College Football Commentator Beano Cook Passes Away at 81

Longtime ESPN studio analyst died Wednesday night in Pittsburgh home

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/11/2012 12:44:56 PM

Longtime ESPN college football commentator Carroll H. "Beano" Cook, passed away Wednesday night in his Pittsburgh home. He was 81.

Cook was known as one of the sport's most famous commentators. He had been a college football analyst with ESPN since 1985. In addition to college football programming, SportsCenter and ESPNEWS on television, Cook was a fixture as a guest on ESPN Radio and had a popular podcast on ESPN.com.

Cook received his distinctive nickname when, after his family moved from Boston to Pittsburgh, a neighbor said, "Oh, from Boston, like the beans" and named the young Cook boy "Beano."

"He was one of a kind," said George Bodenheimer, ESPN executive chairman. "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."