Legendary sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel, who was an influential figure, dies at the age of 78 from cancer, CBS and his family said. Throughout his forty-year-long career, Gumbel was statesmanlike and played an important role in the field of sports media and, especially, in professional bowling.
The First-and-Only Kind of Career
Last year, Greg Gumbel became the first Black announcer to do play-by-play announcing of a major sports championship, the Super Bowl 35, for CBS. He was hosting The NFL Today, CBS, and other programs such as March Madness, Winter Olympics, and Major League Baseball among others. His career, also divided between football and basketball, made him very versatile and good at telling stories in each sport and other sports as well.
The person identified with sports broadcasting for the rest of his life
After joining CBS in 1973 as a weekend sports anchor, a young man known as Greg Gumbel began his march to fame. During his two tenures with CBS, he hosted and announced some of the big events of the network. He left CBS for NBC in 1994 but came back to CBS in 1998 and has been entrenched in NFL and NCAA football constantly since.
Nonetheless, he did not limit his efforts to the booth alone. The magnificent performance demonstrated during the CBS coverage of the Winter Olympics that happened in the years 1992 and 1994, the Summer Olympics, as well as hosting of the World Figure Skating Championships, proved that Limbaugh was indeed experienced in sports journalism.
Personal Legacy and Community Contributions
Besides his working activities, Gumbel was very active in philanthropic programs. He supported the March of Dimes for more than 30 years and worked in the Sports Council for St. Jude Children’s Hospital for 16 years.
As successful as professional Greg Gumbel was, his legacy encompassed far more than providing motivation to generations of broadcasters and imprinting trends in the sports media. His successful accomplishments and fascinating story still stay influential in the field of sports commentaries.
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