After 50 years in broadcasting, Bob Kesling is retiring

In 1972 Bob Kesling arrived on Tennessee's campus after a chance meeting with Tennessee's then-head coach The invoice battlewhich got him onto the football team. One year as a Tennessee football player ultimately led to a 50-year broadcasting career that ends this spring as Kesling will retire at the end of the basketball season.

“For the past five years, me and my wife Tami have sat together at the end of every basketball season and asked each other, 'Do you want to keep doing this?' “Would you like to spend more time with your grandchildren?” said Kesling. “I have said time and time again that I still have the passion and the energy. I still love attending the games and going to the stadium. I still love being with the players. Broadcasting these games is the next best thing to playing because you still get the butterflies. As long as I had that passion, I wanted to keep doing it.

“We’ve done it year after year and got around to it this summer. I had all the surgeries on my knee and shoulder. I simply couldn't commit to the university long-term. I couldn't commit to staying here for the next five years, and the more I thought about it, the more our fifth grandchild awaited us. Since 1972 I have been away virtually every weekend to attend games. That's a lot of time away from my family and Tami. I missed a lot of things.

“I spoke with the people at UT and with (Vol Network General Manager) Steve Early. You never know when the perfect time will be and you don't want to stay too long. Luckily my health is good and I've just decided that if I can't commit to five more years, I'll have to think about getting out when I'm well.”

For Kesling, an Ohio native, his five-decade career in the industry was the result of hard work that created opportunities. He has never applied for a job in his entire career. He followed the advice of his two mentors and the result was a Hall of Fame career.

“John station He always told us that he didn't want us to be excited about the Alabama game, he wanted us to be prepared. That's how I tried to approach it,” Kesling recalled as he sat in his office this week, poring over game notes and completing his spotting board for Saturday night's game against Mississippi State. “I sat next to him for 15 years and mocked for him, learning so much about the mechanics of transmission.

“Lindsey Nelson I always told myself, “You’re going to get a break in this business.” Are you ready for the break? Did you work hard enough for the break?' I always remembered that. Because you see some other people who maybe got similar opportunities to me, but they didn't work out. I've always tried to take pride in getting better every day. I had been prepared by Ward and when you only get a break you better work hard. Those were two things that really drove me when I was young and trying to figure out what I was doing.”

Kesling's goal in life after high school was to participate in sports. However, broadcasting wasn't the goal, but attending Tennessee wasn't the goal either. Kesling came to Knoxville with a high school friend who was trying to meet a head coach Ray Mears about being part of the Tennessee basketball program. Kesling decided to find out what Tennessee football was all about.

“I just walked into Coach Battle’s office unannounced,” Kesling said. “His secretary was sitting there and I asked what it would take to get on the football team. She said, “I don't know, do you want to talk to Coach (Bill) Battle?” So five minutes later I'm in Coach Battle's office talking to him. I didn't have a transcript or film with me, but it was great. They recruited a guy from my high school team, Chet Moeller, who went on to join the Navy and is now in the College Football Hall of Fame. So Coach Battle knew about our team. He accompanied me to the back room of the freshman run to meet the coaches. They took me back to Coach Battle's office and he gave me a workout sheet and said, “If you can go to school, we'd like to have you with us.”

“After my first year I knew I wasn’t going to be a big star or anything like that and it was time to move on to something else and I was lucky enough to get into broadcasting.”

That luck came when I found an opportunity 50 years ago through a chance meeting with the owner of the minor league team, the Knoxville Sox.

“In August, we were four college students who went to Bill Meyer Stadium to watch the old Knoxville Sox game and an usher kicked us out of our seats because we were in the box seats and had just paid for the regular seats . We were outraged students!

“There were 500 people there and they wouldn't let us sit behind the dugout and cheer on the team. I rushed into the office and the team's owner, Neal Ridley, was there. I don't know how the conversation started, but before I went out there that night, I talked myself into getting a summer job with the Knoxville Sox. That was in 1974.”

While working with the Sox, Kesling recorded 30-second voice reports that he sent to broadcasters for use. WIVK was one of those stations that aired the report and they called him to offer him a job, and that's how Kesling got into full-time broadcasting.

It was another stadium meeting that brought Kesling to the Vol Network.

“Ernie Robertson filmed all the football games and put together the coaches' shows John stationbut Ernie loved baseball and would come to Knoxville Sox games and film the pitchers. My connection with Ernie through the Sox gave me the opportunity to become a film editor for the TV show “Bill Battle.”

“In 1976 John station needed a spotter. I was still in school, but he knew I had played soccer, so he asked me if I wanted to work spot for him, and that's how I got that job.”

That job launched Kesling on a 23-year journey that saw Kesling accept the challenge of replacing the legendary Voice of the Vols in 1999.

“John never talked to me about the job,” Kesling said. “He never discouraged or encouraged me to continue the job. He never said anything. Without him saying anything to me, I felt it was a vote of confidence that he believed I could do it. He didn't tell me not to take it, so that was a vote of confidence. Because I had lived in Knoxville for so long, I felt like I had a certain level of notoriety. Being on Jefferson-Pilot (then the SEC TV package) helped my exposure so people at least knew who I was. I wasn't an outsider trying to change everything. I'd been on the (Vol) Network for so long that most people felt reasonably comfortable. That's not to say that people didn't miss John Ward, and I didn't say the same lines as him, and my pace wasn't the same as his, and they wouldn't like me. I understood that.

“Doug Dickey took me to lunch and told me that there would be some people who would tell you that you were the best announcer that ever lived, and that's not true. Then there are some who say you're the worst announcer, and that's not true. He said you don't have to worry about what these people say, you just do the best you can and the only person you have to please is me. As long as you make me happy, you're good. That was one of the best things he could have said to me.”

Kesling called for the first time on September 4, 1999, and was clearly reminded of what he had gotten himself into.

“The day of the first game, I go to the stadium and there's a guy in an ice cream delivery truck. He drives by and says, “Hey Bob, good luck tonight, don't embarrass us.” I said, “I got you, thanks.” I'm not going to lie. I was nervous and scared,” Kesling said with a laugh.

On Saturday, Kesling will play in his 322nd Tennessee football game. He will do so just as he has done since 1999, in style and with pride.

“One of the first things I did when I got the job to replace John was I got in the car, drove across the state and visited every single Vol Network station. I called them and said if you would like me to talk to a Rotary Club, if you would like me to visit some of your advertisers, if you would just like to show me around your city, I would like to meet you. It was amazing to me how big a deal they thought it was. The power and brand of the Vol Network was like a king coming to town. The further you get from Knoxville, the bigger and more important Power T and the Vol Network are to people. The pride and tradition of the Vol network really became clear to me as I made these stops to every single station on the network. It’s just such an important thing for people and has been for decades.”

For bob Keslingthe last five decades have been about pride. Proud of a career that was born when preparation met opportunity.

“It’s amazing,” Kesling said. “I came here in 1972 not knowing anyone in Tennessee, scared to death as a rookie walk-on defensive lineman, and here I am over 50 years later with so many friends because of that position. I am truly overwhelmed by how lucky I have been. What a great ride it was.”