Chicago sports fans and longtime listeners of 670 The Score are still processing the death of veteran overnight host Les Grobstein, who passed away on Sunday.
Grobstein was laid to rest on Thursday and his family gave permission for the Score to replay the funeral service during what would’ve been his regular shift.
For those who missed the show or would like to listen again, audio of the service has been posted online. “A Final Goodbye to Les ‘The Grobber’ Grobstein” from Score Overnight is also available on the Audacy website and app, in addition to podcast.
Among those who spoke at the funeral were The Score’s operations director, Mitch Rosen, who knew Grobstein for 30 years and had some poignant thoughts to share on the power overnight radio has with listeners and the bond a host forms with his or her audience.
“What I believe the legacy of Les will be is the thousands of people who considered Les a friend, a companion, or just somebody to keep them company in the middle of the night,” said Rosen.
“Friendship is defined by a mutual relationship. But in this case, it was really a one-way relationship. He was a friend to so many; that is what late-night radio and overnight radio really is. Whether you were a first responder, a third-shift worker, a person who couldn’t sleep, or someone who had to get up to go to the bathroom and had trouble going back to sleep, Les was always there for people.”
Rosen went on to name several regular listeners who often called in to contribute, spending part of their late nights with Grobstein’s five-hour show. With its 50,000-watt blowtorch, The Score reached beyond the Chiago area, across the United States and into Canada.
“So as we say goodbye to the legend,” Rosen added, “let’s remember all the people that never met Les, like all of us, but considered him a great friend through the power of radio.”
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
Rest In Peace Grobber you’ll be very much missed.