Sports announcer inducted into hall of fame

Long-time Delaware Stadium announcer T. Elbert Chance, AS '52 '59M, who is well known as the "Voice of Blue Hen Football," is among a group of six men and four women who make up the 2001 class of the University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame.

For nearly 50 years, Chance has used both his voice and his pen to chronicle the rich history of University of Delaware athletics. Affiliated with UD since he came here as a student in the late 1940s, Chance was sports information director from 1952-54 and alumni director from 1956-85. But, he is perhaps best known for his work as public address announcer for Blue Hen football games since the 1953 season.

Chance, who retired in 1985, said he couldn't recall the precise circumstances that first placed him in the stadium announcer's seat, but it was related to his dual role as sports information director and assistant director of public relations.

With playoff games, and an average of six home games each season from 1953 though 2001, Chance estimates that he's announced about 300 games during the last 48 years–and he's only missed three: One because he was sick, another when he delivered his daughter to college and a third when he sang at a memorial service for a longtime friend.

From his perch, above even the highest seats in the house, Chance has seen the big games and the small, the close ones and the romps. He can describe a play made during a heated rivalry on UD's turf with Temple or Villanova in the 1960s as clearly as the 2001 season Homecoming contest with William and Mary.

Having seen them all gives Chance a historical perspective about Blue Hen football.

"Our football team," he said, "though modest in its accomplishments in its first 50 years, has always been enthusiastically supported by the Newark community and Blue Hen alumni. In the last 61 seasons, under Bill Murray, Dave Nelson and Tubby Raymond, our teams have compiled a record few universities can match, not only by winning games, championships and regional and national honors, but through the achievements of their players, both in the classroom and in their subsequent careers."

After he started announcing football games, Chance said he soon also began announcing the pre-game and half-time shows for the University of Delaware Marching Band.

"Announcing the football games," Chance said, "has given me an opportunity to meet many of the players and to work with members of the Marching Band and its directors Bob King, David Blackinton, Alan Hamant, Bob Streckfuss and Heidi Sarver.

"Just as the football team has grown in talent and ability," Chance added, "the band has developed from a small unit with scarcely enough players to form a block 'D' into one of the finest marching bands in the East. To see such an achievement has been a special benefit of my perch in the press box."

A gifted writer and diligent researcher, Chance has penned countless articles and stories on the history of Delaware athletics and has published two popular books on Delaware football.

As editor of alumni publications, he prepared a number of sports features for The University News and the Blue Hen Messenger, and he was a frequent contributor to the football program, The Blue Hen Gridder. His articles have appeared in the News Journal, Newark Post, Coach and Athlete, Dateline Delaware and publications of the Historical Society of Delaware.

In 1989, in observance of the centennial of UD football, he wrote the book, One Hundred Years of Delaware Football. In 2000, he completed his book The Blue Rocks Past and Present, a history of Wilmington's minor league baseball teams.

With significant knowledge of UD and its sports history, Chance is a popular speaker at public events. But his interests go well beyond athletics. He has been associated with The Brandywiners Limited and has performed on the Longwood Gardens Amphitheatre stage and also served in administrative roles with the organization. He also wrote "The Motion Picture Comes to Delaware," a series of articles on the history of Wilmington's movie theaters for Delaware History Magazine.

Chance said he's proud that his roots run deep into the First State and satisfied that he can continue to be associated closely with his alma mater.

"I'm a native Delawarean. I'm a longtime resident of Newark. I have two degrees from the University of Delaware, and I've had a very happy 33 years as an employee. As a result of being at the University, I've had a lot of opportunities that I otherwise wouldn't have had. You could say I've appreciated those opportunities, and I've tried to pay back, in ways that I could, some of the appreciation and loyalty that I feel for the University.

"During my early years as director of alumni relations," Chance said, "I was impressed and, I believe, positively influenced by the loyalty of Delaware alumni. Some of the older graduates of Delaware College and the Women's College, which were small institutions that by no means approached the stature of today's University, were tremendously dedicated. I like to believe that some of their spirit rubbed off on me."