College football commentator Beano Cook dies

PITTSBURGH - Beano Cook, 81, the college football commentator with an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport he dearly loved, has died.

The Boston native had worked for ESPN since 1986 and was the sports information director at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, from 1956 to 1966. The school announced Thursday that Mr. Cook had died in his sleep.

"He was one of a kind," ESPN executive chairman George Bodenheimer said. "There never was and never will be another Beano."

Born Carroll H. Cook, he grew up in Pittsburgh before graduating from the university in 1954, and was known for his love of the college game and, in particular, championing the cause of northeastern teams including Penn State and Pittsburgh.

Mr. Cook wasn't always right, but he wasn't afraid to make bold pronouncements, such as when he predicted that Notre Dame freshman quarterback Ron Powlus would win the Heisman Trophy - twice. Powlus never won even one, but Mr. Cook's prediction made him famous forever.