Gerry Sandusky is retiring.
The voice of the Ravens and WBAL-TV sports director announced Wednesday that he is stepping down after 42 years in broadcasting, ending a run that included 20 seasons as Baltimore’s radio play-by-play announcer and nearly four decades anchoring sports coverage at the NBC affiliate he joined in 1988. He was named sports director in 1993 and has been calling Ravens games since 2006.
“This isn’t a decision I made lightly,” Sandusky said in the announcement. “I have loved sharing the stories that shape Baltimore sports with viewers, and I have loved every minute of sharing Ravens games with listeners. But the time has come for me to pass those batons and pour more of my attention on my family. I want to thank every viewer and every listener who shared this journey with me. It’s been an honor. And yes, for my broadcasting career, ‘The hay is in the barn.'”
That phrase is the one Ravens fans will remember most. Sandusky has previously said it came from his college football coach at Towson University, Phil Albert, who used it at the end of practice to signal that the hard work was done. Sandusky adopted it as his way of letting Baltimore know a victory was secure, and for 20 years, it was the exclamation point on every Ravens win.
Ravens president Sashi Brown offered a prepared statement praising Sandusky’s work and specifically his ability to “illustrate with words.” “From thrilling championship victories to agonizing defeats, Gerry witnessed it all — consistently doing so with a style marked by professionalism, passion, and Maryland pride,” Brown said.
Congratulations to the “Voice of the Ravens,” Gerry Sandusky, on your retirement! pic.twitter.com/m4SbuwTpMP
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 1, 2026
Sandusky is a Towson University graduate who grew up in Baltimore before his father’s career — John Sandusky played in the NFL and coached the Baltimore Colts — took the family away. He made a point of coming back when WBAL offered him the job in 1988, and Baltimore sports have been his beat ever since. He won two Emmy Awards during his time at the station, is a New York Times bestselling author, and runs The Sandusky Group, a leadership communications firm.
He also spent years navigating the strange burden of sharing a name — with a different spelling — with the convicted former Penn State coach, something he addressed publicly when it came up during the ESPN-Robert Lee controversy in 2017, saying the situation had “reached a level of epidemic insanity.”
WBAL-TV has not yet announced who will replace Sandusky as sports director or as the Ravens’ radio play-by-play voice.
His final show is set for Friday, April 17, according to the Baltimore Banner.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.