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Greg Gumbel :Early Years
Greg Gumbel was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to parents Richard Gumbel, a judge, and Rhea Alice LeCesne. He was the first child in the family, with two younger sisters, Renee Gumbel-Farrahi and Rhonda Gumbel-Thomas. Gumbel grew up on the South Side of Chicago, where he was raised in the Catholic faith. He attended the De La Salle Institute, from which he graduated.
Gumbel later pursued higher education at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. During his college years, he was also an athlete, playing on the baseball team.
Greg Gumbel: Career Beginnings
In 1973, Greg’s brother Bryant Gumbel, then a sportscaster at KNBC in Los Angeles, alerted him to an opportunity at WMAQ-TV, an NBC-owned station in Chicago, which was seeking a sports announcer. At the time, Greg was selling hospital supplies in Detroit but decided to audition for the position. He landed the job, returning to Chicago and spending seven years at WMAQ-TV. Interestingly, the person he replaced, Dennis Swanson, later became president of ABC Sports.
Greg Gumbel: Rise in Broadcasting
Before achieving widespread recognition at CBS, Gumbel gained experience working for major sports networks, including MSG, ESPN, and WFAN radio in New York City. At ESPN, he anchored SportsCenter and provided play-by-play commentary for early NBA games. With MSG, he worked as a backup announcer for Marv Albert during New York Knicks broadcasts and covered college basketball games.
When MSG secured broadcasting rights for New York Yankees games in 1989, Gumbel hosted pregame and postgame shows. He also hosted the inaugural morning show on WFAN radio. However, his tenure there was brief, as he was eventually replaced by Don Imus when WFAN took over WNBC’s AM 660 frequency.
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