Early Career Years
After graduating from Green High School in what is now Green, Ohio in 1949, Goddard began his weather career while taking classes on meteorology during a stint with the United States Air Force from 1949 through the early 1950s. During this time, Goddard's most notable assignment was forecasting for atmospheric nuclear weapons tests by the United States Atomic Energy Commission in the Pacific.
He then attended Kent State University, where he majored in drama and broadcasting. While there he had notable success as the lead character, Curly, in the school's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!.
After graduating from Kent State in 1960, he joined the weather team at Westinghouse Broadcasting-owned KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland a year later; while at KYW-TV, Goddard worked alongside sports anchor Jim Graner. Goddard was one of several employees of KYW-TV who agreed to move to Philadelphia in June 1965, after Westinghouse was ordered by the FCC to move its operations there in a reversal of its 1956 station trade with NBC. However, Goddard did not take a liking to Philadelphia, and returned to Cleveland several months later. In 1966, Goddard became the chief meteorologist at WJW-TV, where he has worked ever since.
After returning to Cleveland, Goddard also took a job with the NFL's Cleveland Browns as the team's official statistician for home games. Then a CBS affiliate, WJW-TV carried Browns games at the time as part of their NFL play-by-play contract until the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, at which point the games moved to WKYC – this was a key factor in his having joined the station. He held this position from 1966 to 2011, with the exception of a three-year period from 1996-1999 following the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy.
Goddard also is a part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, buying a share of the team when they became an NBA franchise in 1970 for $400.
From August 1977 to January 1979, Goddard also hosted WJW-TV's version of Bowling for Dollars, a syndicated franchised game show.
Goddard currently resides in Medina, Ohio.
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