Stan Savran, the legendary voice of reason in Pittsburgh sports for the past 50 years, died Monday at the age of 76 in his beloved Pittsburgh.
Savran had been dealing with the effects of cancer and diabetes over the past year.
The Cleveland native arrived in Pittsburgh in the 1970s and became a fixture on television and radio over six decades in western Pennsylvania. He made a name for himself during his time as a sportscaster on WTAE (Channel 4), and he became a Pittsburgh icon while co-hosting “SportsBeat” with his colleague and friend Guy Junker.
Advertisement
He continued to work in television while hosting his daytime show on ESPN Radio until earlier this year, when his health troubles forced him to step away.
The Steelers, Penguins and Pirates immediately posted tributes on Twitter.
Stan Savran, Pittsburgh broadcasting legend, delivered some of the best announcements in Penguins history. He was a friend and a true professional at his craft.
As long-time listeners, who loved the show, we will miss you, Stan. pic.twitter.com/7iVW1j4N0c
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 13, 2023
Below, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe share their memories of “the godfather” of Pittsburgh sports.
Rossi: After leaving West Virginia University in May 2000, I immediately jumped into a summer internship followed by a two-year apprenticeship at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. About eight months in, one of the editors offered me a chance to develop a daily page: a mix of aggregated shorts, original features and some off-the-wall concepts. I was too young for the responsibility, but somehow the page took off and garnered an audience.
So, I was most surprised when, two months before my contract expired, that same editor told me I wasn’t going to be hired full time and that the page would be taken over by someone else.
Another editor, trying to help me latch on somewhere else, set up a media tour for my final weeks. He asked if there was a local show on which I wanted to appear.
It was an easy question to answer.
By August 2002, Savran was already a legendary figure in Pittsburgh. He had been a lead sports anchor for a local ABC affiliate. He had written columns for the paper. He had hosted a talk show. He had pioneered a cable TV show called “SportsBeat” that was appointment television as a lead-in to Pirates and Penguins games.
Advertisement
Most important — to me, anyway — he had educated an entire region on hockey in the late 1980s and early 1990s by bringing interviews with the likes of Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey and countless other Penguins players into western Pennsylvania homes via TV and radio. I knew I could never play like those guys, but I thought there was a chance I could do what Stan had done: be around the Penguins and report on their highs, lows and personalities.
So I asked that editor, “Could I do Savran’s radio show?”
A week later, I did. And despite his stardom, he treated me as an equal and kindly wished me well.
That was the first of many on- and off-air talks with Stan, who became a friend. We eventually bonded over a mutual love of tennis and black-and-white films, and I quickly learned that this legend of Pittsburgh sports media was an even more legendary person: genuine, generous, dedicated, smart, funny and so, so kind.
Over the past 15 years, Stan became known as “the godfather” of Pittsburgh sports media. It was a fitting moniker.
He is already missed. But he’ll never be forgotten.
#Steelers President Art Rooney II on the passing of Stan Savran: pic.twitter.com/AeUJ9K9Nrf
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 13, 2023
Kaboly: I thought Savran was crazy … or at least a little goofy.
I sat down with him inside the Steelers media room a couple of months ago. His health was noticeably in decline to everybody except maybe him. I would never pass up an opportunity to stop and talk to Stan, usually about sports.
But not this time.
I wasn’t interested in whether he thought Matt Canada would be back for another season or whether general manager Omar Khan was going to put his stamp on the team during the offseason. I wanted to know how he was doing, how he was feeling — or, as I put it, “You hanging in there?” He obliged, to a degree, but the topic didn’t interest him much. Then he paused, stared me directly in the eyes and said: “I’m never going to retire. No way. Never.”
Advertisement
I shook my head and thought, “You’re crazy. I’d be on an island somewhere if I were you.”
At the time, I did think he was crazy. This was a guy who had done just about everything imaginable in the Pittsburgh media scene for nearly half a century. He had battled more health issues than anybody could ever imagine, and he was worried about still being allowed to talk on the radio for two hours or do the Steelers postgame show that sometimes lasts well into the morning.
I didn’t get it. I really didn’t.
Thinking more and more about that conversation with him over the past few days, after the news came out that he had been moved into hospice care and it was just a matter of time (his words, not mine) before he left us, it all started to make sense.
Stan made his way in this business with talent, sure, but more than that, he did so with determination, grit and old-fashioned hard work.
That was Stan.
He loved sports, he loved to work and he loved people. Being a radio host, a studio host and a local sports anchor allowed him to do everything he loved in one fell swoop. He just loved talking sports with anybody and everybody, and he wasn’t about to let the cancer take that away from him. He wasn’t going to let the boot he showed up with every now and again stop him.
This was a guy who went on the air not long after brain surgery, who had open-heart surgery and back surgery — do you really think missing a toe or two or battling cancer scared him? Hell no.
He was going out his way, and that was with a microphone in one hand and his leather briefcase in the other. How can you not respect a man like that?
That’s why people across social media are emptying their hearts about a guy many of them had never met — he was highly respected and did things the right way.
Don’t get me wrong. Stan loved what he was able to accomplish in the Pittsburgh media scene, and who can blame him? About four years ago, I came up with the idea of doing the 10th anniversary of the cancellation of a cable “SportsCenter”-like show called “SportsBeat.”
Advertisement
Stan was all for it. “SportsBeat” was his baby, and he was just as thrilled as I was when I called up the show as a senior in high school to partake in the mock NFL Draft.
Stan had old pictures, stories and info waiting for me. I was surprised he didn’t help me write it. He was like a proud papa, and rightfully so, because it was a show that was ahead of its time. He later told me how devastated he was when “SportsBeat” was canceled. He began to choke up when he said that, and I started to tear up, too.
It meant so much to Stan to be there for the city.
That’s why he was never going to retire. He felt he owed it to us.
But you know what, “Stush”? You didn’t owe us anything.
We owe you — and forever will owe you.
Rest easy, my friend. You’ve earned it.
Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting on the passing of Stan Savran: pic.twitter.com/y42FUS5tuT
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 13, 2023
Yohe: I spoke with Stan a good bit during his final weeks. He’d text me, wanting to chat about Kyle Dubas, or the Pirates’ surprisingly good season or tennis, which he loved so much. Then, no matter what, he would ask how I was doing.
He was the guy with terminal cancer, the guy whose body was being ravaged by diabetes. But he wanted to know how I was feeling. That’s the kind of person Stan was.
Incidentally, I always felt better when I heard his voice, and this goes back far before I knew him and considered him a friend. I think I speak for Pittsburgh when I say that.
When the Pirates lost to the Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS in 1992, a whole city watched “SportsBeat” the next night because Stan would make us feel better. We all watched. Anytime there was a heartbreaking loss, it’s what we did. Even as recently as January, Stan hosted the Steelers postgame show on the Steelers Radio Network. I haven’t a clue if ratings were higher after wins or losses, but I guarantee you, fans tuned in with extra need because Stan would make them feel better. We take sports seriously in Pittsburgh. Stan understood this and was always there to keep our spirits up.
Advertisement
Stan was a man of incredible gifts: remarkable TV presence, soothing radio voice, excellent writer, wonderful broadcaster and a top-notch journalist. He was incredibly smart, even if his self-deprecation would suggest otherwise. Stan arrived in Pittsburgh during a far different era, when substance was everything. He adapted to the times but never changed who he was. As the decades rolled on and shock jocks and analytic minds overtook the industry, Stan was still Stan, calmly telling us what he thought, earnestly listening to what we had to say, then forming honest conclusions about what was best.
That was Stan, a true man of the people.
For many years, I had the privilege of joining Stan for a segment on his show at 12:20 p.m. every Wednesday. It was my favorite part of the week. For 20 minutes, I could talk hockey with Stan. What could be better than that? He would always text me before the show to remind me about my segment. As if I could forget I was going on the air with him.
I’ll think of Stan at 12:20 p.m. every Wednesday for the rest of my life. A man from Cleveland became a very, very proud Pittsburgher. Along the way, he truly became one of us.
Pittsburgh sports will never be the same without him but will always be better because of him. He always made us think. He always listened to what we had to say. He made us laugh. And tonight, he made us cry.
Loved the show, Stan.
(Photo courtesy of KDKA)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k29nbXBoZnxzfJFsZmluX2aAcL%2FTmqVmq5Grv6K6jJ2gnqtdpba1wNKbrKufmGLAsbvRrapo