Bob Robertson (March 14, 1929 – September 6, 2020) was an American sportscaster, best known for covering
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...
football from
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
–
68 and
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
–
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
, and
WSU basketball from
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
–
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
.
He was also play-by-play announcer for Tacoma's
Pacific Coast League team, and one of the last to recreate play-by-play from the studio while the team was on the road.
He was the full-time radio announcer for the
Spokane Indians
The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...
of the
Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...
from 1999 to 2010, and called occasional games in 2012.
Robertson was born in
Fullerton, California, while his father was at
spring training as a baseball player with the
Seattle Indians
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...
of the
Pacific Coast League. He grew up in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
) and
northwestern Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
(
Point Roberts
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Points ...
); he graduated from
Blaine High School, where he played football and baseball.
[
After attending ]Western Washington State College
Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
in Bellingham and calling minor league baseball games for the Wenatchee Chiefs
The Wenatchee Chiefs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington.
Founded in 1937, the team was a part of the Class B Western International League through 1954, although the team did not oper ...
of the Western International League
The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International Leagu ...
, Robertson left the Pacific Northwest in 1955 to be the football announcer for Notre Dame's school-run television station.
In 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
, Robertson began his work with WSU football, leaving briefly to announce for the rival
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...
of Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
from 1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
– 1971. He returned to WSU in 1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
, where he worked both football and basketball games.
During his 70-year career, Robertson also covered the Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were initi ...
, Seattle Totems
The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League in 1952) between 1944 and 19 ...
, Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
, Portland Timbers, Seattle University men's basketball, Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...
men's and women's basketball, as well as table tennis, hydroplane racing, roller derby, boxing, rodeo, and high school athletics. He called three games for the Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
in 1992.
Robertson was known for his sign off "Always be a good sport, be a good sport all ways." In 2011, he was replaced as play-by-play announcer, but remained on the football broadcasts as an analyst.
On October 15, 2018, Robertson announced his retirement from Washington State with immediate effect. He died at his home in University Place, Washington
University Place is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its population was 34,866 at the 2020 census.
Based on per capita income, University Place ranks 81st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
History
Universi ...
, on September 6, 2020, at age 91.
Honors
• 2004: Chris Schenkel Award from the College Football Hall of Fame.
• 2006: Inducted into the Washington State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
• 2007: Inducted into the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.
• 2009: The press box at WSU's Martin Stadium was named in his honor.
• 2011: The press box at Spokane's Avista Stadium
Avista Stadium is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Spokane Valley, Washington. It is the home ballpark of the Spokane Indians, a minor league baseball team in the High-A Northwest League. was named in his honor.
• Named the state of Washington's Sportscaster of the Year 12 times.
References
External links
WSU Athletics Hall of Fame
Tacoma-Pierce County Old-Timers Baseball-Softball Hall of Fame
Sports Press Northwest
– Cougars Voice Robertson calls it a career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Bob
1929 births
2020 deaths
American sports announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
College football announcers
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators
Minor League Baseball broadcasters
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators
People from Fullerton, California
Washington Huskies football announcers
*
Western Washington University alumni