From Louisiana to Dallas: WFAA assistant athletic director Jose Gant retires after nearly 50 years in television; he says humble beginning

“Enter the door and you will expand,” Gant said.

DALLAS. After nearly 49 years in the news, one of the WFAA’s most prolific sports photojournalists and sports editor puts his camera away for the last time.

Assistant Athletic Director José Gant, 66, is officially retiring after 43 years at the WFAA and six years at his hometown station KTBS-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana.

He touched the hearts of many people in the sports world and in the WFAA with his infectious smile, positivity and humbleness. He is a friend to one and all. He will truly be missed.

So, how did a self-proclaimed “black kid from Shreveport, Louisiana” end up at one of the premier heritage stations in the United States, travel overseas, and meet and form relationships with countless professional athletes and coaches?

Gant says it’s easy: he just followed the path of God.

humble beginnings

Gant says he never wanted to work in television, let alone become a photojournalist.

In August 1974, he was a junior at CE Byrd High School in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was approached by a school counselor about enrolling in a career-oriented course. He said the appeal: he had only three hours to go to school, and then go to work from 13:00 to 17:00.

So the counselor gave him a list of possible options, including CTBS-TV. The local television station was only 12 blocks from his home, and he knew he could take the bus. So, this is what Gant chose.

“I left school, went and had lunch for 20 cents, waited for the bus right in front of the school, drove downtown and changed…” Gant said. “I was dropped off right in front of the TV station.”

Over the course of a year, he learned to schedule movies, magazines, and ads. He also worked in a copy and print shop.

Then the computers were installed! And as exciting as it was, Gant said he no longer had to manually manage the hardware used for scheduling and logging. So, five months before the end of his senior year, the radio station put him into production to help operate the studio cameras for the news broadcasts.

But nevertheless, Gant said that he did not like working in television.

In his senior year, he and his girlfriend were expecting their first child together and decided to get married on April 26, 1975. Three weeks later, he and his wife graduated from high school together.

Gant said he needed a more stable job that would guarantee an income. So he and his brother decided to enlist in the Marine Corps. But he never received an answer from them.

“I took the test and never got a call,” Gant said.

By a stroke of luck – and, if you ask Gantt, also by the grace of God – KTBS needed someone to work full-time in production. So, he recently got married and got a permanent position.

“God blessed me to go into the field where he sent me, for example, in 1973,” he said.

Then the sports department of KTBS-TV needed more help, especially after the dismissal of their photographer. He filmed basketball and football games with two different cameras – one for B-roll and one for audio – throughout Louisiana.

In his first year in the position, Gant said he and his team began traveling to Texas Stadium to film Dallas Cowboys games.

Legacy Begins

Gant had his first Super Bowl game in January 1978 when the Cowboys took on the Denver Broncos.

Guess who won – Cowboys!

Then, the following year, he got to experience another Super Bowl.

While filming these games, he met with photojournalists from several different stations, including WFAA.

WFAA Chief Photographer David Goldberg needed additional training before he landed the position of assistant director, so he took a job at Shreveport’s Gantt Station. A year later, when Goldberg decided to leave and return to the WFAA, he invited Gant, Arnold Payne (known to everyone as “AP” and another WFAA legend) and two other employees to go with him in 1980.

But Gant’s first job at the WFAA wasn’t in sports. He became a news editor, which he says still holds a special place in his heart. Today, he takes time every day to greet everyone in the cutting room.

“Never forget where you come from,” Gant said. “I came out of that capsule with Ray, Alan, all the other guys… That was me in November 1980.”

Gant said that in 1980, whoever finished editing first could work on sports events: the Rangers, the Mavs, SMU basketball games, etc.

Because he had experience, Gant was asked to edit for the sport for two years.

In 1982, Bill McAtee, who was the WFAA’s sports director (and is currently a sportscaster for CBS Sports and the Tennis Channel), asked Gant if he would like to work full-time in sports as an editor.

By 1986, Gant was doing sports editing, attending Cowboys games and a Cowboys camp in Thousands Oaks, California under another name you may know, Dale Hansen.

He ended up having another unique experience: filming London’s first ever American Bowl at Wembley Stadium, when the Cowboys faced the Super Bowl champions, the Chicago Bears, in 1986.

“God bless me,” Gant said. “So my first Cowboys Charter trip was to London, England.”

And he’s been on Cowboys charters ever since.

Gant said that after his adventure in England, he had a consistent schedule of editing during the week and filming Cowboys games on Sundays.

“Enter the door and you will expand,” Gant said. “I went from working on a 3ft press to a studio camera, to audio on the 10 o’clock news, to a film cart, to an audio cart, sitting in an audio booth…”

And that’s the story after that, says Gant.

his favorite moments

What are the highlights of Gant’s career, if you ask him? A trip to London in ’86 when the Cowboys took on the Bears, and a trip to London in ’92 under head coach Jimmie Johnson.

Gant also traveled to Toronto with the Cowboys when they played the Buffalo Bills.

He then left for Monterrey, Mexico.

But it wasn’t just the Cowboys games that Gant remembered as exciting. He traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico with the Texas Rangers for the 2001 season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He also managed to attend two World Series with the Rangers, although they both lost.

But Gant’s favorite moment? Surprisingly, not with the Cowboys. He says that was when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in Buffalo. He and the WFAA team worked through the night and into the early hours of the morning, having some fun. They made a mini trip to Niagara Falls and took pictures of the scenery.

As he reminisces about all he has experienced over the years, Gant is grateful for the life he has been fortunate enough to lead.

“A little black kid from Shreveport, Louisiana is in London, England,” he said. “I never expected when I decided to take this in high school that I would be in London, England 11 years later.”

What does he want his legacy to be?

Gant said he didn’t feed on stereotypes about his race or life in a single-parent home.

“I was one of those who got out of a bad neighborhood,” he said. “I am a living witness… God had a hand on me. I just had to follow the path that God gave me. I just humbled myself, as I do now, and I thank God for everything I have and everything I receive.”

He is trying to share his wisdom and the knowledge he has gained over the past 49 years in television with the younger generation to encourage them to believe in something greater than themselves.

He also makes it his goal to talk to everyone, no matter what building he finds himself in and whatever job he takes.

“We have to love everyone,” Gant said. “You show people love, they love you back. I want my legacy to be “Jose came to me and prayed for me.”

And after five Super Bowls, two Stanley Cups, two World Series and two NBA Finals, and countless other Texas-Ohio rivalries, Red River is the one thing he says he will miss the most in journalism. , so it’s for people.

“I am a sociable person,” he said.

This is obvious if you’ve ever seen Gant in action at any sporting event; you will see how he talks to all the workers, including maintenance crews, cooks and waiters.

The game is great, he said. But praying with people and talking to people while playing is what makes him happy.

He treats everyone like family.

And now that he’s retired, you’ll find him in the family. Gant plans to use his pension by spending much-needed time with his wife and helping others in his community.

He laughed as he pointed out that he had already been asked to return to help with several sporting events.

He laughed too when Mike McCarthy even praised him at the last Cowboys press conference he filmed for the WFAA.

“I was shy and embarrassed,” Gant said. “I don’t like fanfare.”

Gant is proud of where he’s been and where he’s being taken.

We are also very proud of him. José: It’s time for you to take a break, even if we know it’s not your style. We know whoever you meet will be relieved by your prayers, your wisdom and your love.

Congratulations on a wonderful legacy!

Content Source

Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News

texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Back to top button