Greg Gumbel, a longtime sports broadcaster known as “broadcasting royalty,” died after a battle with cancer, his wife and daughter announced in a statement shared with CBS Sports on X. He was 78.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father, Greg Gumbel,” according to a statement. “He passed away peacefully surrounded by much love after a courageous battle with cancer.”
According to the Gumbels, Greg, who worked as a CBS Sports studio host and play-by-play announcer for 25 years, including five Super Bowls and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, handled his illness with “stoicism, grace, and positivity.”
“He was universally well-liked,” broadcaster Bob Costas told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “He was consistently excellent at his job.”
CBS Sports stated that it is “devastated by the passing of Greg Gumbel.”
“There has never been a finer gentleman on television. “He was beloved and respected by those of us who had the privilege of calling him a friend and colleague,” said David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, in a statement.
Gumbel received an outpouring of support on Friday, with Harold Bryant, CBS Sports executive producer and executive vice president of production, describing the late announcer as a “role model and pioneer” in a statement.
“He broke barriers as one of the few Black broadcasters covering high-level sports. He set a high standard for others to follow. “His work was impeccable, and he rose to become one of the industry’s most respected broadcasters,” Bryant stated.
“Whether it was play-by-play, studio hosting, or interviewing elite athletes, Greg was as smooth and trustworthy as possible. Greg loved his family, the Rolling Stones, and CBS. He treated everyone with respect and gratitude. Greg, you will be missed,” Bryant’s statement continued.
Clark Kellogg, a CBS college basketball analyst and former professional basketball player, praised Gumbel’s “friendship, goodness, humor, partnership, professionalism, and wisdom.”
“He was excellent at his work and exemplary in his caring and character,” Kellogg said in a statement.
Jim Nantz, a sports announcer who had worked with Gumbel for nearly 35 years, described the late host as “as selfless a broadcaster as anyone in the industry has ever known” in a statement.
“Greg Gumbel was broadcasting royalty,” Nantz explained.
“There isn’t a member of the CBS Sports family who doesn’t have a positive memory of Greg. I have so much love and respect for him, and I’m going to miss him terribly,” Nantz added.
Gumbel missed his first NCAA Tournament since 1997 in March, citing “family health issues,” according to The Associated Press.
According to the Associated Press, he signed an extension with CBS last year that allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while taking a break from NFL announcing.
Gumbel was born on May 3, 1946, in New Orleans and raised in Chicago, according to a CBS News biography.
Gumbel returned to CBS Sports as a play-by-play announcer and host in January 1998, having previously worked for the network from October 1989 to May 1994, according to his biography.
According to the Associated Press, Gumbel first left CBS for NBC when it lost football coverage in 1994, and he returned four years later when the contract was reinstated.
According to CBS, Gumbel previously hosted shows for the NBA’s New York Knicks and the MLB’s New York Yankees on the Madison Square Garden Network.
His more than 50-year career included anchoring ESPN’s SportsCenter for more than five years, as well as hosting the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and CBS football show “The NFL Today,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
According to CBS, the three-time local Emmy Award winner served as a CBS Sports primetime anchor for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games and co-anchored weekday morning CBS broadcasts of the 1992 Olympic Winter Games.
Greg Gumbel, the older brother of sportscaster and host Bryant Gumbel, received the Pat Summerall Award for excellence in sports broadcasting in 2007, according to the Associated Press.
He was a three-decade member of the March of Dimes board of trustees and a 16-year member of St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital’s Sports Council, according to the Associated Press.
