Rick Karle WVTM 13
https://www.facebook.com/RickKarle/...DOE-KnS8DlxBUEWeDp5qyBIBLOZoL&__tn__=,O,P-y-RI’m so sorry to bring you the news about our good friend Eli Gold, as I can now report the news as Alabama officials have made it public:
Eli, who has been Bama’s football play-by-play announcer for 34 years, is having some health issues.
Eli will be forced to miss at least the first part (if not all of) the upcoming season while he addresses his health.
My friend Chris Stewart, a former intern of mine years ago, will take over play-by-play duties.
Eli has done it all in his remarkable career. From football to NASCAR to hockey to baseball, Eli has been a broadcaster of class and integrity.
His unique voice will be missed this season by Bama fans throughout the world. I’ve been blessed to have called Eli a friend for decades.
Ironically, when I arrived in Birmingham in 1989 to take the main sports anchor job at the then-ABC affiliate in town, it was Eli Gold who was leaving that position at that TV station. Anchoring local sportscasts wasn't for him- he was a true play-by-play man. He had just landed the Bama play-by-play job.
I asked Eli back then what the key to success was in anchoring TV sports in Birmingham, and he told me, "You can talk about Alabama football and NASCAR every day, all year long and you will be here for years." I took Eli's advice, and well... I'm still here.
Eli can certainly use our support and our prayers as he fights his fight.
Let’s all send Eli, his wife Claudette and their daughter Elise our very best.
Let’s show the Gold family our love.
*Pictures courtesy NFF, UA Athletics, Chris Stewart & WVTM 13
The University of Alabama Alabama Football University of Alabama Athletics #EliGold Southeastern Conference
