R.I.P.: Bob Shields, Former Radio-TV Sportscaster In Columbia SC

After an 18-month battle with cancer, longtime WLTX-TV19, Columbia, SC anchor and sports broadcaster Bob Shields has died.  He was 59-years-of-age.

Shields served as WLTX’s sports director for 30 years covering high school sports, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and more. One of his enduring contributions was founding the high school Player of the Week series, a series that is still running today, according to a previous article from The State.

“Bob is one of the most loved people who have worked here at WLTX. Not just here, but in the community,” WLTX general manager and president Rich O’Dell told The State last week after Shields was placed in hospice care. “He would do shows. He would bring in marching bands and players. It really was the thing to watch.”

Shields retired from WLTX in 2010 to spend more time with his family, he told reporters at the time. After leaving WLTX, he worked in a career management firm, Life Careers. Later, he became the director of Caughman-Harman Funeral Home.



For a number of years Shields was also a co-host of “The Early Game” on WNTK 107.5 The Game.

Shields was often regarded as one of the Midlands’ premier sports authorities. He won the South Carolina Broadcasting Association’s award for Sportscaster of the Year three years in a row, from 1995 to 1997, according to a 2010 news release from WLTX.