A cancer beard, he called it last year. Greg Papa, the radio voice of the San Francisco 49ers, is no longer the man with the clean-shaven look and sharp features. Instead, he grew out a grey beard, a symbolic reminder that while not everything was okay, his body was still fighting through. He was diagnosed with leukemia a year ago, and in the months that followed, he self-isolated and worked remotely from his home studio. And so, it was a big surprise for his colleagues at KNBR when he visited them in the office in September 2025.

He appeared on his KNBR morning talk show. It was exactly two months since the day he was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer. Yet he spent four uninterrupted hours on ‘Papa & Silver’, speaking with the same passion about the Valkyries, Giants, and 49ers, while also opening up about his own health. But now, his tenure with KNBR has come to an end.

As per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle: “KNBR has laid off longtime Bay Area voice Greg Papa, 63, who was diagnosed with leukemia just over a year ago and returned to his North Bay home last month after a life-threatening 78-day hospital stay that included lung failure.”

This news comes at a time when he was looking forward to returning to his KNBR show, just like he had done last year. KNBR, however, also let Papa’s show partner, Greg Silver, go. Stepping into their place will be John Lund, who is also a familiar voice. He is making his way back into a prominent role after being let go by KNBR in November 2024.

“Cancer is unfair,” Papa told Branch. “And it affects you physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. And then it ultimately gets you financially.

“When I’m off the radio show, I don’t get paid. And then there’s home care. There’s ancillary expenses. The medication. There was one medication I just started taking that was $5,000 for a month’s bottle. We were able to get it down to zero.”

So, while he has been fired, his first priority will be looking after his health. After undergoing a successful bone marrow transplant on March 4, he returned home, relied on supplemental oxygen during his recovery, and was eventually declared cancer-free. There is more reason for optimism, too. Since both of his lungs collapsed during a nearly three-month stay at UCSF Medical Center, his dependence on supplemental oxygen has steadily and significantly decreased.

For more than four decades, he has been one of the defining voices of Bay Area sports. A 42-year broadcasting veteran and four-time California Sportscaster of the Year, he has built a career measured not just by longevity, but by trust. Since 2019, that voice has also echoed through every San Francisco 49ers game as the team’s radio play-by-play announcer. It goes without saying that his partner, Silver, wishes him the best after a successful run together. 

“I’ve gotten a lot better at not caring what people say and blocking out some of the noise as a younger guy in this industry,” Silver said about his time on the show. “What truly allowed me to get there is that Greg Papa, who has been doing sports broadcasting for over a decade beyond my lifespan, gave me trust and respect as a co-host.”

For now, their paths are set to diverge. Silver will remain close to the game, taking on Cal football coverage this season, while Papa turns his attention to something far more important: his recovery.

The day that changed everything for Greg Papa

In an interview with the Chronicle, Papa had spoken about his tough fight with cancer. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last year, after falling sick while vacationing in France. 

It began with what seemed like an ordinary morning in May. Papa woke up feeling unwell, only to discover that his urine had turned what he later described as a “ghoulish dark red.” A doctor raised the possibility of blood cancer, but when his numbers soon returned to normal, life appeared to settle back into its familiar rhythm. The relief, however, was short-lived. Not long after, he looked in the mirror and saw his eyes had turned yellow. In that instant, he knew this was more than a passing scare.

A biopsy soon delivered the answer he had been fearing. It was cancer. The diagnosis was devastating, but not entirely unexpected. Cancer had long cast a shadow over his family. His mother and father had battled the disease, as had one of his sisters. His brother, Gary, ultimately lost his fight with prostate cancer in 2009. 

As for his career, Papa still has his gig as a radio host for the San Francisco 49ers, as the play-by-play announcer. He has held that position since 2019. Though the cancer slowed him down, his legendary career can’t be forgotten. While in college, he worked as the sports director at WAER-FM and called Syracuse Orange games. Papa then became the television play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics, where he worked with longtime analyst Ray Fosse. From 1997 to 2000, he also served as the lead TV play-by-play announcer for the San Antonio Spurs.

From 2004 to 2008, he worked as both a TV and radio broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants. One of his most memorable moments came in 2006 when he took over the broadcast after Dave Fleming’s microphone stopped working during Barry Bonds’ 715th career home run. Over the years, Papa became one of the Bay Area’s most familiar sports voices.

Besides calling games, he hosted Chronicle Live on NBC Sports Bay Area, co-hosted The Happy Hour, and hosted sports talk shows on KNBR and previously on 95.7 The Game.