Sam Nover (March 5, 1941 – December 4, 2018) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sportscaster. His run of 30 years of sportscasting at the same station is one of the longest in Pittsburgh broadcasting history.

Broadcasting career

From 1964-1968 Nover worked at radio stations in Charlotte, and Jackson, Michigan. In 1968, he was hired as sportscaster at

WKBD-TV WKBD-TV (channel 50) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station WWJ-TV (channel 62). Both stations share studios on ...

in Detroit, Michigan. He worked at WIIC-TV, (later known as WPXI-TV) in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

from 1970 until his retirement in 2001. He was the Sports Director and principal sports anchor, with the exception of two years he spent full-time at NBC Sports in New York. Nover was also the voice of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

in their one year of existence, and was the voice of the

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

Radio Network for its short period of existence. Nover had the distinction and privilege to do the blow-by-blow of the Heavyweight title fight between

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Ea ...

and

Michael Spinks Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal ...

with Hall of Fame announcer

Don Dunphy Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in boxing broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by ...

as his color commentator. Nover is best remembered for having the last sitdown interview with

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

shortly before Clemente's death in 1972. The interview has been excerpted by almost every major television network. Nover also did television play-by-play for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in the 1970s.

NBC Sports

Nover left WIIC in 1980 and signed a contract with NBC Sports, who hired him to be the boxing commentator at the

Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. However, the United States boycotted the games and Nover eventually returned to his old job at WPXI-TV in 1982. He also worked many venues for ''

NBC Sportsworld ''Sportsworld'' (also known as ''NBC SportsWorld'') is an American sports anthology television program which aired on NBC on Saturday afternoons from 1978 to 1994. Format The program presented a wide variety of lower-profile and offbeat sporting ...

'', including boxing and was partnered for many years with former Lightweight Champion, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and

Alexis Arguello Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–1977 ...

. Nover also did

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 ...

play-by-play for NBC Sports from the late 1970s until the late 1980s. His color commentator partners included

Bob Trumpy Robert Theodore Trumpy Jr. (born March 6, 1945) is a former professional American football tight end who played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1968 through 1977. He was a two-time National Football League Pro Bowler and a two-time American Footb ...

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

, and

Paul Maguire Paul Leo Maguire (born August 22, 1938) is a former American professional football player and television sportscaster. Early sports career Maguire attended Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio where he was an All State wide receiver and ...

. He also did play-by-play on television for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the preseason from the late 1980s until the late 1990s.

Personal life

Prior to his death, Nover lived in

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, Florida and maintained a residence in Pittsburgh. He has two daughters, Dana and Molly.

References

1941 births 2018 deaths Radio personalities from Detroit Television personalities from Detroit Ferris State University alumni Eastern Michigan University alumni University of Michigan alumni American sports announcers Mass media in Pittsburgh National Football League announcers National Hockey League broadcasters Pittsburgh Penguins announcers Pittsburgh Steelers announcers United States Football League announcers World Football League announcers Bowling broadcasters {{US-tv-bio-stub