Cavs play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod passes, and he will be greatly missed

It is so sad to hear that one of the play-by-play announcers for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Fred McLeod, reportedly passed on Monday; he brought such joy to each broadcast alongside former Cav Austin Carr, and McLeod will be greatly missed.

Whenever we as fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have watched games for a while now, we may not have been watching the likes of LeBron James or Kyrie Irving all the time, but hearing the play-by-play voices of Fred McLeod and former Cavalier Austin Carr has been a mainstay for quite some time throughout for us.

Unfortunately, though, it will be no longer that we’ll be hearing McLeod call games for the Cavaliers.

He reportedly passed suddenly on Monday, per a team press release; McLeod was 67, and the cause at this point hasn’t been stated.

McLeod brought so much to every Cavaliers game, and his joy and constant energy was something that made even some rough games worth tuning into often long past when games were out of reach.

Here was the Cavs’ press release in relation to McLeod’s passing, per their Twitter.

This really is so tough for hear when it comes to McLeod, who was set to enter his 15th season as one of the Cavs play-by-play announncers on Fox Sports Ohio, as he initially had the role way back in the 1979-80 season, and had it since 2006, per the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Additionally, McLeod was an announcer for the Detroit Pistons from 1984-2006, and he seemed to be so beloved by the Detroit organization, too.

They would also extend their condolences, per their Twitter, as a result of the unfortunate news.

As Fox 8’s Jessica Dill hit on, in Cleveland broadcasts, he’s “coined many signature calls like ‘Right down Euclid!'”

McLeod and Carr always were such an outstanding play-by-play tandem, and brought so much wit and humor together to each telecast.

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It hasn’t mattered how the Cleveland Cavaliers as a team overall have looked, whether it was the early LeBron days with pieces such as Zydrunas Ilguaskas and Daniel Gibson on the roster, the rebuilding days of last season and the first time after LeBron left via free agency, or of course, during the glory years of LeBron’s return.

McLeod was as good as it gets when it comes to play-by-play, and that was evident in every telecast.

The call when the Cavs won their only NBA championship in 2016 over the Golden State Warriors, courtesy of Fred McLeod’s wife Beth’s Twitter (of Fox 8, by the way), is one that is truly touching as a Cleveland fan.

Moreover, it’s always seemed that he’s put a smile on the people he’s interviewed’s faces, and based on players such as LeBron, Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr.‘s (and others) tweets extending their condolences, along with Fox Sports Ohio/Cavs.com sideline reporters Angel Gray and Cayleigh Griffin, McLeod brought such infectious enthusiasm all the time, just as it seems that Carr does, too.

Per the Cavs, McLeod was also the team’s “Executive Producer for Multimedia,” so it’s clear that his loss will be felt so much in the day-to-day in the organization.

So again, this is such sad news to hear about, and we at KJG extend our condolences to Beth and the McLeod extended family during this very difficult time.

RIP, Fred. You will be greatly missed, and I’m so thankful for all those broadcasts where you added so much to Cavs games.