For many in sports broadcasting, the ability to pivot through change is a necessary character trait one must possess. The first job will certainly not be your last, as the path of a career in broadcasting has many twists and turns. KNBR host Greg Papa has lived a broadcasting story that has spanned four decades, filled with many chapters of pivoting through change.
Papa began his career in 1984 calling Indiana Pacers basketball, leading to his eventual landing spot in San Francisco in 1986. He has been the signature voice of the Bay Area sports fan for generations. Most recently, Papa is about to celebrate his six-year anniversary hosting middays at KNBR following a stint at crosstown rival 95.7 The Game, balancing play-by-play duties with hosting a sports talk radio show five days a week since 2012.
“I never thought I would do talk radio this long,” said Papa. “It just fit where I could have another job in the middle of the day and then do everything around it. Frankly, doing talk radio got me fired from three play-by-play jobs directly. It was things I said on those shows that got me fired from the Warriors, the A’s, and got me fired from the Raiders.”
Navigating Several Changes In Play-By-Play
A graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, Papa was recently honored by NBC Sports play-by-play voice Mike Tirico as the latest inductee into the WAER Hall of Fame in Syracuse. Over the years, his voice has become synonymous with Bay Area sports. Papa has called play-by-play for the Golden State Warriors (1986–1997), Oakland Athletics (1990–2003), San Francisco Giants (2004–2008), Oakland Raiders (1997–2017), and currently with the San Francisco 49ers since 2019. He aspired to be the next Marv Albert and is the only person in sports media to work for all five Bay Area professional franchises.
However, while the doors on each opportunity eventually closed to open another, each door closed he considers no badge of honor.
“That all hurt me. The Warriors’ firing hurt me greatly. The A’s firing hurt me greatly, and the Raiders’ firing ultimately crushed me,” said Papa. “I make a joke about it. You’re better to laugh than cry, but those hurt me.”
He explained how his work ethic was passed down from his father. Papa called himself overly ambitious, but that ambition led to disputes with the franchises he worked with—the Athletics and Warriors—because of his work with the Oakland Raiders. Papa cherished his personal relationship with former Raiders owner Al Davis and felt he’d rather be calling football over any other sport—until a day when he wasn’t.
“The Raiders, after 21 years, that was like a family to me when they said no,” explained Papa. “I know I make light of it, and I was able to bounce back because the Bay Area has all these teams. How many broadcasters locally work for multiple teams in the market? It’s just not done.”
Pivoting Through Changes At KNBR
Like any other broadcaster, Papa mastered the ability to pivot through change—a delicate task that takes experience to earn, and one which has continued to fuel his passion for broadcasting during his six years at KNBR. The station has dealt with its own share of change in the last 18 months, with upper management shifts and layoffs removing top talent such as Tom Tolbert, F.P. Santangelo, Lee Hammer, Paul McCaffrey, and Papa’s longtime co-host John Lund.
“The bottom line is the revenue that KNBR generated—and radio in general—it’s just not there anymore,” explained Papa. “To lose John Lund and Tom Tolbert, it’s hard. The main reason I did this sports talk radio for so long was my respect, affinity, love, and our chemistry with John (Lund). When that happened, I was like, whoa!”
Like nearly all radio stations, KNBR has been no stranger to budget cuts. Papa explained he found out about Tolbert’s dismissal minutes before his own program—in a text message from his son Derek, who ultimately replaced Tolbert in afternoon drive with co-host Adam Copeland. Having to navigate the challenges that come with change, Papa understands his role with the brand, realizing that even for a person of his experience, his day may come.
“It is what it is, and one day it’ll be me. There’s no doubt,” noted Papa. “I think that day would’ve been me. They probably would’ve gotten rid of me, because you know they fire the top wage earners, and that’s me. With my association with the 49ers, they wouldn’t allow it to happen, but one day it will happen.”
Papa’s son, Derek, has since followed in his father’s footsteps, joining KNBR in 2022 and now finding his voice on air in afternoon drive. Recalling the day when Tolbert was part of the recent layoffs, Papa said his son seriously contemplated not taking the role of being Tolbert’s replacement because of how hurt he was by the dismissal. In a moment where a son may lean on his father’s counsel, Greg Papa knew his son would find his path on his own to doing what he wanted and being successful at it.
“I don’t give him a lot of advice,” said Papa. “I listen, and I’m here for him on certain things. We get together every now and then, and I’ll tell him what I hear, but he’s doing fine. After a while, you just have to be yourself, and he’s his own person… There’s only one Derek Papa.”
Since November, Papa pivoted yet again when he teamed up with Greg Silver, who he notes is a very different person than his previous co-host in Lund. Despite their 35-year age difference, Papa says the age gap has no bearing on the quality of the program they put out. He notes that the show now is more sports-driven and has a different tenor, because Silver brings a solid presence to the air despite his age.
“Greg’s a great talent. He’s a really good broadcaster,” said Papa. “Greg and Walter Icabalceta, they co-produce the show. They line up the guests for the show. I just kind of show up and talk. I have a vague idea of what we want to talk about, but not really, and I just go.”
A Legacy Honored By Syracuse University
Silver and Icabalceta were both part of the announcement last month when Mike Tirico called into Papa & Silver and informed Papa that he would be inducted into the WAER Hall of Fame in Syracuse this coming November with fellow Syracuse grad Andrew Siciliano.
“I had no idea. We’ve had Mike (Tirico) on many times. He’s a friend, obviously, and at the end he said he wanted to break news. I had no idea,” said Papa. “To go into the WAER Hall of Fame means so much to me. It’s going to be special. WAER meant so much to me. I had no idea when I went to Syracuse initially what that university would do for me.”
During his time at Syracuse, Papa recalled working on the building blocks of his legendary career—calling college football, basketball, soccer, and lacrosse—which led to Triple-A baseball opportunities while still in college. The work ethic he learned from his father drove his energy to always be thinking about doing more.
Over 40 years later, after traveling the world and being the voice for so many moments in Bay Area sports history, Papa is unsure what the future has in store—but is ready to pivot again if needed.
“I do it because I love it,” said Papa. “If I wasn’t doing games, I’d be watching games. If I wasn’t talking about sports on the radio, I’d be talking to people in bars about it. I really have no plan. For most of my life, I was always looking to what’s next. The ascend. I’m at the stage now where I’m just trying to enjoy my life.”
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
