James Robert Starr (June 2, 1933 – August 3, 1998) was an American sportscaster.

Biography

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and raised by adoptive parents in Oklahoma, Starr attended

Coffeyville Junior College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...

and then the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, where he played football and baseball. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Starr began his broadcasting career calling high school and college basketball in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Starr's first TV job was as a sports anchor on WMBD-TV in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, where he also broadcast basketball games for Bradley University. In 1966, Starr was hired by WBZ radio in Boston to call

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

and

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

football games. In 1971 Starr left Boston to begin work as Sports Director for

KTVU KTVU (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Oakland, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside San Jose� ...

television in Oakland, California. In 1972, Starr moved to St. Louis to work for

KMOX KMOX (1120 AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it is a 50,000 watt Class A clear-channel station with a non-directional signal. The KMOX studios and offices are on Olive Street at Tucker Bouleva ...

radio and call games for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

and

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

football teams and the

baseball team. In September 1975, Starr broadcast a Cardinals baseball game on a Friday night in New York, flew to Minnesota for a football Cardinals exhibition game on a Saturday evening, returned to New York for a baseball game the following afternoon, and then flew to Birmingham, AL to call the Missouri Tigers 20-7 upset of Alabama on a Monday night. "Really, I don't mind that sort of schedule at all. It's sometimes irritating, or frustrating when connections are tight and the weather is bad." Starr would spend most of his career in

Anaheim, CA Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, where he called

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

football and

California 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 ...

baseball from 1980 to 1989. During his years in St. Louis and Anaheim, Starr also broadcast several football bowl games. In 1990, Starr returned to Boston to replace

Ken Coleman Kenneth Robert Coleman (April 22, 1925 – August 21, 2003) was an American radio and television sportscaster for more than four decades (1947–1989). Early life Coleman was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1925, the son of William (a salesma ...

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

radio. Starr would spend three years with the Red Sox before returning to call Rams and Angels games.

Steve Physioc Steve Physioc () is a retired American sportscaster who has called play-by-play for various baseball, basketball, and football teams. He retired while working with the Kansas City Royals, who he had worked with since February of 2012. Early life ...

would replace Starr on Rams radio network in 1994 and Starr would retire from Angels radio network in 1997. Starr died at his home in Orange, California, August 3, 1998 of respiratory failure and pulmonary fibrosis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Bob 1933 births 1998 deaths American Football League announcers American sports announcers Boston College Eagles football announcers Boston Patriots announcers Boston Red Sox announcers California Angels announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers High school basketball announcers in the United States High school football announcers in the United States Los Angeles Rams announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Missouri Tigers football announcers National Football League announcers Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Sportspeople from Orange County, California Sports in Boston St. Louis Blues announcers St. Louis Cardinals announcers St. Louis Cardinals (football) announcers United States Army personnel University of Kansas alumni