Alan Sullivan and Joe Cox
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813147031
- eISBN:
- 9780813154640
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813147031.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Radio
Claude Sullivan was a brilliant young man whose athletic career and studies were cut short by a near-fatal case of osteomyelitis while he was in high school. Claude found a niche in broadcasting. ...
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Claude Sullivan was a brilliant young man whose athletic career and studies were cut short by a near-fatal case of osteomyelitis while he was in high school. Claude found a niche in broadcasting. With his wife, Alyce, he took several jobs and moved around, before beginning full-time broadcasting of University of Kentucky sports in 1947. Claude broadcast many of the most memorable UK football and basketball squads of alltime in the next two decades, building relationships with coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Adolph Rupp. Claude also broadcast horse racing and later in his career Major League Baseball as the voice of the Cincinnati Reds. On a personal level, Claude was a mentor to many young broadcasters and a devoted husband and father. His interest in international travel manifested itself in several grand episodes that provided career highlights. Claude was also a business leader in broadcasting—creating an early sports radio network, running his broadcasts through his own company, and embracing early mobile technology. Claude developed cancer by 1966, and despite initial success in treatment, his condition deteriorated until his death in 1967. The impact of his work is still felt throughout sports broadcasting in Kentucky and the nation. Many of his broadcasts are preserved in the Claude Sullivan Collection in the University of Kentucky Archives, and between the highlights of those broadcasts, Claude’s own private documents, and the vast library from his career that he left behind, the inside story of a great Kentucky broadcaster now emerges.Less
Claude Sullivan was a brilliant young man whose athletic career and studies were cut short by a near-fatal case of osteomyelitis while he was in high school. Claude found a niche in broadcasting. With his wife, Alyce, he took several jobs and moved around, before beginning full-time broadcasting of University of Kentucky sports in 1947. Claude broadcast many of the most memorable UK football and basketball squads of alltime in the next two decades, building relationships with coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Adolph Rupp. Claude also broadcast horse racing and later in his career Major League Baseball as the voice of the Cincinnati Reds. On a personal level, Claude was a mentor to many young broadcasters and a devoted husband and father. His interest in international travel manifested itself in several grand episodes that provided career highlights. Claude was also a business leader in broadcasting—creating an early sports radio network, running his broadcasts through his own company, and embracing early mobile technology. Claude developed cancer by 1966, and despite initial success in treatment, his condition deteriorated until his death in 1967. The impact of his work is still felt throughout sports broadcasting in Kentucky and the nation. Many of his broadcasts are preserved in the Claude Sullivan Collection in the University of Kentucky Archives, and between the highlights of those broadcasts, Claude’s own private documents, and the vast library from his career that he left behind, the inside story of a great Kentucky broadcaster now emerges.
Alan Sullivan and Joe Cox
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813147031
- eISBN:
- 9780813154640
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813147031.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Radio
Claude covered the most successful UK football teams ever, culminating in Bryant’s 1951 Sugar Bowl win. He also covered Rupp’s 1951 NCAA Championship squad. During these years, Claude built abiding ...
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Claude covered the most successful UK football teams ever, culminating in Bryant’s 1951 Sugar Bowl win. He also covered Rupp’s 1951 NCAA Championship squad. During these years, Claude built abiding friendships with these famous coaches and improved his business model by founding the Standard Oil Network in 1951.Less
Claude covered the most successful UK football teams ever, culminating in Bryant’s 1951 Sugar Bowl win. He also covered Rupp’s 1951 NCAA Championship squad. During these years, Claude built abiding friendships with these famous coaches and improved his business model by founding the Standard Oil Network in 1951.
Alan Sullivan and Joe Cox
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813147031
- eISBN:
- 9780813154640
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813147031.003.0004
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Radio
Two negative milestones followed, as Claude covered the end of Bear Bryant’s UK career as well as the point-shaving scandal and NCAA probation for Coach Rupp’s basketball team. Among other respites, ...
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Two negative milestones followed, as Claude covered the end of Bear Bryant’s UK career as well as the point-shaving scandal and NCAA probation for Coach Rupp’s basketball team. Among other respites, Claude spent part of the so-called lost season, the basketball season cancelled by the NCAA, calling horse races, another significant part of his broadcasting legacy.Less
Two negative milestones followed, as Claude covered the end of Bear Bryant’s UK career as well as the point-shaving scandal and NCAA probation for Coach Rupp’s basketball team. Among other respites, Claude spent part of the so-called lost season, the basketball season cancelled by the NCAA, calling horse races, another significant part of his broadcasting legacy.
Alan Sullivan and Joe Cox
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813147031
- eISBN:
- 9780813154640
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813147031.003.0002
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Radio
Claude began his full-time UK broadcasting career in 1947 at WKLX. He covered some early UK football teams under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and UK basketball coach Adolph Rupp’s first two NCAA ...
More
Claude began his full-time UK broadcasting career in 1947 at WKLX. He covered some early UK football teams under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and UK basketball coach Adolph Rupp’s first two NCAA Championship teams. Some of the players on Rupp’s famed “Fabulous Five” squad were older than Claude, but his career was taking off, and he enjoyed covering such memorable moments at such a young age.Less
Claude began his full-time UK broadcasting career in 1947 at WKLX. He covered some early UK football teams under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and UK basketball coach Adolph Rupp’s first two NCAA Championship teams. Some of the players on Rupp’s famed “Fabulous Five” squad were older than Claude, but his career was taking off, and he enjoyed covering such memorable moments at such a young age.
