Robert J. Kelley (May 17, 1917 – September 9, 1966) was an American sportscaster, best known as the radio
play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
announcer for the
Rams
In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)NFL franchise's inception in 1937 in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
. After graduation from high school, Kelley got a job announcing the football games of the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
. He became director of sports for radio station WGAR in Cleveland and began calling Ram games. In 1942 he joined radio station WJR in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
where he broadcast the games of the
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
, while commuting back to Cleveland on Sundays to do the Rams' games.
In addition to broadcasting Rams games, Kelley was the regular baseball announcer for the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
from 1948 to 1957 and the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
of the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
in 1961, and had an evening sports show on radio station
KMPC
KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
.
Kelley, who was known as "The Voice of the Rams", attended high school in
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...
, and was a 1942 graduate of
Western Reserve University
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
. He had several minor film roles, playing a sports announcer. His son Patrick, who was known as Paraquat Kelley, pursued a broadcasting career and is best known as a newscaster at KMET-FM in Los Angeles during the 1970s and '80s.
Kelley was always controversial, especially due to his nightly radio show. According to Jim Murray, the show "made as many people gnash their teeth as cheer. But they listened. His mail was sulphuric. But they wrote... Even when I didn't agree with a bloody word he said I was entertained by the way Bob Kelley said it."
Kelley suffered a heart attack at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...
on January 12, 1964, during the 1964 Pro Bowl game. He was released from the hospital within ten days, but suffered another heart attack on August 10, 1966. He never regained consciousness, and died on September 9, two days before the Rams' first regular-season game of the year.
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...
, who'd been named as Kelley's partner on Rams broadcasts that season, succeeded him as the team's lead announcer.
Bob Kelley is buried in
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The property adjoins the San Fernando Mission and Bishop Alemany Catholic High School.
ThSan Fernando Mi ...