Affable gentlemen was the stadium and arena public address announcer for 100s of events
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Department of Athletics was saddened to learn today of the sudden death this weekend of Bob Kennedy, the public address announcer and “voice” of the Buckeyes for the past 23 years.
Kennedy was scheduled to announce the Ohio State baseball game Sunday afternoon against the University of Illinois. When he did not arrive at the stadium, Ohio State officials contacted local authorities to do a wellness check at his home. Department officials were informed a short while later that Kennedy had died at his home.
“Bob had a big heart and he loved his Buckeyes,” Jerry Emig, Associate AD for Communications, said. “And, he loved his PA jobs. He was a true professional at his craft and a friend to us all. He knew our coaches and student-athletes and he certainly knew the histories well of many Ohio State sports, and he loved to talk about them.”
Kennedy is most recognized as the PA voice of the football Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, something he did for the past 20 years. He also handled PA responsibilities at Ohio State for games and events involving the baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey and women’s hockey games, and he filled-in for men’s basketball games.
Kennedy was the athletics PA announcer for his alma mater, Otterbein University, and the Columbus Clippers, as well. He worked for many years in radio and was working as an on-air talent at WDLR in Delaware, Ohio.
In a tribute feature on Kennedy by Columbus TV WSYX’s Bob Kendrick last fall, Kennedy said “My voice has always carried, from the day I was born. I mean, you could probably hear me in New Albany and Hilliard without using a microphone.”
Kennedy was a 1987 graduate of Otterbein with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication.
~ Images courtesy of The OSU Lantern and WSYX Ch. 6 Columbus

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