Photo by Linda Hahn
As a former Oregonian and long-time Duck fan, KUGN ‘Voice of
the Ducks’ Hal Ramey is no foreigner to the greener grasses of
Autzen Stadium.
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His voice is new, but he’s no stranger
By Linda Hahn
Of the Emerald
A red light flashes and the
tape deck whirls. The man
behind the control panel leans
back in his swivel chair,
acknowledges a nod from
behind the glass window, while
simultaneously talking with a
visitor in his booth.
“Hold on a minute, okay?”
Without belaying the activity
surrounding him, he adjusts
black earphones and swings the
microphone to his face. A con
trolled rap flows smoothly onto
the AM airwaves, out to the
easy-listening crowd of Eugene.
“Hi folks, this is Hal Ramey
of KUGN...” After a little more
than a month at his new job, the
15-year broadcasting veteran
admits that little can rattle him.
But the big transition for Ramey
began with the Sept. 8 opening
game of the Duck’s football
season.
Rainey , the former radio voice
of the San lose State University
football and basketball teams
since 1972, has changed teams
and colors. He’s entered the
1984 collegiate football season
as the new “Voice of the
Ducks.”
An SJSU graduate, Ramey
began his sportscasting career
as Spartan play-by-play an
nouncer on the school radio sta
tion. He also served as sports in
formation director at SJSU
before his employment at a suc
cession of Bay Area stations.
But the stability and the success
of KUGN lured him from his
home in California to the
greener pastures of the Emerald
City.
“The station and the Univer
sity are committed to a first
class job broadcasting the
game,” Ramey says. “It’s a
good opportunity for me — and
here I are.”
Just as Ramey is no stranger to
the control booth, he is also no
stranger to Oregon or the Ducks.
Both his parents grew up in this
state — his mother in Clatskanie
and his father in St. Helens.
During the Depression, his
father attended the University.
But economic pressure took him
from academia to more lucrative
ventures in San Francisco.
However, father and son still
kept tabs on the Ducks. “We’d
catch them whenever they'd
play at Stanford or Cal,” Ramey
says.
He has relatives all over the
state, including a cousin in
Eugene. “So it’s not like I’m
moving into totally foreign
land.” Ramey has also vacation
ed extensively in Oregon. “In
fact, let me see .. . yes, 1983 is
the only year in my life that I
haven’t visited Oregon.”
Ramey thinks the move from
the Bay Area will benefit his
two children as well as his
career. “This is really pretty
country, and the people here are
so nice wherever I’ve gone. It’s
a lot friendlier than California,
and the Bay Area is getting so
crowded. This will be a great
place for kids to grow up.”
Enthusiasm for the move has
trickled down the family. “The
little guy, my two-year-old
already knows how to say, “Go
Ducks!” Ramey boasts. The
family recently bought a home
in Eugene after spending a
month in a hotel. “I wouldn’t
recommend a month in a hotel
to anyone. But we survived it.
But I don’t know if the hotel
did,’’ he adds.
Moving a family of four, plus
a 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. air show has
hampered Ramey’s ability to ac
cept speaking engagements.
Public relations work is a big
part of his job, he says.
“We’ll be having him speak
before community organiza
tions and take part in local ac
tivities. We want the name of
Hal Ramey to be synonymous
with U of 0 sports,“ says KUGN
General Manager Jim Torrey.
During football practice,
Ramey was out at Autzen three
days a week researching his
team.
“The Ducks have an excellent
chance for a winning season,”
he predicts, though he admits
that the Pac 10 is a tough con
ference. And who will he root
for when his alma mater, San
]ose, competes with the Ducks?
“Well, that’s not for a year,”
he says with relief as his face
flushes and his constant smile
fades. The facade of the "con
trolled professional” momen
tarily.dwindles. He admits that
he will miss all the friends that
he made during his 12 years at
SJSU. In a rare space of
seriousness he says, "It’s dif
ficult leaving friends behind.
And I wish them well.” But
then the smile quickly returns.
“But when my team hits the
field, I’ll be wearing green. I
like my team to win. When
you’re broadcasting for three
hours, it’s more fun talking
about a winning team,” he says.
“We’re delighted to be here.
People at the station and the
University have been great. I
hope to be here a long time.”
And with a twinkle in his eye he
adds, “And I hope the Ducks
win a lot.”
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