Charles "Red" Donley

Charles "Red" Donley (January 6, 1923—January 1998), was a long-time sports and news anchor in the Ohio Valley.

A 1941 graduate of Wellsburgh High, Red served as a Corporal in the US Marines Corps from February 1942-September 1945^[1] before joining the WSTV radio team as a sports commentator in 1947.^[2] In 1953, Red became the new TV station's first sports director, and shortly after joined the Pittsburgh Steelers broadcast team, where he served as an announcer from 1955-1961.^[3] In 1961, after 14 years with WSTV, Red left for Pittsburgh to become the sports director at WIIC-TV/WPXI, where he would win 5 'Golden Quill' Awards for journalism in western Pennsylvania. At this time, Red also left the Steelers team to become the 'Voice of the Pitt Panthers'.^[3] In 1970, Red returned to Steubenville and WSTV-TV to take on the role of news director, where he remained until his retirement in 1988. Red died in 1998 and is survived by his wife Mary, son Shawn, and granddaughter Jennifer.^[4]

Red received many honors over the years, including an honorary degree from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1989,^[5] and was inducted into the Ohio AP broadcaster hall of fame in 2006.^[6]

Red Donley is mentioned in the lyrics of Daniel Johnston's 1982 song, "Cold Hard World."

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