Sports fans in Northeast Ohio 40 years old or older felt that they knew Gib Shanley courtesy of his witty charm, intelligence and a touch of crustiness that proved endearing, never annoying.

Shanley, the sportscaster for WEWS (Channel 5) for 20 years, died at the age of 76 Sunday. Although he's a legend at the local ABC affiliate, what many will remember about Shanley more is that he was the voice of Browns football on the radio.

''He will always be the voice of the Cleveland Browns for me,'' said WEWS sports director Andy Baskin, who now occupies Shanley's former seat.

In that role, he called the last championship of any note that a Cleveland sports team won — the Browns' 1964 win over the Baltimore Colts.

''Gib Shanley was the voice of the Browns for nearly a quarter of a century and provided Browns fans with many great memories from the 1960s, '70s and early '80s,'' a spokesman for the Browns said in a news release. ''Many fans associated the 'Gibber' as the voice of the
Browns and recognized him as a pioneer in sports broadcasting in Cleveland. Everyone associated with the Cleveland Browns is saddened by his loss.''

In Shanley's voice a measured amount of emotion could be heard, depending on the situation. The moment his voice dropped on the radio during the infamous Jan. 4, 1981, playoff game against the Oakland Raiders in an arctic Municipal Stadium as the Browns were driving to take the lead, it was apparent what had happened. That infamous moment will forever be mourned as Red Right 88. The Kardiac Kids, as fans fondly called that year's edition of the Browns, would lose 14-12, breaking hearts across Northeast Ohio.

He deftly walked a fine line between being a fan and a broadcast journalist. Yes, he supported the local teams, but he never failed to criticize them when it was warranted. Some of that criticism would turn up in comments on Channel 5's own Quarterback Club, a show for rabid Browns fans that analyzed that previous Sunday's game, which aired on Wednesday evenings.

As ingrained as Shanley was in the sports media corps, he became a local legend and national celebrity the night of Nov. 9, 1979, for something altogether different.

Five days before that, Iranians had seized 60 hostages at the American embassy in Iran. During the turmoil that surrounded the event, burning the American flag became the latest fad, including in this country.

On his 11 p.m. sportscast that night, Shanley took an Iranian flag (it later turned out to be the flag that represented the ousted Shah of Iran, he said in an interview many years later) from Channel 5 news anchor Ted Henry for use on the air. By the time his time was up, he'd set the flag ablaze in protest in a decidedly politically incorrect act, primarily because he was incensed that some Iranian nationals here used the U.S. Constitution to justify their burning of the American flag.

''Today there would be lawsuits, a demand for a public apology and I'd be off the air, but things were different then,'' he told ClevelandSeniors.com in an interview several years ago. ''I had to promise not to do it again, but frankly, I suppose I would do it again today.''

Shanley would eventually leave Cleveland in 1984 seeking better opportunities in a larger television market — Los Angeles. He would eventually return to Cleveland where he assumed the sports director role on WUAB's (Channel 43) fledgling newscast in 1988, a spot he would hold until 1996, according to reports.

He returned to WEWS in 1996 and could usually be seen on the station's Sunday night sports wrap show, Sports Sunday on which he delivered special commentaries and worked with the current sports crew, featuring Baskin, Sue Ann Robak and Terry Brooks.

''For me, this last year, working with him here was an honor,'' Baskin said. ''He taught me a lot of lessons about sports, but also about people.''