Boston Sports Dean Don Gillis Dies at 85

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Don Gillis, known as Boston's first sports anchor, has died. The Canada-born retired newsman was 85 and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

A veteran of radio, Gillis began a nightly sports segment on WHDH in 1962, and he is said to be the first anchor in Boston to do a sportscast. Gillis then shifted to WCVB, where he was the sports director from 1972-1983. He was also the play-by-play guy for the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots and Boston Bruins at various points in his career.

Michael Malone
Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.