Radnich reaches 20 years at KRON

Gary Radnich is not blowing his own horn when he says he will have a job at KRON Channel 4 as long as he wants to work for the station. The sports anchor will celebrate his 20th year at KRON on March 13 and figures if he has survived this long, there is no reason to think he will wear out his welcome soon.

"Whether you've been good or bad, at least you've been there," said Radnich, who also is in his 13th year at KNBR 680. "My contracts are long enough that I'll die at both places — literally and figuratively. Let's face it. You can want to seem secure, but when you've got a good contract and you're doing pretty good, it's easier.

"You can't replace the feeling of knowing that what you're doing is wanted and viable."

Radnich does not have to worry about his job security at KRON, because he has endeared himself to the station and its viewers by doing what he does best — be himself.

"There is only one Gary Radnich, and we are fortunate to have had him for the past 20 years," said Craig Marrs, station manager and vice president at KRON. "He is one of the most memorable characters on local television. Simply put, he is a giant."

KRON executive sports producer Jason Appelbaum added, "I don't know if I can think of anybody else who're more comfortable with himself than Gary is. He's not trying to be like everybody else. He's not trying to be a TV guy. He's who he is."

That might explain why Radnich has remained at KRON instead of taking a job at ESPN, where the anchors on "SportsCenter" are nothing unless they have a catch phrase.

"I have gone back to ESPN just to say I went," Radnich said with a chuckle. "It really depends on what you want to do, if you want to move your family to Bristol (Conn.) and try to be funnier than the next guy. It was nothing that inspired me.

"My only saying (on KRON) was when a guy struck out, I'd say, 'Sit down.' Then I heard that said three times one night on ESPN and dropped it. They stole it from me."

Ironically, "Sit Down" became the name of Radnich's special sports shows on KRON. Dennis O'Donnell, who was KRON's executive sports producer before leaving in 2000 to become the sports anchor at KPIX Channel 5, recalled a "Sit Down" segment for Valentine's Day in 1989 when he and Radnich had to corral Jose Canseco.

Radnich interviewed San Francisco Giants manager Roger Craig, Oakland A's manager Tony La Russa and their wives for the show. O'Donnell said he and Radnich traveled to the A's spring training camp in Phoenix to meet with Canseco and his wife, Esther, but the slugger was in no mood to talk after the couple had argued.

"Jose was trying to dodge us at the team's hotel, but we surrounded him. We weren't going to let him off the hook," O'Donnell recalled. "He and Esther had gotten into some kind of brawl. I think their marriage lasted about 30 minutes after that."

O'Donnell was not surprised by Radnich's tenacity in pursing Canseco. After Radnich arrived at KRON as the weekend sports anchor in 1985, when Tom Nettles was the weeknight sports anchor, O'Donnell knew Radnich would push the envelope.

"He went outside the box, and he caught people's eye. That's what I noticed immediately," O'Donnell said. "When he came on board, Gary thought he was going to be the No.1 guy. It was a good idea he was the weekend anchor. If had been on five nights a week, it would have been an awfully heavy dose. He was very unusual.

"The audience needed to warm up to him."

Radnich created a connection with viewers by sharing their perspective of Bay Area sports and speaking their language. As Appelbaum said, "He cares more about the viewers and the fans than the athletes. He's got his finger on the pulse of the fans."

Randy Hahn, the television play-by-play man for the San Jose Sharks, said he and partner Drew Remenda make a conscious effort to connect with viewers as Radnich does.

"You tune in to Gary first, whether he's on KNBR or Channel 4," Hahn said. "It's not that Gary's going to give you a scoop or news other stations don't have, but he's going to connect with you. We in the business are usually jaded toward other sportscasters, but that's what we all strive for. He's not preaching. He's not broadcasting. He talks to people, and that's tough to do on a one-way medium like TV."

Other stations also took notice of how Radnich created a loyal following. "I don't know if I know of a person who has revolutionized a sports market the way he did," O'Donnell said. "He made the other stations react to what he was doing, and they did."

Ted Griggs, the executive vice president of programming and operations at Fox Sports Net Bay Area, said he jokingly calls Radnich "the Godfather of Bay Area sports television." It might be because Radnich is beloved by viewers and feared by other stations.

"He was weekends at KRON for about a year and a half and gradually became more popular than the No.1 guy," Griggs said. "Everyone knew it after a while, because he started developing a following. People loved him. Gary gets it with the common guy. He gets what common sports fans think and understands what they think.

"That's why I think Gary has kind of resonated in this market from the very beginning."

FSN Bay Area has been a target of Radnich's sarcastic humor when the station is not televising a game Radnich believes fans should be able to watch. "When we do some things, we wonder if Gary's going to tease us," Griggs said. "He'll take some shots at us if we don't show a game, but then again he's representing what the common person at home is thinking. And you know he knows how to tease people.

"He can say something that's pretty biting, that cuts you pretty deep, but he's smiling when he says it. He can get his way with his humor, and the people at home get it."

Radnich gets away with his digs because he is respected first and foremost for being himself.

"Gary's not contrived. That's his secret. He's himself," said KTVU Channel 2 sports anchor Mark Ibanez, who is in his 26th year at the station. " I've seen so many guys come and go out of here. Every guy who had a shtick, it didn't work. It's a pretty sophisticated audience. The Bay Area won't stand for it. They want meat and potatoes."

Ibanez thinks enough of Radnich that he has had him as a guest on KTVU's "49ers Playbook."

"It's unheard of, having the opposing sports guy on your show. Gary's the guy. He doesn't care. He gets it," Ibanez said. "I knew by having him on, we would have a better show."

Ibanez made Radnich an offer even "the Godfather of Bay Area sports television" couldn't refuse.

Cecil Conley can be reached at cconley@angnewspapers.com