Don Klein
1923 - 2019
Don Klein's voice was familiar to San Francisco Bay Area sports fans for over forty years. He was recognized as the "dean" of Bay area sportscasters until his retirement from KCBS in 1990.
Don was born in Seattle where he lived for twenty-two years before leaving in 1945 for duty in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Six years earlier, Don had met his future wife, Jeanne Westerland, at a high school dance. Jeanne passed away in 2017, after enjoying seventy-two years of their happy marriage.
As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Washington, Don's naval assignments led him to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu where he served on the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz in Navy Public Relations. The war had interrupted Don's budding radio career as a sportscaster in Seattle, but he was able to resume his radio work, after his naval discharge, as sports Director of KPOA in Honolulu.
He served in that capacity for three years during which time he did recreated broadcasts of the San Francisco Seals, who had trained in Honolulu and had a large local following in Hawaii. Don broadcast the Seals' games from wire reports from the mainland to the KPOA studios, adding crowd sound effects to "recreate" the action for the Honolulu fans, and adding foul balls if the ticker machine malfunctioned.
Don moved to San Francisco to become the Seals play-by-play announcer. He opened the 1949 season in Seals Stadium with "live" coverage of the Seals while admitting, "I was pretty nervous for that first game after announcing the Seals' previous 360 games without ever seeing them play!"
He remained the Seals announcer both on radio and TV until 1958 when the Giants came to San Francisco. It was then that Don joined KCBS in San Francisco and started a thirty-year run as Sports Director.
For twenty-five years, his main focus was coverage of Stanford University football and basketball, highlighted by his CBS national radio broadcast of Stanford's Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State and Michigan in 1971 and 1972. Don ended those twenty-five years of Stanford coverage in 1981, joining his friend 49er coach Bill Wash, as the 49ers play-by-play announcer that year. "My timing could not have been better" Don points out, as that '81 team was San Francisco's first Super Bowl team. The season included Don's often heard call of the most famous play in 49er's history, "The Catch" in the NFC Championship win over the Cowboys. Don broadcast the 49ers Super bowl victory over the Bengals in 1982 and the 49ers Super Bowl victory over the Dolphins in 1985. He continued his broadcasting with the CBS Radio Network announcing NFL games until his retirement in 1990. In addition, during his time at KCBS Don provided updates for the CBS Radio Network from the Rome 1960 Olympics and the Munich 1972 Olympics.
Don received various awards for excellence in broadcasting from the California Associated Press and was elected to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2008.
Don and Jeanne enjoyed traveling throughout the US and Europe and took many fall foliage trips throughout New England and Canada after his retirement, oftentimes with close Canadian friends. They made their home in Palo Alto for fifty-one years before moving to Santa Rosa in 2002.
Don's survivors include son (and statistician on his broadcasts), Raleigh Klein (Nan), of Davis; daughter Karen Brown (Andrew) of Windsor; grandchildren, James Klein, Samantha Gippetti (Jeromey) and Danielle Brown; and great-grandson, Nathan Gippetti. Another son, Gary, died in 2015.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Living Room, P.O. Box 4056, Santa Rosa, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3320 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa or to the donor's favorite charity. A public celebration of the lives of Don and Jeanne will take place on Saturday, August 31 at 11:30 a.m., with lunch to follow, at New Song Church, 167 Arata Lane, Windsor.
Published in Press Democrat on Jul. 14, 2019.
1923 - 2019
Don Klein's voice was familiar to San Francisco Bay Area sports fans for over forty years. He was recognized as the "dean" of Bay area sportscasters until his retirement from KCBS in 1990.
Don was born in Seattle where he lived for twenty-two years before leaving in 1945 for duty in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Six years earlier, Don had met his future wife, Jeanne Westerland, at a high school dance. Jeanne passed away in 2017, after enjoying seventy-two years of their happy marriage.
As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Washington, Don's naval assignments led him to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu where he served on the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz in Navy Public Relations. The war had interrupted Don's budding radio career as a sportscaster in Seattle, but he was able to resume his radio work, after his naval discharge, as sports Director of KPOA in Honolulu.
He served in that capacity for three years during which time he did recreated broadcasts of the San Francisco Seals, who had trained in Honolulu and had a large local following in Hawaii. Don broadcast the Seals' games from wire reports from the mainland to the KPOA studios, adding crowd sound effects to "recreate" the action for the Honolulu fans, and adding foul balls if the ticker machine malfunctioned.
Don moved to San Francisco to become the Seals play-by-play announcer. He opened the 1949 season in Seals Stadium with "live" coverage of the Seals while admitting, "I was pretty nervous for that first game after announcing the Seals' previous 360 games without ever seeing them play!"
He remained the Seals announcer both on radio and TV until 1958 when the Giants came to San Francisco. It was then that Don joined KCBS in San Francisco and started a thirty-year run as Sports Director.
For twenty-five years, his main focus was coverage of Stanford University football and basketball, highlighted by his CBS national radio broadcast of Stanford's Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State and Michigan in 1971 and 1972. Don ended those twenty-five years of Stanford coverage in 1981, joining his friend 49er coach Bill Wash, as the 49ers play-by-play announcer that year. "My timing could not have been better" Don points out, as that '81 team was San Francisco's first Super Bowl team. The season included Don's often heard call of the most famous play in 49er's history, "The Catch" in the NFC Championship win over the Cowboys. Don broadcast the 49ers Super bowl victory over the Bengals in 1982 and the 49ers Super Bowl victory over the Dolphins in 1985. He continued his broadcasting with the CBS Radio Network announcing NFL games until his retirement in 1990. In addition, during his time at KCBS Don provided updates for the CBS Radio Network from the Rome 1960 Olympics and the Munich 1972 Olympics.
Don received various awards for excellence in broadcasting from the California Associated Press and was elected to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2008.
Don and Jeanne enjoyed traveling throughout the US and Europe and took many fall foliage trips throughout New England and Canada after his retirement, oftentimes with close Canadian friends. They made their home in Palo Alto for fifty-one years before moving to Santa Rosa in 2002.
Don's survivors include son (and statistician on his broadcasts), Raleigh Klein (Nan), of Davis; daughter Karen Brown (Andrew) of Windsor; grandchildren, James Klein, Samantha Gippetti (Jeromey) and Danielle Brown; and great-grandson, Nathan Gippetti. Another son, Gary, died in 2015.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Living Room, P.O. Box 4056, Santa Rosa, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3320 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa or to the donor's favorite charity. A public celebration of the lives of Don and Jeanne will take place on Saturday, August 31 at 11:30 a.m., with lunch to follow, at New Song Church, 167 Arata Lane, Windsor.
Published in Press Democrat on Jul. 14, 2019.
Don Klein
1923 - 2019
Don Klein's voice was familiar to San Francisco Bay Area sports fans for over forty years. He was recognized as the "dean" of Bay area sportscasters until his retirement from KCBS in 1990.
Don was born in Seattle where he lived for twenty-two years before leaving in 1945 for duty in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Six years earlier, Don had met his future wife, Jeanne Westerland, at a high school dance. Jeanne passed away in 2017, after enjoying seventy-two years of their happy marriage.
As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Washington, Don's naval assignments led him to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu where he served on the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz in Navy Public Relations. The war had interrupted Don's budding radio career as a sportscaster in Seattle, but he was able to resume his radio work, after his naval discharge, as sports Director of KPOA in Honolulu.
He served in that capacity for three years during which time he did recreated broadcasts of the San Francisco Seals, who had trained in Honolulu and had a large local following in Hawaii. Don broadcast the Seals' games from wire reports from the mainland to the KPOA studios, adding crowd sound effects to "recreate" the action for the Honolulu fans, and adding foul balls if the ticker machine malfunctioned.
Don moved to San Francisco to become the Seals play-by-play announcer. He opened the 1949 season in Seals Stadium with "live" coverage of the Seals while admitting, "I was pretty nervous for that first game after announcing the Seals' previous 360 games without ever seeing them play!"
He remained the Seals announcer both on radio and TV until 1958 when the Giants came to San Francisco. It was then that Don joined KCBS in San Francisco and started a thirty-year run as Sports Director.
For twenty-five years, his main focus was coverage of Stanford University football and basketball, highlighted by his CBS national radio broadcast of Stanford's Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State and Michigan in 1971 and 1972. Don ended those twenty-five years of Stanford coverage in 1981, joining his friend 49er coach Bill Wash, as the 49ers play-by-play announcer that year. "My timing could not have been better" Don points out, as that '81 team was San Francisco's first Super Bowl team. The season included Don's often heard call of the most famous play in 49er's history, "The Catch" in the NFC Championship win over the Cowboys. Don broadcast the 49ers Super bowl victory over the Bengals in 1982 and the 49ers Super Bowl victory over the Dolphins in 1985. He continued his broadcasting with the CBS Radio Network announcing NFL games until his retirement in 1990. In addition, during his time at KCBS Don provided updates for the CBS Radio Network from the Rome 1960 Olympics and the Munich 1972 Olympics.
Don received various awards for excellence in broadcasting from the California Associated Press and was elected to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2008.
Don and Jeanne enjoyed traveling throughout the US and Europe and took many fall foliage trips throughout New England and Canada after his retirement, oftentimes with close Canadian friends. They made their home in Palo Alto for fifty-one years before moving to Santa Rosa in 2002.
Don's survivors include son (and statistician on his broadcasts), Raleigh Klein (Nan), of Davis; daughter Karen Brown (Andrew) of Windsor; grandchildren, James Klein, Samantha Gippetti (Jeromey) and Danielle Brown; and great-grandson, Nathan Gippetti. Another son, Gary, died in 2015.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Living Room, P.O. Box 4056, Santa Rosa, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3320 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa or to the donor's favorite charity. A public celebration of the lives of Don and Jeanne will take place on Saturday, August 31 at 11:30 a.m., with lunch to follow, at New Song Church, 167 Arata Lane, Windsor.
Published in Press Democrat on Jul. 14, 2019.
1923 - 2019
Don Klein's voice was familiar to San Francisco Bay Area sports fans for over forty years. He was recognized as the "dean" of Bay area sportscasters until his retirement from KCBS in 1990.
Don was born in Seattle where he lived for twenty-two years before leaving in 1945 for duty in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Six years earlier, Don had met his future wife, Jeanne Westerland, at a high school dance. Jeanne passed away in 2017, after enjoying seventy-two years of their happy marriage.
As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Washington, Don's naval assignments led him to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu where he served on the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz in Navy Public Relations. The war had interrupted Don's budding radio career as a sportscaster in Seattle, but he was able to resume his radio work, after his naval discharge, as sports Director of KPOA in Honolulu.
He served in that capacity for three years during which time he did recreated broadcasts of the San Francisco Seals, who had trained in Honolulu and had a large local following in Hawaii. Don broadcast the Seals' games from wire reports from the mainland to the KPOA studios, adding crowd sound effects to "recreate" the action for the Honolulu fans, and adding foul balls if the ticker machine malfunctioned.
Don moved to San Francisco to become the Seals play-by-play announcer. He opened the 1949 season in Seals Stadium with "live" coverage of the Seals while admitting, "I was pretty nervous for that first game after announcing the Seals' previous 360 games without ever seeing them play!"
He remained the Seals announcer both on radio and TV until 1958 when the Giants came to San Francisco. It was then that Don joined KCBS in San Francisco and started a thirty-year run as Sports Director.
For twenty-five years, his main focus was coverage of Stanford University football and basketball, highlighted by his CBS national radio broadcast of Stanford's Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State and Michigan in 1971 and 1972. Don ended those twenty-five years of Stanford coverage in 1981, joining his friend 49er coach Bill Wash, as the 49ers play-by-play announcer that year. "My timing could not have been better" Don points out, as that '81 team was San Francisco's first Super Bowl team. The season included Don's often heard call of the most famous play in 49er's history, "The Catch" in the NFC Championship win over the Cowboys. Don broadcast the 49ers Super bowl victory over the Bengals in 1982 and the 49ers Super Bowl victory over the Dolphins in 1985. He continued his broadcasting with the CBS Radio Network announcing NFL games until his retirement in 1990. In addition, during his time at KCBS Don provided updates for the CBS Radio Network from the Rome 1960 Olympics and the Munich 1972 Olympics.
Don received various awards for excellence in broadcasting from the California Associated Press and was elected to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2008.
Don and Jeanne enjoyed traveling throughout the US and Europe and took many fall foliage trips throughout New England and Canada after his retirement, oftentimes with close Canadian friends. They made their home in Palo Alto for fifty-one years before moving to Santa Rosa in 2002.
Don's survivors include son (and statistician on his broadcasts), Raleigh Klein (Nan), of Davis; daughter Karen Brown (Andrew) of Windsor; grandchildren, James Klein, Samantha Gippetti (Jeromey) and Danielle Brown; and great-grandson, Nathan Gippetti. Another son, Gary, died in 2015.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Living Room, P.O. Box 4056, Santa Rosa, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3320 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa or to the donor's favorite charity. A public celebration of the lives of Don and Jeanne will take place on Saturday, August 31 at 11:30 a.m., with lunch to follow, at New Song Church, 167 Arata Lane, Windsor.
Published in Press Democrat on Jul. 14, 2019.
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