Lee Grosscup, a former All-American quarterback who spent 34 years as part of the UC Berkeley football broadcast team, died on Monday at the age of 83.
Affectionately known as “The Cupper,” Grosscup joined Joe Starkey in the Golden Bears’ broadcast booth in 1986. He was Cal’s radio analyst for 18 seasons until moving to the post-game show in 2004.
Grosscup retired in 2018 but continued as a frequent contributor to the broadcast team last season.
“I hope I can get through this because I’m a wreck,” Starkey told the Cal Sports Report. “We were really close. On Cal road trips, we would always go in a day early and play golf. We were close friends from the start to the finish.”
“He was always extremely well-prepared,” Starkey added. “That’s really important for an analyst. Lee was always really detailed and had a great sense of humor. And his voice was great for broadcasting. It really jumped out at you.”
John Herrera, a former senior executive for the Raiders and a close friend of Grosscup, told longtime Cal beat writer Jeff Faraudo that Grossup died at Bay View Rehabilitation Center in Alameda while recuperating from hip surgery.
We are saddened to hear of the passing of longtime Cal broadcaster Lee Grosscup.
The Cupper will always have a place in our hearts and our thoughts are with his family and friends.
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) June 2, 2020
Grosscup began his broadcasting career in 1966, calling games in the American Football League for NBC. From there he became a college football analyst for ABC for 20 seasons, working alongside such legends as Chris Schenkel, Keith Jackson, Verne Lundquist and Al Michaels.
He was also the first radio analyst for the Oakland Invaders of the USFL.
Born in Santa Monica in 1936, Grosscup launched his college football playing career as a quarterback for the University of Washington in 1955. After one season in Seattle, he returned home to play at Santa Monica College in 1956 before transferring to Utah, where he was a first-team All-American and finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting as a 1957 junior.
Aa a member of the Utes, Grosscup led a passing-oriented offense under head coach Jack Curtice that was advanced for its time, and Al Michaels credited Grosscup for developing the shovel pass or “Utah pass.” In his junior season, he completed 68 percent of his passes for 1,398 yards and 10 touchdowns.
A shoulder injury limited Grosscup in his 1958 senior season, but he was still taken by the New York Giants with the 10th overall pick of the 1959 NFL draft.
Grosscup played for the Giants for three seasons (1959-61) before spending another five seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (1962), New York Titans (1962), Saskatchewan Roughriders (1963), Oakland Raiders (1964) and Hartford Charter Oaks (1965-66).
Memorial arrangements are pending.
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