Greg Gumbel | |
|---|---|
 Gumbel in 2009 | |
| Born | (1946-05-03)May 3, 1946 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | December 27, 2024(2024-12-27) (aged 78) Davie, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Loras College (BA) |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1973–2023 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives |
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Gregory Girard Gumbel (May 3, 1946 – December 27, 2024) was an American televisionsportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments forCBS Sports (most notably, theNational Football League andNCAAbasketball). Gumbel became the first African-American announcer to callplay-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announcedSuper Bowl XXXV for theCBS network in 2001. From 1998 through 2023, Gumbel was the studio host for CBS' men'scollege basketball coverage and was a play-by-play broadcaster for theNFL on CBS.
Gregory Girard Gumbel was born inNew Orleans,Louisiana, in 1946, the first child of Rhea Alice (LeCesne) and Richard Dunbar Gumbel, a judge.[1][2] His paternal great-great-grandfather was aGerman-Jewish emigrant from the village ofAlbisheim.[3] As a young man, Gumbel grew up on Chicago'sSouth Side, where he was raisedCatholic, attending and graduating fromDe La Salle Institute.[4] In 1967, Gumbel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English fromLoras College,[5][6] where he also played on the baseball team.[7] Gumbel had two sisters, Renee Gumbel-Farrahi and Rhonda Gumbel-Thomas, and a younger brother,Bryant Gumbel, who also pursued a network television broadcasting career.[8][9]
In 1973, Gumbel's brother, Bryant, then working as a television sportscaster atKNBC in Los Angeles, informed him that anotherNBCowned-and-operatedstation,WMAQ-TV in Chicago, was auditioning for a sports announcer. At the time, Gumbel was selling hospital supplies in Detroit. He ultimately got the job, returned to Chicago and worked at WMAQ-TV for seven years.[5] The sportscaster Gumbel replaced, Dennis Swanson, went on to become president ofABC Sports.[10]
Prior to his rising to prominence at CBS, Gumbel worked forMSG,ESPN, andWFAN radio in New York City. AtESPN, he anchored the showSportsCenter and didplay-by-play for earlyNBA games. On MSG, Gumbel served as a backup announcer forMarv Albert onNew York Knicks broadcasts as well as providing coverage for college basketball. In addition to his MSG duties, Gumbel was the host of the first radio morning show on radio stationWFAN. However, station management replaced him withWNBC Radio personalityDon Imus once WFAN took over WNBC's AM 660 frequency.[11]
Gumbel'sCBS career began with part-time work as anNFL announcer in1988. In 1989, he began announcingcollege basketball as well. After MSG signed a large contract to broadcastNew York Yankees games the same year, Gumbel served as host of the pregame and postgame shows. He became host ofThe NFL Today (alongsideTerry Bradshaw) for the1990 to1993 seasons.[12] Gumbel also anchored CBS' coverage ofMajor League Baseball,college football, and, in 1999,CBS' coverage as a studio host for theDaytona 500 andPepsi 400.[13]
Besides his hosting duties, Gumbel providedplay-by-play for theNBA (alongsideQuinn Buckner),Major League Baseball including the1993 American League Championship Series (alongsideJim Kaat), andCollege World Series baseball.[14]
Gumbel was the prime-time anchor for the1994 Winter Olympic Games fromLillehammer, Norway,[15] and co-anchor for the weekday morning broadcasts of the1992 Winter Olympics fromAlbertville, France.[16]
Gumbel moved toNBC 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 theCollege World Series[17]). While at NBC, he hostedNBC's coverage of the1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Gumbel also did play-by-play for the 1995 Major League BaseballNational League Division Series andNational League Championship Series (on both occasions, teaming withJoe Morgan), did play-by-play forThe NBA on NBC, hosted NBC's daytime coverage of the1996 Summer Olympics fromAtlanta, Georgia, hosted the1995 World Championships of Figure Skating, and served as the studio host forThe NFL on NBC beginning in 1994.[5] Gumbel's last assignment for NBC wasSuper Bowl XXXII, for which he hosted the pregame show and presided over the postgame trophy presentation; incidentally, this was also NBC's final telecast of NFL games until they took control of theSunday night game beginning in 2006.
Gumbel returned to CBS in March of 1998.[18] The network announced that he would serve as studio host for the network's coverage of college basketball, including the annualNCAA tournament. In addition, since CBS had recently regained NFL broadcast rights by outbidding NBC for its coverage of the AFC, they named Gumbel as their lead broadcaster beginning in the fall of 1998, withPhil Simms as hiscolor commentator.[6] Gumbel was the lead announcer for theNFL on CBS between1998 and2003, calling Super BowlsXXXV[19] andXXXVIII.[20] For the2004 NFL season, Gumbel traded positions withJim Nantz as host ofThe NFL Today with Nantz taking over as lead announcer.[21]
At the end of the2005 NFL season, Gumbel was replaced as studio host ofThe NFL Today byJames Brown.[22] Gumbel returned to the broadcast booth as theNo. 2 play-by-play man, replacingDick Enberg, alongside color manDan Dierdorf until Dierdorf retired after the2013–14 NFL season. Gumbel also worked alongsideTrent Green in the No. 3 team from2014 until2019. He worked in a three-man booth with Green andBruce Arians for the2018 NFL season. Gumbel then traded spots withKevin Harlan in2020, teaming withRich Gannon.Adam Archuleta became Gumbel's partner in the No. 4 slot the following year after CBS declined to renew Gannon's contract.[23]
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.[24] However, Gumbel was absent fromMarch Madness coverage in 2024 due to family health issues.[25]
In 1976, Gumbel married Marcy Kaczynski, and they had a daughter, Michelle.[1][5][26]
Gumbel regularly appeared onHoward Stern's radio show.[27]
Gumbel died from pancreatic cancer at home inDavie, Florida, on December 27, 2024; he was 78 years old.[1][5][28][29]
Gumbel is one of a few sports announcers to have worked on pre-game, play-by-play, and radioSuper Bowl broadcast teams. He hosted the television pre-game show forSuper Bowl XXVI (CBS);Super Bowl XXX (NBC);Super Bowl XXXII (NBC);Super Bowl XLVII (CBS); andSuper Bowl 50 (CBS); provided television play-by-play forSuper Bowl XXXV (CBS) andSuper Bowl XXXVIII (CBS); hosted the radio pre-game show forSuper Bowl XXV (CBS);Super Bowl XXVI (CBS);Super Bowl XXVII (CBS); andSuper Bowl XXVIII (CBS).[5]
During his tenure as the chief anchor ofThe NFL Today, Gumbel served alongside co-anchorsDan Marino,Shannon Sharpe, andBoomer Esiason. He was nicknamed "Gumby" by some of his colleagues.[30]
| 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 Bob Costas (in2006) |
| 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 Bob Costas (in1989) | #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 Thom Brennaman (in1996) |
| International | |
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| National | |
