The ‘big daddy’ of Portland sports in good spirits despite health issues

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — He’s a man who really needs no introduction.  

But, to all you newbies, former KOIN 6 sports anchor Ed Whelan was best known as the “Big Daddy of Sports” in Portland.

“I’m just amazed that people would watch.  And that they remember.  Because I was just having fun”, says Whelan.

The 77-year-old hasn’t been in the greatest health as of late.  

In fact, he had to move out of his dilapidated Portland home and into a retirement center in Vancouver recently.

“Who can explain it? I was in a bad place. I would still be in a bad place, because I couldn’t keep up my house, if it wasn’t for Pat and his wife Nancy,” he said.

Pat Hellberg worked alongside Whelan in the early 1980s at KOIN.  And they’ve remained close ever since.

“I said, ‘you can’t stay here in this house much longer because it’s just become too much work.’  So we began the process of finding a place for him, because he deserves this at this stage of the game,” said Hellberg.

Whelan, whose real name is Wayland Boot, was a fixture on Portland airwaves from 1980-1984, then again from 1988-2007.  A man who was beloved for his passionate approach to covering sports.  Now the passion is being returned to Whelan in the form of helping him with this life transition.

“I wasn’t even able to push the vacuum around.  I couldn’t clean the rugs. The coverage on my insurance was denied because I needed $40,000 of siding put on the house,” Whelan said.

Hellberg has been there each step of the way and knows how much of a treasure Whelan remains in the Portland market.

“He’s got this uncanny ability to be friendly to the world.  So there’s a reason why there has been this outpouring of support (for Ed). And there’s a reason why people still remember him all these years later,” Hellberg said.

Whelan remains overwhelmed, saying “For a guy who talked for a living, I’m speechless at the generosity of people.  People I don’t even know.  People that I couldn’t imagine would watch sports, let alone me.  Every night I count my prayers.  And thank you, Pat Hellberg.”

If you’d like to donate to Ed Whelan’s financial hardships, Hellberg created a GoFundMe.