Eli Gold, voice of Alabama football, announces treatable cancer diagnosis, hopes to return soon

Eli Gold, the longtime voice of Alabama football, announced Friday he has been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer.

"I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers," Gold wrote in a statement via Crimson Tide Sports Network. "After extensive testing, I have now been diagnosed of a treatable form of cancer. I'm already making progress and hope to get back behind the mic again soon. Roll Tide!"

Gold, 69, has been the radio play-by-play broadcaster for Crimson Tide football games since 1988. He missed the 2022 season because of unnamed health issues, and Chris Stewart filled in for him in the booth.

Gold has been dealing with ongoing health issues since the spring of 2022. He said in November he had basically lost his ability to walk. He had been in the hospital for 170 days. In that process, he lost a lot of weight and was down to 210 pounds when he spoke with The Tuscaloosa News in November.

"I’ve had problems," Gold said in November. "It’s not easy recovering. I basically lost my ability to walk, which was just crazy. Bit by bit, I am coming along. I can’t complain. I’ve got good people taking care of me. My wife has been unbelievable."

Through that process, Gold said the University of Alabama has taken good care of him. He's received calls from everyone from Nick and Terry Saban to Greg Byrne.

"It shows you what the University of Alabama people are all about, and for that matter, the people you work with," Gold said.

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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Eli Gold, voice of Alabama football, announces cancer diagnosis