'The guy I wanted to be like': Detroit sportscaster Don Shane dies at 70

At a TV station with a history of big personalities, Don Shane certainly had one, too.

But he connected with viewers of WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) with his ability to focus on the basics of good journalism: tell the audience something they don't know, and tell it like it is.

"He changed the way I viewed to do my job, just by watching him," said Tom Leyden, who succeeded Shane as the sports director at WXYZ, Metro Detroit's ABC affiliate. "So many of us tried to find the perfect word or flowery prose. He was just so great at saying, 'Just talk to the people.'

"He was a great mentor."

Shane, who joined WXYZ as a sportscaster in 1989 and covered so many of the major moments in Detroit and Michigan sports history, died Friday at his home in California. He was 70.

No cause of death was announced by WXYZ, though Shane, who retired in 2012, has been in ill health in recent years. He died surrounded by his two children, Justin and Lindsay. He also was survived by wife of 38 years, Mona, and his first grandchild, whom he welcomed last May.

Shane covered multiple championships while at WXYZ, including three Pistons NBA titles and four Red Wings Stanley Cups, as well as the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl at Ford Field, the 2004 Ryder Cup, the revival of the Tigers including the 2006 World Series, and even prize fights in Las Vegas.

While a rival sportscaster was known for blooper segments, Shane had, "Dare Don," where he'd participate in a number of challenges, all caught on camera, of course.

Once, he taped an encounter with Lions great Chris Spielman, and it left Shane with three broken ribs.

"He joined Channel 7 in 1989 — and was on hand for so many hugely important events over the years," WXYZ said in a statement announcing his death Saturday. "The many championships — but also the heart-breaking defeats — all while showcasing the drama and emotion of the moment for our viewers.

"No one worked harder than Don. He broke stories and earned the respect of athletes and coaches in this town with his preparation and professionalism.

"He loved what he did — and that joy came right through the screen into your homes.

"We’ll miss you, Don. Our thoughts are with his entire family at this difficult time."

One of the toughest moments of Shane's career came in 2006, when he was interviewing former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, when Schembechler fell ill at the station's Southfield studios.

Schembechler died that day, the day before No. 2 Michigan played at No. 1 Ohio State. Shane had a close working relationship with Schembechler, as well as Sparky Anderson and Chuck Daly, among many others in the Detroit sports scene. Shane had one of the final interviews with Anderson, the legendary Tigers manager, before Anderson died in 2010.

Before arriving at WXYZ, where he joined such big personalities as Bill Bonds (with whom he often hilariously sparred on the air), Shane worked at stations in Boston and Chicago.

His time at WXYZ saw him win 23 Michigan Emmy Awards, and multiple honors from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and the Associated Press.

He also spent time doing play-by-play for Michigan State, Michigan and the Pistons.

"I've been really blessed," Shane said when he announced his retirement in February 2012; his last day on the air was March 20, 2012. "The things I've been able to see and do have far exceeded my expectations."

That was key: Shane saw a lot.

While many journalists tend to divide their time between the office and the scene, or even lean more toward the office, Shane wanted to be out in the field, said current WXYZ sports reporter Brad Galli.

Galli was an intern at WXYZ for two years — anchors would buy, and the unpaid interns would fly (pick up the meals), Galli said — when he first got to know Shane, and then joined Shane as a coworker after college.

Galli remembers his first assignment, from a Tigers game, where he shot the video and wrote the copy. He brought it back to the studio, where Shane watched it and said: "We can't run this on the air."

Shane, Galli said, was all about reporting news that fans couldn't get on their own. Galli never had another story not make it on the air, he said Saturday after flying back from Tigers' spring training in Lakeland, Florida.

"He was the guy I wanted to be like. He shaped my path in life, and the path of so many people that passed through that sports department at Channel 7," Galli said. "Then I got to work with him, and I quickly wanted to be more like him on TV, but I wanted to be like the man that Don Shane was.

"It's a busy life working in sports and working in TV, but he always talked about his kids and what family meant to him. He always did his best to make it work.

"I learned that the most."

It was that personal relationship that stuck, too, with Leyden, maybe even more than their working relationship, which lasted from 2004 until Shane's retirement.

Leyden has two daughters, and he still remembers watching Shane announce their births live on the air.

"He went out of his way to make everyone feel special," Leyden said. "He did that for so many people."

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984