Steve Kolbe is an American sportscaster who has ties to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

and the play-by-play announcer for Minor League Baseball's

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

of the Double-A Southern League. From

1998–99 NHL season The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 27 teams with the addition of the Nashville Predators. The NHL also realigned to a strictly geographic six-division structure, with three ...

to the

2010–11 NHL season The 2010–11 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 94th season of operation (93rd Season (sport), season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup ...

he was the radio play-by-play announcer for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

Early life

Steve Kolbe was born in 1967 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He moved to Yale Heights, near

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

, and went to Mount St. Joseph High School in the early 1980s. He played on the school

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team but they didn't have a

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

team so he joined a private team, the Baltimore Stars, where he was a goalie. Kolbe attended college at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

where he majored in

telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

s before graduating in 1989. His first broadcasting job was for Michigan State's

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

. In 1992 he then got a job with a new sports

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

station in Washington, D.C. —

WTEM WTEM (980 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial Sports radio, sports radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Washington metropolitan area as the flagship station of the Washington Wizards ...

Washington Capitals

The

moved to WTEM in 1995 and Kolbe became the pregame and postgame host. Nicknamed "The Iceman", he also hosted Sunday Morning at Center Ice, a radio show that covered the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. In 1996, Kolbe moved to the booth to become a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for the Capitals, joining play by play radio legend Ron Weber. In 1997, Ron Weber retired after 23 years of broadcasting, and Kolbe became the team's next radio play-by-play announcer. He and Weber were the only play-by-play radio commentators in the history of the team through 2011. Beginning in 2002, Kolbe was partnered with color analyst

Ken Sabourin Ken R. Sabourin (born April 28, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played 74 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals between 1989 and 1992. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1 ...

, a former player for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

and Washington Capitals. On November 11, 2010, Kolbe called his 1,000th career regular season game for the Capitals, a game against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

. On August 9, 2011, it was announced on the Capitals website that John Walton, the former radio voice of the AHL

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

would be the new radio voice of the Capitals for the next season. No reason was given for Kolbe not returning.

Other radio work

Kolbe has done play-by-play work for the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, who were the Capitals' top level minor league affiliate previously. He has also been a sports anchor, producer and soccer studio host.

Personal life

Kolbe currently lives in

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick, Maryland, Frederick. The county is part of the Washington metropolitan area, ...

. His hobbies include fishing, archery and playing the drums.

References

External links