Joseph K. Starkey (born 1941)
is an American
sportscaster who served as the
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
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 of
California Golden Bears football from 1975 to 2022.
He previously worked as the sports director of
KGO radio in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
and play-by-play announcer for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
for 20 seasons from 1989 to 2008.
Starkey is most famous for his frenetic call of
The Play in the 1982
Big Game between Cal and
Stanford
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
: ''"Oh, the band is out on the field!"'' Starkey nearly lost his voice during and after this event, which he hailed as "the most amazing, sensational, dramatic, heartrending, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football!"
Career
Starkey grew up in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and briefly played football at
Thornton Junior College. He attended
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...
, graduating in 1964 with a
Bachelor of Business Administration
A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...
and Master of Science in international relations in 1965.
He has broadcast for the
NFL's
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
(1977) and
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, the
USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
's
Oakland Invaders
The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
The team can t ...
and the first telecaster for 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 ...
's
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
. Starkey was also the radio and television voice of the now defunct National Hockey League's
Oakland (later California Golden) Seals and
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
, who later became the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
. His trademark call, whenever the Seals scored a goal, was "What a bonanza!"
It was the same call he carried into his football broadcasts to describe outlandish catches, notably by
Jerry Rice and
Terrell Owens.
Other previous assignments include 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 ...
of the NHL and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
games for the
NBA's Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
and the University of California Golden Bears.
On August 18, 2022, the University of California announced that Starkey would retire after the Golden Bears'
2022 season.
San Francisco 49ers
Prior to assuming play-by-play duties with the 49ers in
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
he served as color analyst on 49ers radio broadcasts in
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
and
1988 with the legendary
Lon Simmons handling play-by-play (although during the 1987 and 88 seasons, Starkey did call play by play on several regular season games as Sinnons was busy calling games for the 49ers fellow tenant at
Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium located in the Bayview-Hunters Point, Hunters Point area of San Francisco, California, United States. It was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 S ...
, the San Francisco Giants). He also called the radio broadcasts of
Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...
and
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion San Diego Chargers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
.
He was involved in the radio call of several of the team's most famous moments. In addition to his
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
calls, the most famous of which would prove to be
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American American football, football coach with the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Sanders is also a former professional football and baseball player, having played in the N ...
' out-of-bounds end-zone interception which ended Super Bowl XXIX, Starkey was play-by-play announcer for
the 1998 club's two signature moments -
Garrison Hearst's 96-yard touchdown in overtime against the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
and
Steve Young
Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Bu ...
's game-winning touchdown to
Terrell Owens against the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
-
The Catch II. Starkey also broadcast
San Francisco's 2002 playoff comeback against the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
.
When the 49ers moved their broadcasts from KGO to rival station
KNBR in
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, Starkey had to resign from KGO in order to continue his role with the 49ers.
Starkey is still the broadcaster for the
Cal Bears on KGO radio indefinitely.
On December 18, 2008, Starkey announced his retirement as the play-by-play announcer of the 49ers, citing difficulties with travel from Saturday Cal football games to Sunday 49ers games.
In December 2010, The National Football Foundation honored him with "The
Chris Schenkel Award" for his long and distinguished career broadcasting college football for the University of California at its annual awards dinner at the
Waldorf Astoria in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He was nine times voted Best California play-by-play broadcaster by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
and was inducted into the
Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2016, he was inducted in the University of California Sports Hall of Fame.
Personal
Starkey and his wife Diane reside in the Bay Area. They have three sons and six grandchildren.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkey, Joe
1940s births
Living people
American radio sports announcers
California Golden Bears men's basketball announcers
California Golden Bears football announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
College football announcers
Denver Broncos announcers
Golden State Warriors announcers
Minnesota Vikings announcers
NBA broadcasters
NFL announcers
National Hockey League broadcasters
New Jersey Devils announcers
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators
Pittsburgh Penguins announcers
Radio personalities from San Francisco
San Francisco 49ers announcers
San Jose Sharks announcers
United States Football League announcers
California Golden Seals announcers
Colorado Rockies (NHL) announcers
Loyola University Chicago alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)