DENVER — All this week on 9NEWS mornings, you’re going to see some familiar faces. We’re invited former anchors and reporters to join us.
Ed Sardella joined KBTV (which is now KUSA 9NEWS ) in 1974 and over the years became one of the top news anchors in the Denver market. He co-anchored 9NEWS at 10 p.m. when the broadcast had achieved some of the highest audience levels of any late newscast in the United States.
One of his most notable television moments didn't involve a story here in Denver.
Sardella played an integral role in the breaking coverage of the earthquake in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 1989. It struck during the pregame show of the third game of the World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants. The quake killed 63 people. Most of them were killed when a large section of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed.
Although Sardella was working in Denver, he played a key role in national coverage of the story due to power outages and widespread damage to equipment.
"The earthquake threw the networks off the air," Sardella said. "So we were able to get a satellite signal from San Francisco to Denver and then Denver broadcast the ABC network." ( At the time 9NEWS was the Denver ABC affiliate)
From Denver's newsroom, Sardella alerted the nation about the quake and its destruction.
"Candlestick Park had a complete power outage in addition to the damage it did to the park and San Francisco area," Sardella explained. "As a result, 9NEWS served as a supplier of the television signal by way of Denver and out to the country and the world."
Patti Dennis, who is currently the vice president of news for 9NEWS' parent company TEGNA, was a producer at 9NEWS at the time. She knew several people in San Francisco and was able to get them on the phone.
"We were able to get first-person, first-handed descriptions of the devastation and how it was affecting those individuals because they were right in the middle of it," Sardella said.
Dennis and Sardella earned an Emmy for their coverage.
So what has Sardella been up to since retiring in 2004? He and his wife are enjoying a slower-paced life in Pismo Beach, a city along California's central coast.
"Some of our best times have been watching the Broncos games and watching the fans freeze while we have the air conditioning going," Sardella said while strolling along the beach with his wife.
"You know the old Hollywood saying, leave them wanting more, I hope that was the situation at channel 9," Sardella said about his decision to retire in 2004.
Watch the video below for a tribute to Sardella prior to his retirement.
