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7-24-17 - Bob Wolff - Nick
Babe Ruth with Bob Wolff

6-26-17 - Nick Curran
Former NBA director of public relations,  Nick Curran.
Photo by Ann Cooke

Remembering
Bob Wolff

By Nick Curran

Who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a sports broadcaster?

If you answered Bob Wolff, you are correct.

But this humble, dedicated man, whose career spanned 78 incredible years and who passed away quietly on July 15, isn't a household name throughout America.

Yet he should be.

He and Curt Gowdy are the only sportscasters inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, MA.

He called the play-by-play on radio for the only perfect game in World Series history, by Don Larsen of the New York Yankees, in 1956.

7-24-17 - Bob Wolff - Nick
Announcer Bob Wolff, right, with Yogi Berra, recalling Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956

He called the play-by-play of the sudden death National Football League championship game in 1958 when the Baltimore Colts edged the New York Giants, 23-17.

He called the play-by-play of the New York Knicks when the Knicks won National Basketball Association championships in 1970 and 1973.

He was the play-by-play voice of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League and the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League.

"If you added up all the time spent, about seven days of my life was standing for the National Anthem," Bob once told The New York Times.

During my seven and a half years as director of public relations for the National Basketball Association, our paths crossed regularly. He was well-liked and respected by everybody. By reputation I had known he was the voice of the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins baseball teams from 1947-61. His  knowledge of basketball and his interviewing style at Madison Square Garden showed he was equally skilled in the NBA.

Along the way he was the voice of the Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Colts, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. Bob began his professional broadcasting career on CBS radio in 1939 and last appeared on-air for Cablevision News 12 Long Island, when he delivered his final essay in February, at the age of 96.

He interviewed Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Joe Louis, in addition to thousands of other stars and would-be stars. He will be missed.

7-24-17 - Bob Wolff - Nick
Bob Wolff, a sports broadcasting legend, died at 96

*      *      *      *

Nick Curran was the NBA's director of public relations from 1969 to 1976. After his NBA years, Nick and his wife, Eileen, spent 47 years combined, partnering as vice presidents/financial advisers at Morgan Stanley and its predecessor firm, Dean Witter Reynolds, in Santa Barbara. They retired in 2012 and are the proud grandparents of 
Edison James Curran.
 
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3-6-17 - Pops

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