By D. Orlando Ledbetter
Charlie Neal was working in the Detroit market and answered a call from a 15-year old Northwestern High student who was an aspiring young journalist.
He let the kid come to the studio and shadow him for the 6 o’clock and 11 o’clock news that day.
Little did he know that he was planting a seed for the future Pro Football Hall of Fame career of USA Today Sports columnist Jarrett Bell.
Bell would see Neal years later and he thanked him for that very special day and Neal remembered the young lad from Detroit.
The industry lost a legend when Neal passed away at the age of 80 following an illness. Neal is survived by his wife and family. He was born Oct. 28, 1945.
“Sadden to hear this…Charlie Neal was not only a legend, but a wonderful person,” Bell told The HBCUlegacybowlathletes.com “So, here’s how I met Charlie: He was sports anchor at WJBK-TV2 in Detroit and I was a student at Northwestern High School, like 15 years old. I called him out of the blue — and he called me back — and told him I was interested in becoming a sports reporter. He invited me to spend an evening with him at Channel 2, where I got to hang out at the TV station for many hours and watched him do the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts, with all the stuff in between.”
Bell went on to graduate from Northwestern and from Michigan State before starting a long and illustrious career in journalism which included stints covering the Cowboys and 49ers. He was awarded the Bill Nunn Award in 2022 and was enshrined in the Writer’s wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Have crossed paths with (Neal) many times over all these years, including at Black College Sports Hall of Fame events,” Bell said. “Yes, he remembered our first encounter! Much empathy for his family and those closest to him. What a role model. Heavy heart for him.”
Like Bell, Neal touched many on his journey as a sports broadcaster.
“I met Charlie back in 1984 and instantly developed a strong relationship,” said Ed Hill, the former longtime sports information director at Howard University. “I owe a great deal of my growth and development in the profession to Charlie. He gave me the opportunity to work alongside him as a statistician and spotter for a number of games over the years.”
Neal kept working up through the 2024 season.
“Charlie gave HBCUs a platform to showcase their talents and skills no one has ever done what Charlie has done,” Hill said. “He is truly the Godfather of Black College Sports.”
ESPN paid tribute to Neal and his pioneering career. “He helped elevate HBCU football and basketball on television in 2005, he called the first college football game on ESPNU which was launched,” ESPNPR wrote on X.
Neal was a broadcaster on Black Entertainment Television from 1980 to 2004 before going to ESPNU, MEAC Digital Network and finally HBCU Go.
He called the Grambling State University game when Eddie Robinson broke Bear Bryant’s all-time wins record in 1985. He also called MEAC tournaments, CIAA tournaments, Bayou Classics, Florida Classics and Circle City Classics.
Neal’s career started in Philadelphia where he worked as a radio disc jockey before landing a television job at WRC-TV (NBC) in Washington, D.C. in 1971. He went on to work in Detroit and New York
On BET, Neal was paired with former Detroit Lions Hall of Fame defensive back Lem Barney for 23 years.
Neal and Barney covered numerous College Football Hall of Fame coaches and players, including Robinson, Marino Casem, Willie Jeffries, Billy Joe, W.C. Gorden and Doug Porter.
He covered Hall of Fame players including Mississippi Valley State’s Jerry Rice, Alcorn State’s Steve McNair and Grambling’s Doug Williams who would join them in the BET broadcast booth for the 1990 season. The two were in the broadcast booth for numerous Bayou Classics, and they helped set the stage for the fabled HBCU battle of the bands that would take place each week during halftime.
Neal also worked for CBS Sports announcing college football, basketball, track & field, and gymnastics. Neal continued to cover sports for BET while also doubling up with assignments from Turner Sports which included the first ever Goodwill Games in Moscow. He hosted the NBA halftime shows for TNT along with play-by-play assignments on basketball, gymnastics, and track & field.
The National Football Foundation honored Neal with the Chris Schenkel Award for his distinguished broadcasting career in Nov. 2023.
He was also inducted in the Hall of Fames of the MEAC (2009), CIAA (2011), SWAC (2024) and the Black College Football.
He was also a National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame finalist and won the CIAA Jimmy Jenkins Legacy Award (2026).
Like he was to Bell, Neal continued to mentor future journalists through the years. He answered emails and took calls.
He often told them to take advantage of every opportunity that’s offered and warned that there were no shortcuts to the top. He also stressed pre-game preparation to ex-athletes who thought you just strolled into the booth and started talking.