Jeff Phelps (born July 10, 1960) is a

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

-area sportscaster and

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...

who most recently has worked as the television pregame/postgame host for

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

telecasts on

Fox Sports Ohio FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (formerly Bally Sports Ohio) is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) as part of the FanDuel Sports Network chain. The channel broadcasts regional cove ...

, the pregame/postgame host for

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

radio broadcasts, and is a midday co-host on WKRK-FM (92.3 The Fan) in Cleveland.

Biography

A native of the

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

area and graduate of Woodridge High School (Class of 1978) and

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

(Class of 1982), Phelps began his broadcasting career in Akron on co-owned

WAKR WAKR (1590 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Akron, Ohio, and known as "Soft Hits 93.5 FM". Locally owned and operated by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station primarily services the Akron metropol ...

AM 1590 and

WAKR-TV WVPX-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Akron, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of Ion Television. It is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings alongside Canton-licensed Bounce TV affiliate WDLI-TV ( ...

23 as a sports reporter. He then had a five-year stint as a sportscaster on KJAC in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

. In 1988, Phelps became a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor for

WUAB 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 Media alongside CBS affiliate WOIO (channel 19), Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD (channel 6) ...

channel 43 in Cleveland on the ''10 O'Clock News'', as well as

WOIO WOIO (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Media alongside The CW, CW affiliate WUAB (channel 43), Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD ...

channel 19 after it had become WUAB's sister station, eventually becoming the weeknight sports anchor for both stations. In 1994, Phelps was recognized for his work by the

National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...

(NSSA) and named the 1994 Ohio Sportscaster of the Year. In 2003, Phelps then moved to

where he became the pregame and postgame host for

telecasts. He also is a

play by play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

announcer for high school football telecasts on the network as well as the host/ producer of the classic car focused show ''Cruise-In''. Phelps' duties on Fox Sports Ohio also have included at various points hosting

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, and

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, ...

pregame and postgame shows.Jeff Phelps « CBS Cleveland
/ref> In 2011, the CBS Radio owned WKRK-FM 92.3 switched to a

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format. Upon the switch, Phelps then became the co-host for the midday ''Baskin & Phelps'' program, alongside former

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 three stations that have been built and signed on ...

5 sports director Andy Baskin. Phelps continues his Fox Sports Ohio work along with his radio duties. In 2013, following WKRK-FM becoming one of the flagship stations for the

, Phelps became part of the Browns Radio Network gameday broadcast team, hosting the network pregame and postgame shows. In 2014, Phelps was the radio play-by-play announcer for Browns preseason games, as well as the postgame host for regular season games. In 2022, Phelps retired from Cavs postgame.

Awards

*Three-time

Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards The NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter is one of 19 regional chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The Lower Great Lakes Chapter (formerly Cleveland Chapter) was founded in 1969. In addition to granting Emmy® Awards to pro ...

recipient (1991, 1993, 1999) *1994 Ohio Sportscaster of the Year, presented by NSSA *2007 inductee - Ohio Broadcasters Hall of FameCavs media guide - Cavs.com
/ref>

Personal life

Phelps currently lives in

Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies about south of Cleveland and west of Akron, Ohio, Akron within the Cleveland met ...

with his wife and three children. He grew up on the same street as Cleveland-based NBA writer Sam Amico. The two are lifelong friends.

References

External links

WKRK-FM online profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Jeff Living people People from Akron, Ohio American television sports announcers American television sports anchors Television anchors from Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers announcers Cleveland Indians announcers NBA broadcasters Kent State University alumni Cleveland Browns announcers NFL announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters High school football announcers in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Ohio State Buckeyes football announcers National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) commentators People from Medina, Ohio 1960 births