Stan Savran, longtime broadcaster known as ‘Godfather’ of Pittsburgh sports, dies at 76

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Stan Savran, who spent nearly five decades in sports broadcasting chronicling Pittsburgh’s rise to the “City of Champions,” has died. He was 76.

WTAE-TV, where Savran worked as a sports anchor in the 1980s, announced Savran’s death on Monday. No official cause of death was given but Savran, who was living in Upper St. Clair in the city’s southern suburbs, had been very public about his battle with lung cancer in recent years.

Affectionately known as the “Godfather” of Pittsburgh sports, the Cleveland native arrived in his adopted city in 1976 and never left. He began his career in Pittsburgh in radio before moving into TV while even occasionally moonlighting as a newspaper columnist.

Savran was best known for the nightly “SportsBeat” show he co-hosted on regional cable alongside Guy Junker. The show, which ran from 1991-2009, was required viewing for fans in a city avid about its professional sports teams. Callers would often start their conversation with “Stan, Guy, love the show,” a phrase Savran affectionately carried with him after the show’s long run ended.

“You will not find a better person, someone who has been so helpful to people like me and so many others, who asked for his time, he was always gracious to help young people in this business of ours,” longtime KDKA TV sports anchor Bob Pompeani said.

Savran combined a tireless work ethic and almost exhaustive knowledge of sports with an opinionated but straightforward delivery that made him one of the most trusted voices in a crowded media market.

His versatility allowed him to wear many hats, including stints as pre-game host for Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates broadcasts as well as several iterations of an eponymous radio show.

“We loved the show, but more importantly, Stan, we loved you,” the Pittsburgh Pirates tweeted.

Savran also worked in multiple capacities for the Pittsburgh Steelers, be it on their radio network or as a contributor to the team’s Hall of Honor committee.

“He was a gentleman in every way possible, and he did so much for our city and Western Pa. with his honest candor and knowledge of all sports, both locally and nationally,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement.

Savran’s almost photographic memory allowed him to work without a teleprompter, a rarity.

“He was just an old-school guy,” producer Roger Lenhart told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I was like, ‘How does he remember all of this with no ‘prompter?’”

That was just Stan being Stan. Savran remained a fixture at Steelers home games, while also doing intermission and postgame shows for the Penguins well into his 70s. His daily radio show continued until his health deteriorated earlier this year, though that didn’t stop him from serving as a guest on other shows, many of which were hosted by personalities he mentored earlier in their careers.

“Not just a Pittsburgh media icon but a Pittsburgh icon, period,” tweeted Pittsburgh sports radio host Mark Madden, who brought Savran on his show regularly as recently as this spring. “A good friend, true peer and thoroughly good man. It’s a honor to have known (and) worked with him. ‘Love the show’ will long be remembered. Stan did it right.”