ESPN college football commentator Beano Cook dead at 81

Pittsburgh, PA, United States (4E Sports) – Beano Cook, an ESPN college football studio commentator since 1986, has died. He was 81.

A University of Pittsburgh grad, Cook began his career as a sports publicist for the school from 1956-66. The university announced Thursday that Cook had died in his sleep.

Cook was a studio commentator for ABC from 1982-85 before joining ESPN. He also worked as ABC’s press director from 1966-74, and for the St. Petersburg Times newspaper, as well as the Miami Dolphins. He also worked as a publicist for CBS Sports.

Born Carroll Hoff Cook on Sept. 1, 1931, Cook received his distinctive nickname as a youth, when his family moved from Boston to Pittsburgh. A neighbor of the Cook family said, ”Oh, from Boston, like the beans” and tabbed the seven-year-old ”Beano.”

“He was one of a kind,” George Bodenheimer, ESPN executive chairman, said in a statement. “There never was and never will be another Beano. His combination of humor, passion, love of college football and his engaging personality left an indelible mark on the sport and touched anyone who knew him.”number of organizations, including the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.

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