Bob Blackburn’s (October 14, 1924 – January 8, 2010) ambition and hard work on the mic endeared him to radio listeners in Oregon and Washington throughout a five-decade career as a play-by-play announcer. He was a broadcast pioneer in many ways.
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. Blackburn also broadcast everything from Portland Buckaroos hockey to University of Oregon football. On Sundays, he re-created games of the Los Angeles Rams for listeners using information from a teletype. He also hosted his own afternoon show for a time.
In 1967, Bob made the move to Seattle as the original radio voice of the expansion SuperSonics and Seattle’s first announcer of a professional team. While broadcasting solo for the Sonics during their first twenty seasons, Blackburn came to be known by a simple nickname: “The 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. He is also a member of the Washington Sports Hall of Fame. The Sonics retired his microphone in lieu of a jersey number.