James Leo Gibbons (1914–2001) was an American sportscaster who called Washington Redskins games from 1943 to 1967.
Gibbons was born on June 3, 1914, in Greeley Center, Nebraska.[1] He attended Creighton University and the University of Omaha. In 1940 he moved to Washington D.C. to work as a comptometer operator at the Social Security Administration. He also took classes at George Washington University and at a radio school.[2][3]
Gibbons began his radio career in 1942 as a part-time employee of WWDC. He joined WMAL in 1943, where he read commercials and provided color commentary for Redskins games.[2][3] In 1946 he took over WMAL’s morning show, Town Clock.[4] He also hosted WMAL’s Country Store, an annual Christmas drive that collected money and gifts for underprivileged children, called Maryland Terrapins football games, and hosted a weekly golf show on WMAL-TV.[2][3][5] In 1953, Gibbons became the Redskins’ play-by-play announcer, calling games on a simulcast for radio and television.[4] In 1955, the simulcasts ended and Gibbons called the TV broadcasts on CBS.[2] In 1957, Gibbons left WMAL for WRC-TV and WOL.[6] From 1960 to 1965, he called college football on ABC Radio.[2]
During the 1960s, Gibbons began purchasing radio stations. He eventually owned four, WFMD and WFRE in Frederick, Maryland and WPVR-FM and WFIR in Roanoke, Virginia. They were sold in 1999.[3] In 1994, Gibbons was inducted into the Washington Hall of Stars at RFK Stadium.[4] Gibbons died of congestive heart failure on February 13, 2001, at his home in Bethesda, Maryland.[2]