Pittsburgh sports broadcasting icon Stan Savran dies at age 76

Stan Savran broke into the Pittsburgh sports scene as it became known as the City of Champions, made his mark as an opinionated anchor with a sharp wit and rose to prominence as the host of “SportsBeat,” the longest-running sports talk show in the market’s television history.

After nearly five decades on the airwaves, both in television and radio, Savran was considered the dean of Pittsburgh sportscasters. His gap-toothed smile gave an everyman appearance that was complemented by a blue-collar work ethic, although he took as much pride in his fashion sense as he did his encyclopedic sports knowledge.

“He was Google before there was Google,” longtime friend and co-host Guy Junker said. “I don’t know if a photographic memory is a real thing, but if it is, he had it. He had a very eloquent way of putting things. And he just had a few notes on a yellow legal pad.”

Savran continued to work until this past winter, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer and also lost his right leg to diabetes. Savran died Monday at his home in Upper St. Clair. He was 76.

Born Stanley George Savransky on Feb. 25, 1947, in Cleveland, Savran took pride in playing high school football and serving as a bat boy for the Cleveland Indians before attending Miami (Ohio) University.

He shortened his name for a career in broadcasting, which began in Pittsburgh in January 1976, when he answered a blind ad for a radio station. Savran worked at WWSW-AM until the station switched formats, then moved to KQV. He was a reporter and anchor at WTAE-TV from 1981-91, also hosting a one-hour radio show that followed Myron Cope’s popular 6-8 p.m. slot on WTAE-AM.

Despite his Cleveland roots, Savran took great pride that he convinced Pittsburgh listeners and viewers that he was one of their own and became one of the shining stars in the city’s golden age of sportscasting.

“We’ve had some really talented sports broadcasters in Pittsburgh — Bob Prince, Myron Cope, Mike Lange — and Stan is certainly on the Mount Rushmore of that,” Junker said. “He’s the last of a dying breed. He took shots, but they were fair. He didn’t take cheap shots. Things always had to be accurate. It was old-school journalism with a fastball.”

After he was fired by WTAE in 1991, Savran took a job at the upstart KBL cable sports network, which launched “SportsBeat” as a talk show. Partnered with Junker, they became known simply as “Stan and Guy” and the first-time caller, longtime listener greeting became a staple of the city’s sports lexicon from callers content to ask a question, then hang up and listen to their responses.

Regular guests on “SportsBeat” included a cast of characters that ranged from Beano Cook, Steelers Hall of Famer Jack Ham, lineman Max Starks and cornerback Ike Taylor, broadcasters Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley to Penguins forward Max Talbot and broadcaster Eddie Olcyzk.

But it became a destination spot for sports icons, from Steelers coaches Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher to heavyweight champions Buster Douglas and Evander Holyfield to Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and Pirates manager Jim Leyland to Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.

“He was a kind-hearted man,” said longtime colleague and Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald. “He was a really good guy. He wasn’t egotistical. He was genuinely interesting in what you had to say when you talked to him. He enjoyed the camaraderie between his colleagues.

“He was a guy that enjoyed being in the press room and gabbing with the other sports guys. He was always happy to express his opinions on things. He had, I think, a really good spirit about life. He never worked a day in his life. It all was a labor of love for him. “

Where Savran’s casual-conversation style helped build a rapport with the audience, Savran was known for sharing strong opinions and wasn’t afraid to chastise anyone, be it guest or caller.

“Stan’s blatantly honest, almost to a fault,” Junker said in 2009. “He’s made as many enemies as he has friends. That doesn’t always make him popular, but people respect him.”

The respect was such that Mister Rogers and Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully shared well wishes for the 2,000th episode of “SportsBeat.” Savran and Junker even surprised Steelers great Franco Harris on the 25th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception by having Jim Baker, an insurance salesman from West Mifflin who swiped the ball after the famous play, toss it to Harris during a guest appearance.

Savran continued on as KBL evolved into Prime Sports, then Fox Sports Pittsburgh, FSN Pittsburgh and Root Sports before becoming AT&T SportsNet. His co-workers marveled at how Savran never scripted his shows or used a teleprompter to read the news he was sharing.

“Stan did everything off the top of his head,” said Roger Lenhart, Savran’s longtime producer. “He would have a daily meeting for ‘SportsBeat’ with a yellow notepad and would write everything down. Everybody is amazed that he never used a ‘prompter. ‘SportsBeat?’ Never. On-site shows? Never. He was just an old-school guy. I was like, ‘How does he remember all of this with no ‘prompter?’ The only time I remember him scripting something was the last episode of ‘SportsBeat.’”

Despite the ratings success of “SportsBeat,” Fox Sports executives in L.A. weren’t fans of the show’s format and wanted to take it off the air. Junker was fired in 2003, and Savran hosted the rebranded show “Savran on SportsBeat” alone for six years.

When it ended after nearly 18 years in July 2009, Savran shared in a two-hour special that “SportsBeat” “lived and breathed and provided joy and lifted spirts with a spirit of its own.” Savran offered no regrets for his love affair with the show and its crew that served as his surrogate family while giving a tearful goodbye before bowing his head.

“It was just two Pittsburgh guys talking sports, and they couldn’t comprehend that,” Savran told The Athletic. “When they canceled ‘SportsBeat,’ it was devastating to me. We were on longer than ‘Gunsmoke.’ It just crushed me.”

Savran’s co-workers at AT&T SportsNet say Savran refused to miss a show, never taking a day off from work. He and Junker were reunited on the radio, hosting the “Stan and Guy Show” on ESPN Radio 1250 from 2008-10, and later hosted a show on 970-AM.

“My work is my life — it is — and I look at the two of them being equal,” Savran told the Trib in 2009, while recovering from open-heart surgery. “It’s important to me. It’s not just an event. I feel an obligation — to the fans, to my employer, to the teams — to do it well and do it well every single time out. It’s who I am. It’s what defines me.”