Alabama broadcaster Eli Gold rings bell, completes cancer treatment
After missing Alabama’s entire 2022 season due to health issues and later being diagnosed with cancer, Eli Gold did what every cancer patient hopes to do. He rang the bell.
Gold has completed his treatment, Crimson Tide Sports Network producer Tom Stipe announced via Twitter. He shared a video of the beloved Alabama broadcaster smiling from ear to ear as he got to ring the bell, signaling the end of his treatment.
“Praise the Lord and Roll Tide!” Stipe tweeted. “My friend and co-worker Eli Gold just rang the bell completing his cancer treatment!”
Gold announced his diagnosis in January when he confirmed he was dealing with a “treatable form of cancer” and shared his desire to get back to the booth. Chris Stewart filled in for Gold during the 2022 campaign and made sure to start every edition of “Hey Coach and The Nick Saban Show” by acknowledging the seat wasn’t his. It was Gold’s.
Stewart also paid tribute to the beloved play-by-play announcer after the first Alabama touchdown of the season, saying “We miss you Eli” before shouting his signature “Touchdown, Alabama!”
The reason for Gold’s absence wasn’t clear until his announcement in January. As it turns out, a case of the hiccups ended up leading doctors to the diagnosis, as he told WSNP.
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“And finally, finally — you can laugh, it’s not funny but it’s humorous to some degree — I ended up with a terrible case of the hiccups. I was hiccupping and hiccupping to such a degree that I couldn’t — this was in December, middle to late December — I was hiccupping to such a degree, I couldn’t even catch my breath,” Gold said. “I mean, I was struggling to breath because I couldn’t get any breath because I was hiccupping. Well, the doctor who they brought in to figure this deal out with the hiccups is the one who stumbled upon what that was doing and why it was happening. And because of that, I was having — I had cancer. The hiccups in a roundabout way were caused by the cancer and they learned from that.”
Understandably, Gold had plenty of support throughout his cancer journey. One important person in his corner was Saban, who sits next to Gold every Thursday night from Baumhower’s Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa.
“Eli Gold has been an important part of the game day traditions at the University of Alabama for over 30 years,” Saban said after Gold announced he had cancer, via AL.com’s Mike Rodak. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Eli and his family as he begins cancer treatments. We are comforted knowing he is getting the best possible care as he works his way back to the Alabama radio booth.”
Although he won’t be in the booth for Saturday’s A-Day spring game, Gold has every intention of being back where he belongs: behind the microphone, announcing Crimson Tide football.