Voice of the Crimson Tide discusses battle with cancer and Bama's challenging season at Selma Quarterback Club

Even cancer couldn’t silence the voice of the Crimson Tide.

Eli Gold told the Selma Quarterback Club Sept. 26 about his battle with cancer and his return to the press box. Accompanied by his wife Claudette, Gold sat at the head table and first apologized for not being able to stand up to give his talk.

“My legs are making a great recovery as part of my dealing with cancer,” Gold said. “Even though I had a growth in my esophagus, the first thing cancer did was to take away the use of my legs.” He assured the crowd his legs are getting better.

Gold said at first he thought he had an orthopedic problem when he awoke one morning in March 2022 and his legs wouldn’t work. “Can you imagine the fear that shoots through your body when you’re lying there and you can’t get out of bed, when you walked there and got in bed normally just seven hours earlier?” Gold asked.  

The correct diagnosis of the problem was delayed because the medications used to treat his legs, mostly steroids, actually hid the real problem, which was cancer. Gold said physicians ran numerous tests. “They tested me for everything,” Gold said. “They tested me for cancer. They tested me for a stroke, which I did not have. They tested me for all sorts of stuff, but everything came back negative.”

In December 2022, Gold got what he said was the worst case of hiccups ever. He said he was hit with “hiccup after hiccup after hiccup, with no time in between.” He said he struggled to breathe it was so bad. The doctor found a tumor in his esophagus. “That was Dec. 23 of 2022, and Dec. 29 we started chemotherapy,” Gold said.

Gold said his doctors began the treatments quickly and aggressively after his diagnosis because they had been treating him for “everything under the sun except what was wrong with me,” giving the cancer “a seven-month head start,” he said.

Gold told the crowd that as soon as news spread that he was extremely sick, coaches and assistant coaches and many others from all over the SEC began texting and calling to wish him well. He said he got a call from a phone number he did not recognize. It was former Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn.

Gold said, “It made me feel so good, that we compete, and everybody knows that I want Bama to win and they want their team to win, but when someone is struggling medically” everyone comes together with support.

The well wishes and prayers came from all over the world, according to Gold. He said he got cards and letters “and whatever they thought would help old Eli get well, they sent.” He got messages from as far away as Iraq because people from all around the globe listen to Alabama Football online. “For any of you who question whether prayer works or not, don’t question it. I’m telling you, don’t question it,” Gold said.

After 243 days in a hospital or a nursing home, and after his wife was called in many times and told he would not make it through the night, Gold kicked cancer. He reported to the crowd that about two weeks ago he went for his regular checkup, and no cancer showed up in any of the tests.

He said recovery is not easy, “I had to learn how to walk again,” he said, and he has had to retrain his brain to remember, but he said his recovery is going exceptionally well.

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Gold said as bad as it was being the patient, being the caretaker had to be worse. He told the crowd that he could not have recovered without the support and love of his wife and their daughter Elise.

Gold said it was that support and love from his family and friends, and the outpouring of support and love from fans that helped get him through some of the darkest days. But one more thing that helped him keep up the fight was knowing he would be back in the broadcast booth calling games for the Crimson Tide.

Gold said he was somewhat apprehensive about memorizing names and jersey numbers and about getting back into the rhythm of calling games, but part of his recovery was practice or make believe games. He said his calling of the first make believe game was OK, but he made much improvement by the second game.

“Now let’s talk a little Alabama football,” Gold told the crowd. He mentioned that after the Sept. 9 game against Texas, which Alabama lost 34 – 24, “people wanted to jump off the roof.” He added that some fans calling for Coach Nick Saban and others on staff to be fired.

“I don’t pay much attention to fans who think like that,” Gold said. “I’m sorry if I’ve just offended you, but tough.” Gold reminded the crowd that even though Saban is arguably the greatest college football coach ever, no team will win every game every season.

Gold said Alabama has had trouble early in the season because the Crimson Tide has supplied more players to the NFL than any other college team in the country. Gold said that is both good and bad, and the bad part is that those experienced and really good players are hard to replace.

He reassured the crowd that although Bama has a young and somewhat inexperienced team this year, they are one of the best in the nation. “If you look at the last several years, LSU wins the national title with two losses, and so many other schools won the national title with one loss,” Gold said. “It’s just the way the business of the world is today in sports. It’s rare that anyone will have a perfect season.”

Gold said during the Sept. 23 game against Ole Miss, we started seeing passes from quarterback Jalen Milroe reminiscent of those thrown by Jalen Hurts. He also said Milroe can run the ball. “I think we know that Coach Saban has the right guy at quarterback in there now,” Gold said.

In response to questions from the crowd about the transfer portal, Gold said that 10 years ago, 94% of college students changed their major. “So young people changing their mind is not unusual,” he said. He added that if a student athlete sees he or she is not getting enough playing time in one program, it makes sense for them to move to a program where they may get more time in the game.

A question was asked about rules that allow student athletes to be compensated legally. Gold responded, “How do you deny somebody the right to market their own name?” He also said he asked Saban what happens to the chemistry in the locker room if a quarterback is paid more than a lineman even though both put in the same time at practice and in the game. He said Saban said it’s not fair, but the disparity prepares players for professional sports.

No talk about Alabama football will end until someone asks if Saban plans to retire anytime soon. Gold responded first by reminding the crown he does not go up to Saban and asks if he is retiring or not. “Coach Saban loves what he does,” Gold said. “If you ask him what he does for a living, he will tell you he is a teacher. And he also coaches football. He loves teaching these young fellows how to be productive men.” Gold added that the Coach is in excellent health and does not seem to have any intention of stepping aside.

As for himself, Gold said he loves calling Alabama football. “It really is a pleasure to call those games,” Gold said. “My wife will tell you it was one of the things that kept me going.” He said that since he has “kicked the crap out of cancer,” as long as his health holds out and the University of Alabama will have him, he has no intention of stepping from behind the microphone.