Pete Gross
| Pete Gross | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 28, 1936 San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S. |
| Died |
December 2, 1992 (aged 55) Mercer Island, Washington, U.S. |
|
Sports commentary career | |
| Team(s) | Seattle Seahawks |
Peter R. "Pete" Gross (December 28, 1936 - December 2, 1992) a Northwest sports announcer, was a household name in Seattle, Washington for 17 years as the "Voice of the Seahawks". He spent most of his career as a radio play-by-play announcer with KIRO (AM). His most memorable call line was "Touchdown Seahawks!" Steve Raible, who served as color commentator with Pete Gross during much of his 17 years, continues to call that line as the Seahawks play-by-play announcer today. Gross' original broadcast partners on the Seahawks radio broadcasts were Don Heinrich and Wayne Cody.
Before announcing for the Seahawks, Gross's called football and basketball play-by-play for the University of Washington as well as for the University of the Pacific. He was the play-by-play announcer on KIRO-TV Seattle SuperSonics telecasts from 1976-78. The Seahawks inducted Gross into the Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1992. In his 17 seasons, Gross called almost every game, only missing five games in 1992 due to cancer. In 1983, Gross and the Seahawks came within one game of the Super Bowl.
Early years
Gross was born in 1936,[1] and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area.[2] and graduated from Tamalpais High School in 1954. He attended USC and graduated from the University of Miami where he competed as a swimmer.[3]
Family
Married to Beverly Sue Peterson; the couple had three daughters.
Career
Gross began his career in sports broadcasting as high school play-by-play announcer in Watsonville, California. Later, he worked as a Top 40 disc jockey at KSRO Santa Rosa, KXOA (as Tony King) Sacramento, and KJOY Stockton. While in Sacramento, Gross also served as Director of Public Relations for the Sacramento Capitols [4] of the Continental Football League while also doing football play-by-play for American River College. At K-JOY Gross was play-by-play broadcaster for the University of the Pacific football and basketball. He later continued work sports broadcasting at KIRO 710 Radio in Seattle in 1973, covering University of Washington football and basketball play-by-play and radio and TV broadcasting of the NBA SuperSonics.
When the NFL expansion team, Seattle Seahawks began preseason play in 1976, Gross became the Seahawks play-by-play announcer for 17 years. In addition, Gross covered Pac-10 basketball play-by-play broadcasts for TCS/Metro and ESPN, color analysis for Philadelphia 76ers broadcasts and color for the Mutual radio network's coverage of the NBA championships (1978). Gross Broadcast 331 Seahawks' games as the Voice of the Seahawks, with his trademark call. "Touchdown, Seahawks!"
Death
Gross died of cancer in 1992, aged 55,[5] three days after his entry into the Seahawks Ring of Honor. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center created the Pete Gross House - a 69-unit housing complex that provides living space for families of patients undergoing treatment at the Center, in his memory. Pete Gross House also houses Hutch School, a fully accredited K-12 school for cancer patients and their siblings.
References
- ↑ Peter R. Gross profile, findagrave.com; accessed October 23, 2014.
- ↑ Hugo Kugiya (November 29, 1992), "Honor And Courage", Seattle Times as reproduced at
- ↑ Tam Alumni Association (2007). Tamalpais High School Alumni: Today. Chesapeake, Virginia: Harris Connect. p. xv, 410 pp
- ↑ Sacramento Capitols Yearbook 1968
- ↑ Craig Smith (December 3, 1992), "Cancer Claims Gross -- Voice Of Seahawks Dies At Age 55", The Seattle Times
Sacramento Capitols Yearbook 1968 Season