Gary Papa
Gary Papa was a sportscaster with WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from April 1981 to June 2009 and was the 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. sportcaster. He joined the station as a weekend sportscaster in 1981 and was promoted to the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. newscasts in 1991, and was named sports director one year prior. In June 2003, he added the 5:30 p.m. newscast to his duties on an interim basis.
Prior to working at WPVI, Papa worked at WGR-TV in his hometown of Buffalo, New York and WSTV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio. Papa's brother, Greg, was the longtime radio voice of the Oakland Raiders.
Papa co-hosted the Saturday evening public affairs show Primetime Weekend with Cecily Tynan. He had hosted the program since December 3, 1983, when he took over after the death of Jim O'Brien.
On April 20, 2004, he revealed to viewers that he had been receiving treatment for prostate cancer and lost his hair as a result. He continued to work while receiving chemotherapy. Three years later in July 2007, during the 6:00PM Action News broadcast, Papa along with Jim Gardner announced that he once again was going through chemotherapy.
Papa died on June 19, 2009 at 2:57 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, at the age of 54; his final WPVI-TV Action News Sportscast was on May 13 of that year. He was survived by his father, insurance adjuster Frank Papa ; his wife, Kathleen; and his two sons, Nathaniel and Tucker.
Gary Papa was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame on November 14, 2001.
