The sports world has lost one its greatest broadcasters, with Greg Gumbel’s passing on Friday at age 78 from cancer.
Born in New Orleans, La., Gumbel obtained a bachelor's degree in English from Loras College, a private catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa.
Gumbel’s career began in 1972 and spanned over 50 years, as he worked NFL games for CBS as well as working Major League Baseball (1994 All-Star Game, Baseball Night in America), the College World Series, the NBA on NBC, and the Olympics (1994, 1996), among others. He also served as host of the NFL on NBC pre-game show and hosted the Super Bowl pre-game shows in 1996 and 1998. In calling Super Bowl XXXV, he became the first African-American to call a US major championship sporting event. In 2007, he was given the Pat Summeral Award for sports broadcasting excellence.
Known to many for his anchoring of CBS’ NCAA Tournament coverage, Gumbel was also an exceptional NFL play-by-play announcer, calling games for CBS with former NFL lineman Dan Dierdorf serving as his color commentator from 2006-2013. Trent Green and Rich Gannon also notably served as a color commentator alongside Gumbel.
Gumbel was absent from NCAA Tournament coverage in 2024 due to health issues. He will be remembered as one of the signature voices, familiar faces, and seminal figures in the history of sports broadcasting.
RIP, Greg Gumbel.
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