Coming up: The voice of the Blue Devils

Thursday, November 05, 2009 3:00 AM |

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Bob Harris, voice of the Duke Blue Devils, has called Duke basketball and football games for 34 years. Photo by Mark Wineka, Salisbury Post

In 1967, Albemarle's Bob Harris was at a crossroads. He had tried selling shoes for a living, had given up a promising career with Goodyear and was now stuck selling insurance.

The previous fall, as a side job, he had tried his hand at selling sponsorships and being a play-by-play announcer for West Stanly High School football games — and he loved it.

So in February 1967, with an ultimatum from his bosses to concentrate only on selling insurance, Harris went to WZKY Station Manager Ralph Gardner in Albemarle and asked for a job.

Gardner hired Harris as a salesman, morning show host and sports director, launching one of the most improbable and now famous sportscasting careers in North Carolina history.

On Sunday, read Mark Wineka's column on how Harris went from a mill worker's son to the 34-year voice of Duke Blue Devils basketball and football.

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