will launch on September 8, 2021 everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes will be available Wednesdays. Listen to the trailer and follow the series here: https://link.chtbl.com/IWSSPR.
Meacham and Rivers will be joined by notable guests including:
- Former world #1 tennis player and women’s rights and LGBTQ+ activist Billie Jean King
- Joe Buck, FOX Sports play-by-play announcer, who will bring his firsthand perspective on his father Jack Buck’s post-9/11 speech
- Michael Strahan was a member of the New York Giants on 9/11, and will share his firsthand experience witnessing the horrors of that day, and how his role as a player rep was instrumental in the league’s decision to cancel all games
- Legendary football coach Urban Meyer, current head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, former championship-winning head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators, who will share his perspective as Tebow’s coach at the time of “The Promise” speech
- Fox NFL Sunday analyst Al Michaels
- ESPN commentator/analyst Michael Wilbon
- MLB legend/Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker
“Sports are a vital element of our lives, and of the life of the nation. The pursuit of excellence in competition is inherently dramatic and touches the deepest parts of our common story,” said Jon Meacham, Co-Executive Producer, Shining City Audio. “I’m honored to be working with the great Doc Rivers and the C13Originals team to bring these illuminating moments to life
“As a man who’s been in the arena, I’ve experienced firsthand the power and impact of the words of great sports figures of our time,” said Doc Rivers. “I’m excited to join forces with Jon Meacham and C13Originals to shine a light on these pivotal moments in history.”
“Throughout history, the powerful words of our great sports icons have transcended sports and inspired, healed, and impacted us as a world,” said Chris Corcoran, Chief Content Officer, Cadence13 and Co-Executive Producer, Shining City Audio. “As we work alongside Jon to build out the Shining City Audio slate and tell these historic stories, we’re proud to partner with Doc Rivers on this timeless series that will resonate with listeners of all generations.”
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer. His latest work, His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, was published on August 25, 2020 with Penguin Random House. He is the author of #1 New York Times bestselling books including The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross; The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels; Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power; American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House; Franklin and Winston; Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush; and Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation. He is the host of Cadence13’s Hope, Through History documentary podcast franchise, a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, a contributing writer for The New York Times Book Review, and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. Meacham lives in Nashville with his wife and children.
The launch of It Was Said: Sports follows the success of the critically acclaimed podcast documentary franchises Hope, Through History, It Was Said, and Fate of Fact, co-created by C13Originals and Jon Meacham.
Doc Rivers, former NBA All-Star, is the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. He played for the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, and San Antonio Spurs, and was previously the head coach of the Orlando Magic, winning NBA Coach of the Year in his first season with them, as well as the Boston Celtics and the Clippers. Rivers led the Celtics to the NBA Championship title in 2008.
Download the cover art for It Was Said: Sports here: https://we.tl/t-bhWJ0Z5sWI.
Follow Jon Meacham and Doc Rivers on Twitter @JMeacham and @DocRivers. Follow C13Originals on Twitter @C13Originals and Instagram @C13Originals. For more information, visit www.cadence13.com.
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