CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The Bengals announced on Sunday that former tight end Bob Trumpy, who went on to a successful broadcast career nationally and locally, passed away at age 80.
After going to four Pro Bowls during a career that spanned from 1968-77, Trumpy went to the broadcasting booth for NBC as a game analyst and golf announcer and locally as the “Godfather of Sports Talk Radio,” on WCKY-AM and WLW-AM.
Trumpy would deliver four decades as a Hall-of-Fame announcer calling four Super Bowls and three Olympics.
Trumpy finished his career with 298 receptions for 4,600 yards and 35 touchdowns.
“I’ve known Bob since we started here and he had an extraordinary career as both a player and a broadcaster,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “He was an exceptional and rare tight end who could get downfield and split zone coverages. Speed was his hallmark. He was as fast as any wide receiver and was a deep threat. That was rare for a tight end then and it’s rare now.
“As a broadcaster, he made his mark both locally and nationally, and excelled at sports other than football in a career that was as successful as what he accomplished on the field. He did it all very well and I regret his passing.”
Trumpy was a 12th-round draft pick out of the University of Utah in 1968 and became an instrumental piece of the Bengals’ early history. He scored the franchise’s first ever receiving touchdown on a 58-yard catch on Sept. 15, 1968 against the Denver Broncos at Nippert Stadium.
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He earned Pro Bowl nods in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1973 and was selected first team All-Pro in 1969.
