Bill Schonely will always be remembered as the voice of the Portland Trail Blazers. He provided the radio play-by-play voice for nearly 30 years and coined the phrase “Rip City” during his first year broadcasting games. While broadcasting over 2,500 NBA games, “The Schonz” became the team’s unofficial ambassador through both his game broadcasts and his off-season community visits throughout Oregon. He also served as the television play-by-play announcer for two seasons (1992-1994).

His 28-year tenure with the Blazers is the third longest in NBA history.  While becoming the most familiar broadcast voice in the state of Oregon, Schonely worked extensively for the American Heart Association, Life Flight and MDA Charities.

Bob Blackburn burned his name into the hearts of radio listeners throughout Oregon and Washington at a level matched by few through the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s and retired as one of the great, local media pioneers.

Born in 1924, Blackburn grew up in Los Angeles and delved into radio broadcasting in 1943 in California before moving to Portland to broadcast games for the Portland Beavers. He covered the team for 18 years, many with partner Rollie Truitt.

Beyond the Portland Beavers, Blackburn earned a place in Oregon State’s history as play-by-play broadcaster for OSU football and basketball games and helped formed a statewide network for the school. While sports director for KEX in the ‘50s, he also served as an afternoon disc jockey.

Blackburn broadcast everything from Portland Buckaroos games, to University of Oregon football. On Sundays, he re-created games of the Los Angeles Rams for listeners using information from a teletype. The expansion Seattle Super Sonics hired him as their radio voice in 1967.

While broadcasting solo for the Sonics during their first 20 seasons (1967-’86), Blackburn came to be known by a simple nickname: “Voice.” Over the course of his career, he is credited with having called more than 7,000 events and 2,359 NBA games. Blackburn retired from broadcasting in 1992 and died in 2010 at age 85. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and is also a member of the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

Doug LaMear has interviewed some of sports' greatest athletes and covered sports stories throughout the Northwest during his 46 - year career in broadcasting. His career began in Albany, where he was offered a job in radio covering sports. Soon after, he moved back to Portland, a larger market, and began working at KGW Radio, then onto KPOJ Radio. He began calling play-by-play for football at KVAN, working local high school games. When KGW began television broadcasts in 1956, Doug was the full-time sportscaster. In addition to serving as sports director, he also hosted a fishing and wildlife show, "LaMear's Outdoors" from 1989-90.

He retired in 1991 after 35 years as sports director for KGW - TV8. In addition to his years of service on the air, Doug also has a love for the sport of golf, dating back to his days as a caddy at Waverly Country Club during his high school years. He continued there through college and had the privilege of caddying for Dai Rees during the 1947 Ryder Cup. He continued to leave his mark on the sport with the now annual Doug LeMear One-Club Championship started at Eastmoreland Golf Course in Portland back in 1978.