Don Gillis (Boston sportscaster)
Encyclopedia
Donald A. Gillis was an American
sportscaster
, born in Canada
, who was sports director of Boston's Channel 5
(WHDH-TV through March 18, 1972; thereafter WCVB-TV) from 1962 through 1983. Gillis pioneered the 11 p.m. sports report in Boston during his tenure at WHDH-TV, becoming the dean of the city's sports anchors, and also would host highly popular candlepin bowling
programs on the station from 1967 to 1996.
Gillis was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia
, and his family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts
, when he was a boy. After attending Holy Family High School in that city, Gillis served in the U.S. Navy
during World War II
in the Pacific Theater
of operations. At war's end, he attended Boston's Leland Powers School of Broadcasting
on the GI Bill and began a career in radio
broadcasting at New Bedford's WBSM-AM
in 1949, becoming that station's first sports director. In 1951, he joined the air staff of Boston's WHDH-AM 850
, where he hosted music programs before focusing exclusively on sports.
WHDH at the time was the flagship station of the Boston Red Sox
, and carried Boston Celtics
basketball, Boston Bruins
hockey, and Harvard University
football
during the autumn and winter months. Gillis hosted pregame coverage of Red Sox games — his "Warmup Time" five-minute segment often revisited great moments in baseball
history – and was a color commentator
on Bruins and Celtics games. During the 1957
season, he joined the Red Sox' broadcast team when the primary announcer, Curt Gowdy
, was sidelined for the year by a back injury. Gillis' most famous play-by-play
assignment was the 1968
Harvard–Yale football game. A color kinescope
of the telecast was featured prominently in the 2008 documentary film
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
. In addition, Gillis hosted a weekly sports roundtable radio show, called "The Voice of Sports," that featured sportswriters from the Boston Herald-Traveler
(which owned WHDH), and other personalities, such as longtime Pittsburgh Pirates
scout Chick Whalen and NBC
sports producer Joe Costanza.
During the mid-to-late 1960s, he was the play-by-play announcer for a limited schedule of Boston Celtic games on WHDH-TV.
But Gillis became best known as a television sports anchor. He began his sports report on October 1, 1962 (the same night Johnny Carson
debuted as host of The Tonight Show
). WHDH-TV expanded its late news from 15 minutes to a full half-hour to accommodate extended weather and sports segments. During the period when WHDH-TV held the license to Boston's Channel 5, the station was the flagship of the Red Sox TV network. After the team's improbable 1967
American League
pennant, its TV ratings soared and Gillis was able to use film highlights of the team's games during his sportscasts. However, relatively few of the games were telecast compared to today's diet of 162 regular season broadcasts, and Ch. 5 would send a cameraman to the games that were not telecast live. This often meant that the 11 p.m. newscast featured only highlights from the early through middle innings, since the film had to be rushed from Fenway Park to the station's studios in Dorchester to be developed, edited and finally aired. Gillis would use the filmed highlights to set the stage for "telling" the audience about the late, and often decisive, action.
In March 1972, however, Herald-Traveler Corp. lost its battle for a permanent license for the television property. Gillis, along with much of the on-air staff, were hired by the new licensee, Boston Broadcasters Inc., to establish an on-air presence at the new WCVB-TV, and Gillis carried on as sports director. Even though the Red Sox did not follow, ratings for the station's newscasts at 6 and 11 p.m. remained high. When WCVB-TV was acquired by Metromedia
in 1982 for the highest price then ever paid for a local television station, Gillis was one of many stockholders who profited handsomely from the transaction.
He retired from NewsCenter 5 broadcasts a year after the sale, although his son, Gary Gillis, continued as a sportscaster and sports anchor in the market for the city's Channel 7
, which assumed the WHDH-TV call-letters in 1990. Don Gillis would continue to host the Saturday afternoon Candlepin Bowling show on WCVB until its cancellation on January 27, 1996.
Gillis retired to his home in Falmouth
on Cape Cod
. During his last years, he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease
. He also endured a series of stroke
s three weeks before his death at home.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, born in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, who was sports director of Boston's Channel 5
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
(WHDH-TV through March 18, 1972; thereafter WCVB-TV) from 1962 through 1983. Gillis pioneered the 11 p.m. sports report in Boston during his tenure at WHDH-TV, becoming the dean of the city's sports anchors, and also would host highly popular candlepin bowling
Candlepin bowling
Candlepin bowling is a variation of Bowling that is played primarily in the Canadian Maritime provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and the New England states of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where it is more common than ten-pin bowling....
programs on the station from 1967 to 1996.
Gillis was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Antigonish is a Canadian town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous highland games in North America.-History:...
, and his family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, when he was a boy. After attending Holy Family High School in that city, Gillis served in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
of operations. At war's end, he attended Boston's Leland Powers School of Broadcasting
Leland Powers School
The Leland Powers School, also known as the Leland Powers School of Communication, Leland Powers School of Radio, Theatre, and Television, Leland Powers Theatre School, the Leland Powers School of Expression, Leland Powers School of the Spoken Word, and originally called the Leland Powers School of...
on the GI Bill and began a career in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcasting at New Bedford's WBSM-AM
WBSM
WBSM is an AM radio station broadcasting in the New Bedford/Fall River market area with a News/Talk format. It broadcasts on 1420 kilocycles and is under ownership of Cumulus Media, with studios in Fairhaven shared with fellow Cumulus station WFHN/Fun 107...
in 1949, becoming that station's first sports director. In 1951, he joined the air staff of Boston's WHDH-AM 850
WEEI
WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
, where he hosted music programs before focusing exclusively on sports.
WHDH at the time was the flagship station of the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, and carried Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
basketball, Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
hockey, and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
during the autumn and winter months. Gillis hosted pregame coverage of Red Sox games — his "Warmup Time" five-minute segment often revisited great moments in baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
history – and was a color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
on Bruins and Celtics games. During the 1957
1957 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Milwaukee Braves over New York Yankees ; Lew Burdette, MVP*All-Star Game, July 9 at Busch Stadium: American League, 6-5-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: California...
season, he joined the Red Sox' broadcast team when the primary announcer, Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
, was sidelined for the year by a back injury. Gillis' most famous play-by-play
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
assignment was the 1968
1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game
The 1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game was an American college football game between the team of Yale University and the team of Harvard University played on November 23, 1968. The game ended in a tie with a score of 29–29...
Harvard–Yale football game. A color kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
of the telecast was featured prominently in the 2008 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 is a 2008 documentary by filmmaker Kevin Rafferty, covering the 1968 meeting between the football teams of Yale and Harvard in their storied rivalry...
. In addition, Gillis hosted a weekly sports roundtable radio show, called "The Voice of Sports," that featured sportswriters from the Boston Herald-Traveler
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
(which owned WHDH), and other personalities, such as longtime Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
scout Chick Whalen and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sports producer Joe Costanza.
During the mid-to-late 1960s, he was the play-by-play announcer for a limited schedule of Boston Celtic games on WHDH-TV.
But Gillis became best known as a television sports anchor. He began his sports report on October 1, 1962 (the same night Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
debuted as host of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
). WHDH-TV expanded its late news from 15 minutes to a full half-hour to accommodate extended weather and sports segments. During the period when WHDH-TV held the license to Boston's Channel 5, the station was the flagship of the Red Sox TV network. After the team's improbable 1967
1967 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 11 at Anaheim Stadium: National League, 2-1 ; Tony Pérez, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant, its TV ratings soared and Gillis was able to use film highlights of the team's games during his sportscasts. However, relatively few of the games were telecast compared to today's diet of 162 regular season broadcasts, and Ch. 5 would send a cameraman to the games that were not telecast live. This often meant that the 11 p.m. newscast featured only highlights from the early through middle innings, since the film had to be rushed from Fenway Park to the station's studios in Dorchester to be developed, edited and finally aired. Gillis would use the filmed highlights to set the stage for "telling" the audience about the late, and often decisive, action.
In March 1972, however, Herald-Traveler Corp. lost its battle for a permanent license for the television property. Gillis, along with much of the on-air staff, were hired by the new licensee, Boston Broadcasters Inc., to establish an on-air presence at the new WCVB-TV, and Gillis carried on as sports director. Even though the Red Sox did not follow, ratings for the station's newscasts at 6 and 11 p.m. remained high. When WCVB-TV was acquired by Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
in 1982 for the highest price then ever paid for a local television station, Gillis was one of many stockholders who profited handsomely from the transaction.
He retired from NewsCenter 5 broadcasts a year after the sale, although his son, Gary Gillis, continued as a sportscaster and sports anchor in the market for the city's Channel 7
WHDH-TV
WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI...
, which assumed the WHDH-TV call-letters in 1990. Don Gillis would continue to host the Saturday afternoon Candlepin Bowling show on WCVB until its cancellation on January 27, 1996.
Gillis retired to his home in Falmouth
Falmouth, Massachusetts
Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 31,531 at the 2010 census....
on Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
. During his last years, he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. He also endured a series of stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s three weeks before his death at home.