Gib Shanley (August 6, 1931 – April 6, 2008) was an American sportscaster, most prominently known as sports director for
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of two stations that have been built and signed on by ...
, Channel 5 in
Cleveland, Ohio, and as the longtime play-by-play announcer for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL).
Biography
Shanley was born in
Bellaire, Ohio
Bellaire is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Wheeling is across the Ohio to the east. The population was 4,278 at the 2010 census, having had its peak in ...
and grew up in nearby
Shadyside, attending
Shadyside High School. He then went to radio broadcasting school in Washington, D.C., and from there got his first job in the business at a Pontiac, Michigan station, primarily covering high school sports.
Shanley first came to Cleveland in 1961 after four years doing play-by-play for
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...
sports. Once in Cleveland, he worked for
WGAR AM-1220 Radio in the same capacity for both the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
and the
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...
.
Over the next 24 years, Shanley continued his work with the Browns, teaming with local sportcaster
Jim Graner
James R. Graner (February 21, 1919 – January 15, 1976) was the weeknight sports anchor for Cleveland NBC affiliate KYW-TV (later WKYC) beginning in 1957. He also served as color commentator for the Cleveland Browns Radio Network, most notabl ...
through 1974, a popular pairing that was ended due to Graner's failing health due to brain cancer.
Taking Graner's place was another local sports anchor, Jim Mueller, who served with Shanley for the remaining decade of his career with the Browns.
Shanley's tenure in Cleveland television began on WKYC as a weekend sportscaster, but flourished once he took over as sports director on WEWS in January 1967. Shanley's duties at the station would also later include hosting a weekly Browns highlights show, "Quarterback Club" until 1976.
Never afraid to speak his mind on the air, Shanley gave a blistering commentary on the night of June 4, 1974, after the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...
' promotion of
Ten Cent Beer Night
Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Stadium on Tuesday, June 4, 1974. The promotion was meant to improve attendance at the game by offering c ...
disintegrated into a riot, and led to a forfeit in favor of the visiting
Texas Rangers. Noting the raucous nature of the fans that evening, Shanley began by apologizing to the regular fans not involved, and then said to those who caused the trouble, "Next time, why don't you stay home and make an ass out of yourself."
Shanley's most controversial moment on the air came in November 1979, when he gained widespread attention by making an on-air statement against the public displaying of the Iranian Flag and the burning of the American Flag by pro-
Ayatullah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
supporters in New York City by burning an Iranian flag himself on a WEWS-TV 11 p.m. telecast during the
Iranian Hostage Crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...
.
Shanley continued full-time in his job capacity at WEWS until February 1985, when he resigned to move to California. Unable to find steady work (outside of serving as a play-by-play substitute during
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
games in 1985), Shanley eventually returned to Cleveland, becoming sports director for independent station
WUAB-TV
WUAB (channel 43) is a television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD (channel 6) and Shaker Heigh ...
channel 43's then fledgling 10 p.m. newscast in 1988. Shanley was the lead sports anchor, and he continued there until 1996.
In 1996, Shanley became guest commentator on the weekly sports wrap-up/NFL coverage and commentary show ''"Countdown to 99"'' that was hosted by
Casey Coleman
Kenneth R. "Casey" Coleman Jr. (March 24, 1951 – November 27, 2006) was a sportscaster and radio personality in the Cleveland area for nearly 30 years.
Early life
Coleman was born in Cleveland in 1951 to legendary play-by-play announcer K ...
and former
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
wide receiver
Reggie Rucker
Reginald Joseph Rucker (born September 21, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New England Patriots and Cleveland Brown ...
.
In the 2000s, Shanley served as a commentator on WEWS-TV sports wrap-up show ''Sports Sunday''.
Shanley died on April 6, 2008 of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
.
[
]
Awards and honors
*Four-time NSSA Ohio Sportscaster of the Year (1968, 1970, 1971, 1973)
*1995 NATAS (Lower Great Lakes Chapter) Silver Circle Award
*Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1995)
*Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2003)
*Ohio Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2006)Shanley inducted into Cleveland Broadcasters HOF - CAB Cleveland.com
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References
External links
accessed 2007-11-04.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanley, Gib
2008 deaths
1931 births
American sports announcers
Cleveland Browns announcers
Television anchors from Cleveland
College football announcers
National Football League announcers
People from Bellaire, Ohio