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Greg Gumbel

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Greg Gumbel
Gumbel in 2009
Born(1946-05-03)May 3, 1946
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 2024(2024-12-27) (aged 78)
Alma materLoras College
OccupationSportscaster
Years active1973–2023
Spouse
Marcy Kaszynski
​
(m. 1973)​
Children1
Relatives

Greg Gumbel (May 3, 1946 – December 27, 2024) was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). He became the first African-American announcer to call play-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for the CBS network in 2001. Gumbel was most recently the studio host for CBS' men's college basketball coverage and was a play-by-play broadcaster for the NFL on CBS until 2023.

Biography

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Early years

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Gumbel was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first child of parents Richard Gumbel, a judge, and Rhea Alice LeCesne. As a young man, Gumbel grew up on Chicago's South Side, where he was raised Catholic, attending and graduating from De La Salle Institute.[1] Before becoming a broadcaster, Gumbel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Loras College, where he also played on the baseball team. He had two sisters, Renee Gumbel-Farrahi and Rhonda Gumbel-Thomas, and a younger brother, Bryant Gumbel, who also pursued a network television broadcasting career.[2][3]

Career

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In 1973, Greg's brother Bryant, then working as a television sportscaster at KNBC in Los Angeles, informed him that another NBC owned-and-operated station, WMAQ-TV in Chicago, was auditioning for a sports announcer. At the time, Greg was selling hospital supplies in Detroit. He ultimately got the job, returned to Chicago and worked at WMAQ-TV for seven years. The sportscaster he replaced, Dennis Swanson, went on to become president of ABC Sports.[citation needed]

Prior to his rising to prominence at CBS, Gumbel worked for MSG, ESPN, and WFAN radio in New York City. At ESPN, he anchored the show SportsCenter and did play-by-play for early NBA games. On MSG, Gumbel served as a backup announcer for Marv Albert on New York Knicks broadcasts as well as providing coverage for college basketball. When MSG signed a huge contract to broadcast New York Yankees games in 1989, Gumbel served as host of the pregame and postgame shows. In addition to his MSG duties, he was the host of the first radio morning show on radio station WFAN. However, station management replaced him with WNBC Radio personality Don Imus once WFAN took over WNBC's AM 660 frequency.[4]

First CBS stint

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Gumbel's CBS career began with part-time work as an NFL announcer in 1988. In 1989, Gumbel began announcing college basketball as well. He became host of The NFL Today (alongside Terry Bradshaw) for the 1990 to 1993 seasons.[5] He also anchored CBS' coverage of Major League Baseball, college football, and, in 1999, CBS' coverage for the Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400.[6]

Besides his hosting duties, Gumbel provided play-by-play for the NBA (alongside Quinn Buckner), Major League Baseball including the 1993 American League Championship Series (alongside Jim Kaat), and College World Series baseball.[7]

He was the prime time anchor for the 1994 Winter Olympic Games from Lillehammer, Norway,[8] and co-anchor for the weekday morning broadcasts of the 1992 Winter Olympics from Albertville, France.[9]

NBC Sports

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Gumbel in 2005

Gumbel moved to NBC in 1994 following CBS' losses of the NFL and Major League Baseball broadcasting contracts (Gumbel's last on-air assignment for CBS was providing play-by-play for the College World Series[10]). While at NBC, Gumbel hosted NBC's coverage of the 1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He also did play-by-play for the 1995 Major League Baseball National League Division Series and National League Championship Series (on both occasions, teaming with Joe Morgan), did play-by-play for The NBA on NBC, hosted NBC's daytime coverage of the 1996 Summer Olympics from Atlanta, Georgia, hosted the 1995 World Championships of Figure Skating, and served as the studio host for The NFL on NBC.[citation needed]

CBS career

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Gumbel left NBC after the network broadcast of Super Bowl XXXII to return to CBS. His first major assignment was to serve as studio host for the network's coverage of college basketball, including the NCAA men's basketball tournament.[11]

As CBS had just acquired the rights to NBC's previous NFL package, Gumbel joined the broadcast team as the lead announcer with fellow NBC alumnus Phil Simms as his color man. Gumbel was the lead announcer for the NFL on CBS between 1998 and 2003, calling Super Bowls XXXV[12] and XXXVIII.[13] For the 2004 NFL season, Gumbel traded positions with Jim Nantz as host of The NFL Today with Nantz taking over as lead announcer.[14]

At the end of the 2005 NFL season, Gumbel was replaced as studio host of The NFL Today by James Brown.[15] Gumbel returned to the broadcast booth as the #2 play-by-play man, replacing Dick Enberg, alongside color man Dan Dierdorf until Dierdorf retired after the 2013–14 NFL season. Gumbel also worked alongside Trent Green in the #3 team from 2014 until 2019. He worked in a three-man booth with Green and Bruce Arians for the 2018 NFL season. Gumbel then traded spots with Kevin Harlan in 2020, teaming with Rich Gannon. Adam Archuleta became Gumbel's partner in the #4 slot the following year after CBS declined to renew Gannon's contract.[16]

CBS Sports extended its contract with Gumbel on March 15, 2023, which allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while stepping back from NFL coverage.[17] However, Gumbel was absent from March Madness coverage in 2024 due to family health issues.[18]

Personal life

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Gumbel resided in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area.[citation needed] He remained married to his wife Marcy, with whom he had a daughter, Michelle.[19]

In 1999, Gumbel refused to attend a NASCAR banquet honoring Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, on the basis that he disagreed with Thomas' positions on political issues.[20] He regularly appeared on Howard Stern's radio show.[21] Along similar lines, Gumbel said of Rush Limbaugh, "I find him someone whose words and opinions I can do without."[22]

Gumbel died of cancer on December 27, 2024, at the age of 78.[19][23][24]

Legacy

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Gumbel was the third man to serve as both host and play-by-play announcer for Super Bowls (the first two were Dick Enberg and Al Michaels respectively). He hosted Super Bowls XXVI, XXX, and XXXII before calling Super Bowls XXXV and XXXVIII. Jim Nantz became the fourth man to do so after he called Super Bowl XLI for CBS.[citation needed]

During his tenure as the chief anchor of The NFL Today, he served alongside co-anchors Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason. The group was known to call him by his nickname "Gumby".[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Gumbel, Greg | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Big Brother Greg Gumbel Poised for Stardom at CBS". Chicago Tribune. July 5, 1990.
  3. ^ CBS Indianapolis Colts vs Chicago Bears October 4th 2020 - 6 minutes left in the 3rd
  4. ^ "Don Imus saved sports talk radio; Mike and Mad Dog help WFAN explode". The Sherman Report. June 27, 2012.
  5. ^ Dubow, Josh. "CBS hires Simms, Gumbel". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Macur, Juliet; Williams, Charean (February 13, 1999). "NOTEBOOK". orlandosentinel.com. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Nidetz, Steve (October 6, 1993). "BESIDES BEING UPSTAGED ON JORDAN NEWS". chicagotribune.com. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Nidetz, Steve (June 10, 1994). "GREG GUMBEL FINDS SAYING FAREWELL CAN BE PAINFUL". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Glauber, Bill (February 11, 1994). "CBS has eyes only for Gumbel WINTER OLYMPICS". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Nidetz, Steve (June 10, 1994). "Greg Gumbel Finds Saying Farewell Can Be Painful". Chicago Tribune.
  11. ^ "Greg Gumbel". cbsnews.com. CBS Interactive Inc. March 4, 1998. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  12. ^ @NFLonCBS (January 28, 2016). "15 years ago today on CBS, Greg Gumbel & Phil Simms were calling @Ravens win over @Giants in Super Bowl XXXV #TBT" (Tweet). Retrieved November 10, 2024 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Leger, Justin (January 30, 2021). "TV broadcasters for Tom Brady's 10 Super Bowl appearances". nbcsports.com. SportsChannel New England LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "Gumbel: This move not my first choice". espn.com. ESPN, Inc. June 22, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Raissman, Bob (March 16, 2007). "Gus forced to bow out to Brown". nydailynews.com. The New York Daily News. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  16. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (August 24, 2021). "CBS announces 2021 NFL broadcast pairings, including new Greg Gumbel-Adam Archuleta and Spero Dedes-Jay Feely teams". Awful Announcing.
  17. ^ Ourand, John (March 15, 2023). "Greg Gumbel re-signs with CBS, gives up NFL duties". Sports Business Journal.
  18. ^ Glasspiegel, Ryan (March 12, 2024). "Greg Gumbel missing CBS' March Madness coverage due to 'family health issues'". New York Post. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "U.S. Greg Gumbel, CBS Sports broadcasting legend, dies at 78". CBS News. December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  20. ^ El-Bashir, Tarik (February 15, 1999). "AUTO RACING: NOTEBOOK; Restrictor-Plate Races Are Still Martin's Bane". The New York Times.
  21. ^ Pergament, Alan (February 19, 1994). "CBS GETTING HIGH MARKS FOR RATINGS, INTERPRETATION". Buffalo News.
  22. ^ Shister, Gail (May 27, 2000). "Is football making a pass at Limbaugh or just fumbling?". The Kansas City Star. p. 48. Retrieved November 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Saperstein, Pat (December 27, 2024). "Greg Gumbel, Longtime CBS Sports Broadcaster, Dies at 78". Variety. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  24. ^ Nivison, Austin (December 27, 2024). "Greg Gumbel, trailblazing CBS Sports broadcast legend, dies at 78". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greg Gumbel.
Media offices
Preceded by The NFL Today host
1990–1993
2004–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by American television prime time anchor,
Winter Olympic Games
1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Studio host, NFL on NBC
1994–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by American television daytime anchor,
Summer Olympic Games
1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Studio host, College Basketball on CBS
1998–2024
Preceded by #2 play-by-play announcer, NFL on CBS
2006–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Super Bowl television play-by-play announcer
(AFC package carrier)
2000-2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by #2 play-by-play announcer,
Major League Baseball on NBC
1995 		Defunct
Preceded by Secondary play-by-play announcer,
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
1993 		Succeeded by
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