Legendary sports broadcaster with CBS Sports, Greg Gumbel dies at 78 after a battle with cancer. His family announced it on Friday, saying that he was guarded by love when he passed on.
They added: “Greg confronted cancer with fortitude, dignity and optimistic disposition” their wife Marcy Gumbel and daughter Michelle Gumbel heaped on him. He was a man of love, inspiration and more than over five decade commitment to sporting activities broadcasting. People will never forget the sound of his voice.”
That Such a Remarkable Career in Sports Broadcasting
Sports media lost its giant in December when Greg Gumbel passed on after serving more than five decades in the industry. He was most famous for hosting college basketball and NFL and NCAA Tournament for CBS Sports that he started doing in 1998 after moving back to CBS from NBC.
Gumbel entered the record books in 2001 when he became the first black announcer play-by-play for a major United States championship when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for CBS.
David Berson, president of CBS Sports, praised Gumbel’s trailblazing career: “Greg was a fabulous live broadcaster and a great chronicler of our sports history, whose attested career is one of the most sensational in the annals of broadcasting.”
Early Life and Career
Fittingly, given his career path, Gumbel’s father chose a radio station as the venue for his debut, which came one year before he graduated Loras College in Iowa with a degree in English. He started his broadcasting in 1981, hosting ESPN’s SportsCenter and reporting for the network’s initial foray into NBA coverage. He then went to CBS Sports and worked in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympic games as well as Major League Baseball.
He did some work for NBC Sports in 1994 when CBS lost the NFL, though it was fleeting; he covered such events as the 1995 World Figure Skating Championships and the 1996 Summer Olympics. He got back to the CBS network service in 1998 and continued serving on their NFL and NCAA basketball telecasts for several years.
Dedication to Community
However, apart from his ability to produce programs for the broadcasting house, Gumbel had other significant contributions to make – for charity. He was a 32-year member of the board of trustees of March of Dimes and donor to the Sports Council of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital for 16 years.
Remembered by Colleagues
The colleagues and friends of Gumbel said that he was a talented and a very kind man in the line of profession. Clark Kellogg, CBS Sports analyst echoed, “I am shocked to the core by Greg’s demise but I am relieved to have been associated with him all my life”. “I never met a man more dedicated to his job and his profession, He was not just a great broadcaster but a great man.”
Besides his immediate family, Gumbel must have left behind a wife, Marcy and daughter, Michelle. So the sports broadcasting and the legacy he left behind will remain a source of inspiration for many for several years to come.