Nelson L. Goldberg (March 8, 1930 – September 25, 2005) was an innovator, pioneer and visionary in telecommunications and developed the first cable system to be acquired by Comcast. He was the son of the late Edward and Fannie Menzer Goldberg, was a native of

New Kensington, Pennsylvania New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Allegheny River, northeast of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Penns ...

. He graduated from Arnold High and then

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1956 where he was a member of the

Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...

fraternity. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Born of humble beginnings in 1930, he led an extraordinary life that touched countless people. Goldberg’s career began in radio sales at WKPA AM in

New Kensington New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Allegheny River, northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 12,170 at the 2010 census. History Like much of Westmoreland Cou ...

. In 1958, he became General Manager of

KPA KPA may refer to: * Keele Postgraduate Association, Keele University, UK, formerly Keele Research Association (KRA) * Kensington (Olympia) station, London, England, National Rail station code * Kenya Ports Authority * ''Kiln phosphoric acid'', a d ...

and then purchased the station in 1961. Goldberg acquired WYDD-FM in 1963 and operated the radio stations for more than 25 years. WYDD was the first radio station to offer an all jazz format and Goldberg developed and promoted Jazz Horizons, Pittsburgh’s first jazz concert series that featured jazz legends such as

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

and

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

. Goldberg developed WEFB-TV (TV3) and Westmoreland Cable in 1968, one of the first cable franchises in western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The cable system was later sold to

Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

. Further establishing himself at the forefront of telecommunications and technology, Goldberg founded Mass Communications and Management and Total Communications Systems (TCS). TCS was at one point heralded as the largest independently owned television production company in the country. Among the company’s achievements were the first pay-per-view broadcast of a sporting event (a Penn State vs. Cincinnati football game); syndicated broadcasts of

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, Notre Dame and

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

football; the first nationally syndicated college football highlight show ( The Penn State Story); in 1981, the introduction of the largest and most sophisticated mobile television facility in the industry that was used to televise hundreds of events, including Super Bowls and Olympic broadcasts. He also developed the Meadows Racing Network (now Ladbroke Racing Network). Goldberg’s experience in sports broadcasting also led to a secondary career in sports marketing and representation, working with former NFL players such as

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. From Western Pennsylvania, Dorsett attended the ...

Jimmy Cefalo James Carmen Cefalo (born October 6, 1956) is an American journalist, news broadcaster and sports broadcaster, radio talk show host, Voice of the Miami Dolphins, businessman, wine enthusiast and former professional American football wide receiver ...

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...

, and

Matt Bahr Matthew David Bahr (born July 6, 1956) is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League, and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pe ...

. In the 1980s, Goldberg was the first to privately own satellite transponders and perceptively anticipated the advent of commercial television satellite broadcasting. Throughout his career, he continuously broke ground in developing new kinds of broadcast programming and the manner in which they were transmitted. In 1988, Nelson Goldberg was inducted into the

PA Omega Gamma chapter Hall of Fame. This induction ceremony included a visit and introduction by Penn State head football coach

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

.http://www.psupilam.com/page.php?page_id=119937 In May 2011, Nelson L. Goldberg was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Sources

*http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2005/051003/nerw.html#pa {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Nelson L. Pennsylvania State University alumni Radio pioneers Television pioneers 1930 births 2005 deaths People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania