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 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

and raised by adoptive parents in Oklahoma, Starr attended Coffeyville Junior College 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. T ...

, 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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. 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 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Ce ...

, 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- mo ...

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 Subdivisi ...

football games. In 1971 Starr left Boston to begin work as Sports Director for KTVU television in Oakland, California. In 1972, Starr moved to St. Louis to work for KMOX radio and call games for the St. Louis Cardinals and Missouri Tigers football teams and the St. Louis Cardinals 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, where he called

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

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 ...

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