Dick Goddard

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Richard D. "Dick" Goddard (born February 24, 1931) is a retired American television meteorologist, author, cartoonist, and animal activist.

He served as the evening meteorologist at WJW-TV, the Fox Broadcasting Company-affiliated television station in Cleveland, Ohio, for more than five decades.

He holds the Guinness World Record for the longest time as a weather forecaster.

Personal life and death

Freddie, Goddard's pet raccoon, had existed in 1950. He was born in Medina, Ohio. Kim was Goddard's one daughter. He was in a relationship with Julie Ann Cashel for more than two decades before her death in 1996. Doris' mother died in 1996 as a child. Amber Goddard married his second wife in December 1997 and divorced her in 2004. He collapsed at home and fractured a hip in September 2016. Goddard continued with medication, and doctors hoped he would make a complete recovery. In early November 2019, his estate was up for auction.

Goddard retired to Florida, where he was working at a medical facility. Kimber was his son and grandson, and he became his caregiver. In January 2020, Goddard had pneumonia. Kim declared he was sick on May 13, 2020, and his daughter announced in June 2020 that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Goddard died on August 4, 2020 at the age of 89. His ashes were scattered under many trees, including one at the WJW studios.

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Military, education, and early life all began early in life.

Goddard was born in Akron, Ohio, on February 24, 1931. Vatchel Goddard, his father, was a mechanic for the Railway Express Agency. Doris Goddard (née Dickerhoof), his mother, was a homemaker. Both of his parents attended a fourth grade school. He lived in Akron from birth to 1941. In 1941, the family moved to a small farm in Greensburg, Ohio (now called Green). The farm was five acres. In the summer, his father brought him to Michigan to fish. He would continue to fish until 1973 before giving up. In high school, Goddard played football (tailback and single-wing), baseball (third base), and basketball (basketball). He played basketball in his senior year, and the boys became Class B champions. In August 1948, Goddard attended his first Cleveland Browns game in Akron. Goddard played for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Firestone Park right before joining the United States Air Force. The Dodgers called him back the next day, but he didn't return because no one of his acquaintances had been invited back.

He began learning meteorology during a stint with the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1955, after graduating from Green High School. At Sampson Air Force Base, he received basic training. The Goddard aptitude test was administered. Since there were no cartoonists on the examination, the lieutenant who administered the exam said he qualified as a sharpshooter. Goddard was worried about it but ultimately declined. The lieutenant's description indicated that he was well-suited for meteorology. Immediately after the outbreak of the Korean War, Goddard was dispatched to the Korean peninsula. Goddard was sent to Greenland before he could travel to the Korean peninsula. He was sent to the 6th Mobile Weather Squadron at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma after Greenland. During this period, Goddard's most notable job was planning for atmospheric nuclear weapons experiments by the United States Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC) in the Pacific. The first hydrogen bomb was tested in the Pacific Islands while stationed with USAEC in Enewetak Atoll, and Goddard met Edward Teller there.

He later attended Kent State University, where he majored in drama and broadcasting. Despite being successful as the lead role in the school's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma, he had a blast as Curly.

Career

Goddard, a Kent State graduate, worked with the National Weather Service at the Akron-Canton Airport. He was withheld for five years. Goddard joined the weather crew at Westinghouse-owned KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland in 1960 and was employed for thirteen weeks. He was the first meteorologist on Cleveland television. Hurricane Donna became the first storm he covered as fortune would have it. He appeared on Linn Sheldon's Barnaby show in December 1960. Goddard appeared on KYW-TV a year later, alongside sports anchor Jim Graner. Goddard was one of several Westinghouse employees who agreed to reverse a station trade with NBC in 1956 based on coercion, allowing Westinghouse to maintain their NBC links; the KYW has also returned to Philadelphia. However, Goddard did not take a liking to Philadelphia and returned to Cleveland a few months later. Goddard, a 1966 meteorologist, joined WJW-TV, where he would continue to work for the remainder of his career. During his tenure, he was one of the most influential area broadcasters.

Goddard was also employed with the Cleveland Browns as the team's official statistician for home games after returning to Cleveland. Before the Browns' move to the AFC), WJW, a CBS affiliate, carried Browns' games as part of their NFL play-by-play deal until the 1970 AFL-NFL merger (due to the Browns' merger to the AFC), at which time the game were moved to WKYC). He served in this position from 1966 to 2011, with the exception of a three-year span between 1996 and 1999 when the franchise was suspended when the old Browns franchise was relocated to Baltimore and Cleveland was given a new team.

Goddard appeared on WJW's version of Bowling for Dollars from 1977 to 1979, a syndicated franchised game show. He appeared in numerous skits on WJ's most popular Big Chuck and Lil' John Show over the years, as well as occasional stage work.

The portion of South Marginal Road (the southern frontage road of the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway) in front of the WJW studios was renamed "Dick Goddard Way" in honor of Goddard's 50 years on Cleveland television, the majority of which was spent at WJW.

Goddard lived in Medina Township, Ohio, as of 2014.

Goddard signed a "multi-year" deal with WJW in December 2014. Goddard declared on May 18, 2016, that he would withdraw from his weather duties in November 2016, while still supporting his animal advocacy and remaining host of the Woollybear Festival. On November 22, 2016, he delivered his last forecast on the station, with the station's weather center renamed for him. For WJW, he began recording animal advocacy and adoption segments.

Goddard, a 1973 widow, held the first Woollybear Festival, a day-long family festival dedicated to teaching children about the weather, family fun, and animals. A caterpillar run, animal costume competitions, and musical performances were among the festival's highlights.

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Awards and honors

• American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval (#45)
• 2011 Gold Circle Award, presented by Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards chapter
• 1992 Silver Circle Award, presented by Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards chapter
• Cleveland Press Club Journalism Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2001)
• Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1989)
• Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1994)
• South Marginal Road in Cleveland renamed "Dick Goddard Way"
• Ohio GA 131 House Bill 60 named "Dick Goddard's Law"
• Guinness Book of World Records - Longest career as a weather forecaster (51 years, 6 days)
• Fox 8 News weather desk renamed the "Dick Goddard Weather Center"
• Two dog parks named for Goddard:
  • In his hometown of Green, Ohio (Dick Goddard Dog Park)
  • In Vermillion, Ohio - home of the annual Woollybear Festival founded by Goddard in 1973