Television - July 5, 1994

Greg Gumbel will replace Jim Lampley as the host of NBC’s “NFL Live” pregame show, the network announced.

When Gumbel was signed last month, NBC said he would be used as a play-by-play announcer on NFL football. But Gumbel and Lampley have switched roles, with Lampley taking over Gumbel’s play-by-play spot.

NBC spokesman Ed Markey said the change was made because of Lampley’s HBO conflicts and also because Lampley, who lives in Los Angeles, had to make weekly trips to New York.

Gumbel’s first NBC assignment will be as host of the pregame coverage for the baseball All-Star game July 12. He will also serve as host of NBC’s “Baseball Night in America,” which makes its debut Friday, Aug. 26.

Gumbel was with CBS for five years before signing with NBC.

Names in the News

William Earle Smith, the only athlete in Alabama school history to letter in all four major sports--football, basketball, baseball and track--died in Atlanta. He was 86. Smith was a linebacker and blocking back on the Alabama football team that won the 1926 national championship and tied Stanford, 7-7, in the 1927 Rose Bowl. He was the captain of the 1928 team.