UPDATE: Eli Gold, the longtime voice of Alabama football, announced Friday he has been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer.
“I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers,” Gold wrote in a statement via Crimson Tide Sports Network. “After extensive testing, I have now been diagnosed of a treatable form of cancer. I’m already making progress and hope to get back behind the mic again soon. Roll Tide!”
Gold has been dealing with health issues since the spring of 2022. He said in November he had basically lost his ability to walk. He had been in the hospital for 170 days. In that process, he lost a bunch of weight and was down to 210 pounds when he spoke with The Tuscaloosa News in November.
— Tuscaloosa News —
Original post: Change is coming to the Alabama football radio broadcast booth this September.
The school announced Wednesday that longtime voice of the team Eli Gold will be sidelined to start the season due to health issues. Chris Stewart, the play-by-play man for Alabama basketball and other sports will take his seat in the booth. Stewart has been a sideline reporter in recent years on football broadcasts.
Gold, 68, signed a new deal with Alabama in 2018 that extended his contract through the 2023 season. At the time of the extension, Gold told AL.com he planned on working beyond the end of that
The 2014 inductee to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame has been a broadcast lifer. He joined the NASCAR Motor Racing Network in 1976 and was the voice of the Birmingham Barons baseball team in the early 1980s. He continued to work various other broadcasting jobs along with the Crimson Tide duties including Birmingham Bulls (hockey) and the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G-League.
— AL.com —