Sportscaster and Baseball Hall of Fame's Bob Wolff Dies at 96

The News 12 broadcaster and sports legend died peacefully at his Nyack home Saturday night.

If you call yourself a Knicks or Yankees fan, you know the name Bob Wolff. The 96-year-old and longtime South Nyack resident passed away in his home peacefully Saturday night, according to his son, Rick Wolff.

Wolff is known as the longest running sportscaster on TV and radio, having been on the airwaves for 78 years. This achievement even gained notice from the Guinness Book of World Records.

Wolff also gained recognition as the only sportscaster to call play-by-play of championships in all four major North American professional team sports, according to ESPN, including NFL championship games, MLB World Series, NBA Finals, and NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

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Wolff interviewed Babe Ruth, was the voice of the Washington Senators, and was the television voice behind the Knicks’ and New York Rangers for decades, calling play-by-play for both Knicks championships in the 1970s. However, his most famous moment was when he called New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

Wolff started his career as a broadcaster in 1939 as a member of the CBS affiliate in Durham, North Carolina while he was a student at Duke University. He continued sports commentary with News 12 Long Island broadcast team since it launched three decades ago and made his mark in local radio hosting the Con Edison Student-Athlete of the Week interview on WFAS Radio.

His achievements also include being one of only two broadcasters, Curt Gowdy being the second, inducted into both the Baseball and Basketball Halls of Fame. Additionally, Wolf is revered in the broadcast wing of the National Sportscasters-Sportswriters Hall of Fame and the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame.

Besides his sports broadcasting career, Wolff served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a supply officer in the Pacific.

His wife of 72 years, Jane Wolff, his children Dr. Robert Wolff, Rick Wolff, Margy Clark, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren survive Wolff.

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