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10:45 a.m., Oct. 24, 2002--Elbert Chance, the voice of Delaware Stadium since the 1953 season, has announced that he will retire as public address announcer for University of Delaware football games after the 2002 season. Chance, 76, is currently announcing the events of Delaware football games from the Bob Kelley Memorial Press Box for his 49th season. He has missed just five games during his tenure, one of the longest in college football history. The Blue Hens will play their final regular season home game Nov. 23 against Atlantic 10 rival Villanova.
The University will conduct a local search for Chance's replacement this spring.
"Elbert and his unmistakable voice have become synonymous with University of Delaware football over the years," Edgar Johnson, director of athletics, said. "His service to the University and to Delaware football fans during the last 49 years has been incredible. His contributions have meant as much to the tradition and legacy of Blue Hen football as anyone else. It will be strange not to hear his voice booming throughout the stadium. He has meant so much to the Delaware football family and our fans."
Chance has used both his voice and his pen to chronicle the rich history of University of Delaware athletics like no one else ever has. Affiliated with the University since his days as a student in the early 1950s, Chance served as sports information director from 1952-54 and as alumni director from 1956-85. He was inducted into the University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
A gifted writer and diligent researcher, Chance has penned countless articles and stories regarding the history of Delaware athletics and has published three popular books on University of Delaware football, the latest titled “One Hundred Years Plus: The Story of Delaware Football,” which was released last month.
He earned his bachelor's degree in 1952 and his master's degree in 1959 from Delaware. A native Delawarean, he also has authored "The Blue Hen Chronicles" and "One Hundred Years of Delaware Football" (1989). He has also written articles and essays for the Wilmington News Journal, Newark Post, the Blue Hen Messenger and the Blue Hen Gridder, and has recorded previews of sporting events on WDEL radio.
Photo by Kathy Flickinger
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