Ray Reeve (born 1901 - died 1980) was a pioneer

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcaster, working from 1939 through 1973.

Career

Ray Reeve was a pioneering sports broadcaster who worked for WRAL-AM and FM, the Tobacco Sports Network and WRAL-TV during a career that spanned five decades. He is best known as the first voice of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball over the Tobacco Sports Network—a radio network formed by Capitol Broadcasting Company in 1948 to carry the region's collegiate games. Reeve's distinct play-by-play style and raspy voice endeared him to listeners throughout the ACC region. Sports historians credit the early growth of the league in part to Reeve's compelling basketball broadcasts. As the ACC evolved, Reeve narrowed his broadcasts to NC State athletics. He gained widespread popularity as the voice of Wolfpack basketball and football during the eras of Coaches Everett Case and Earle Edwards. When WRAL-TV signed on the air in 1956, Reeve was its first sports director and sports anchor – roles he maintained until his retirement in 1973. During his early years at WRAL-TV Reeve was the original host of ''All-Star Wrestling'', which later became ''Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling''. He hosted the wildly popular shows in the late 50s and early 60s as they were recorded before a live audience in WRAL-TV's Studio A. Reeve later turned the hosting duties over to an up-and-coming WRAL sportscaster–Nick Pond. In its on-air and print promotion, WRAL-TV referred to Ray Reeve as the “Dean of Sportscasters,” and it turns out his contemporaries agreed. In 1967 Reeve was elected to the NC Sports Hall of Fame—becoming the first broadcaster to be so honored. Reeve was a graduate of Dartmouth College. He died in 1980. He was long association with

Tobacco Sports Network Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chi ...

and

WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which has ...

. He made radio broadcasts of early ACC games in 1950s carried the league to millions of listeners across the eastern seaboard. He was a graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

Awards

Elected into the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archi ...

in 1967, he was the first broadcaster to receive this honor. 1901 births 1980 deaths Dartmouth College alumni American broadcasters {{US-radio-bio-stub