Bob Blackburn

Bob Blackburn (1924- ) is the original play-by-play voice of the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association. He called games for the team on KOMO radio and KOMO-TV, and later on KJR radio. His tenure with the SuperSonics included the team's first season in 1967-68 and its NBA Championship run in 1979, when the SuperSonics beat the Washington Bullets four games to one in a best-of-seven series.

Early years

Blackburn grew up in the Los Angeles area. As a child, he was bedridden with tuberculosiscitation | last = Raley | first = Dan | title = Where Are They Now? Blackburn gave Sonics a voice | newspaper=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer | year=2006 |date = February 15, 2006 | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/259504_where15.html] . While listening to college sports broadcasts as a child, he dreamed of being behind the microphone. Blackburn's uncle had told him his strength was in his "loud voice," so a career in broadcasting seemed like a good ideacitation | last = Hammil | first = Bruce | title = Famed Sports Announcer Blackburn Remembers His FUHS Roots | newspaper=Fullerton News Tribune | url=http://fuhsalumni.0catch.com/pleiades/psports.htm] . He managed to land a job at a California radio station and worked his way up. Eventually, he landed a job with the Portland Beavers and stayed for eighteen years. During his time in Oregon he was the radio voice of Oregon State University Football and Basketball. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 for his Special Contribution to Sports in Oregon.

SuperSonics

When the SuperSonics joined the NBA in 1967-68, the team needed a play-by-play voice. Blackburn applied, along with 110 other applicants, and got the job. Blackburn called most SuperSonics games solo during his first 20 years behind the microphone. During the 1987-88 season, KJR added Kevin Calabro to the broadcast team and the duo shared play-by-play responsibilities. In the early 1990s, Blackburn left in what he described as a "forced retirement". At that time, Calabro became the sole play-by-play voice and the team's second play-by-play broadcaster.

Legacy

During his nearly 60 years on the air, Blackburn called over 7,000 sports events and 2,359 NBA games -- the vast majority with the Seattle SuperSonics. As a broadcaster, Blackburn did not actually have a "number" to be retired. However, he has received comparable honors for his contributions to the SuperSonics over 25 years. Rather than retiring a number, the SuperSonics have retired his microphone cite web | title=Hanging From the Rafters|url=http://www.nba.com/history/retired_numbers.html| accessdate=2008-04-25] .

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