Robert John Kelley (May 17, 1917 – September 9, 1966) was an American sportscaster, best known as the radio

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

announcer for the

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

franchise's inception in 1937 in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and its 1947 move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

through 1965.Los Angeles Radio People, Where are They Now? – K
retrieved 2013-01-21 Kelley was born on May 17, 1917, in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. After graduation from high school, Kelley got a job announcing the football games of the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. He became director of sports for radio station WGAR in Cleveland and began calling Ram games. In 1942 he joined radio station WJR in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

where he broadcast the games of the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, while commuting back to Cleveland on Sundays to do the Rams' games. In addition to broadcasting Rams games, Kelley was the regular baseball announcer for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

from 1948 to 1957 and the

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in 1961, and had an evening sports show on radio station

KMPC KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean lan ...

. Kelley, who was known as "The Voice of the Rams", attended high school in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana. It is the most populous city in the Elkhart–Goshen metropolitan area, which in tu ...

, and was a 1942 graduate of

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

. He had several minor film roles, playing a sports announcer. His son Patrick, who was known as Paraquat Kelley, pursued a broadcasting career and is best known as a newscaster at KMET-FM in Los Angeles during the 1970s and '80s. Kelley was always controversial, especially due to his nightly radio show. According to Jim Murray, the show "made as many people gnash their teeth as cheer. But they listened. His mail was sulphuric. But they wrote... Even when I didn't agree with a bloody word he said I was entertained by the way Bob Kelley said it." Kelley suffered a heart attack at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

on January 12, 1964, during the

1964 Pro Bowl The 1964 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 14th annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1963 season. The game was played on January 12, 1964, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in front of a cro ...

game. He was released from the hospital within ten days, but suffered another heart attack on August 10, 1966. He never regained consciousness, and died on September 9, two days before the Rams' first regular-season game of the year.

Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...

, who'd been named as Kelley's partner on Rams broadcasts that season, succeeded him as the team's lead announcer. Bob Kelley is buried in

San Fernando Mission Cemetery The San Fernando Mission Cemetery, a significant part of the Mission Hills community in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, is steeped in history. It stands adjacent to the iconic San Fernando Mission, also known as Mission San Fernando Rey d ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Bob 1917 births 1966 deaths American people of Irish descent American radio sports announcers Burials at San Fernando Mission Cemetery Case Western Reserve University alumni Catholics from California Catholics from Michigan Cleveland Rams announcers College football announcers Los Angeles Angels announcers Los Angeles Rams announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Michigan Wolverines football announcers Minor League Baseball broadcasters NFL announcers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football announcers People from Kalamazoo, Michigan Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan