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Padres News: Former Padres Broadcaster Jerry Gross Passes Away

By Jason Evans

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Baseball is the one game where not only does the team become part of the family, but the announcers do as well. They tell the story, good or bad, of the six month journey of the club. They are there for the good. They are there for the bad. The San Diego Padres lost Jerry Coleman last year and now before this season, Jerry Gross has passed. 

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Gross was a San Diego pillar of sports broadcasting, doing Padres, Chargers, University Of San Diego, San Diego State and high school football games. When the Rockets were in San Diego, he was the voice of that team too.

Gross fought for 23 years with prostate cancer.

Here’s a part of UT-San Diego’s article on him:

"Likewise, when the Padres made their debut as San Diego’s major league baseball team in 1969, Gross was in the broadcasting booth with Duke Snider and Frank Sims. Before coming to San Diego, he’d also done double-duty as play-by-play announcer for baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals and basketball’s St. Louis Hawks.Gross later broadcast Indiana Pacers games and college football with ESPN.“He was happiest behind the microphone,” said his daughter, Suzy Hellman. “That was my dad. His life was … well, socially, he never knew when to shut his mouth, God bless him. But he was always more concerned about my mom (Gretchen) and her issues (with Parkinson’s Disease) than his.”"

Like Coleman, Gross served in the Army and will be at Mirimar National Cemetary, where Coleman rests.

Our thoughts and prayers go out the Gross family.

Next: Any Free Agents That Can Help The Padres?

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