Roberts, voice of UCLA football and hoops, dies

May 13, 2023, 04:22 PM ET

LOS ANGELES– Chris Roberts, who worked as UCLA’s football and basketball play-by-play radio announcer for 23 years, has actually passed away. He was 74.

He died at his Glendora home east of Los Angeles on Friday from complications of Parkinson’s illness, the school stated Saturday.When he retired

in 2015, Roberts equaled Fred Hessler’s record for longest tenured play-by-play broadcaster in school history.Roberts was hired by UCLA in 1992.

He called football games for 23 seasons, including 16 bowl games that included the Bruins’Rose Bowl looks in 1994 and’ 99. He likewise relayed basketball, including 19

appearances by the Bruins in the NCAA tournament. He was on the call when UCLA won its record 11th national championship in 1995. Roberts was a four-time Golden Mike Award winner and was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association’s hall of popularity. He authored 2 books about the Bruins.Born Bob LaPeer in Alhambra, California, he was a three-sport professional athlete at

Baldwin Park High in football, basketball and baseball. He played baseball at Cal Poly Pomona.Roberts started his broadcasting career at KCIN in Victorville. He worked at stations in Indio

and Pomona. He was working at KFXM in San Bernardino in 1970 when the station’s program director asked him to change his name because someone else called Bob worked there.Roberts later on relocated to Los Angeles and operated at KUTE-FM, KFI and sibling station KOST, and KMPC. He worked as the play-by-play voice at Long Beach State for ten years prior to going to UCLA.