Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end and longtime television and radio broadcaster Bob Trumpy has died. He was 80.
The Bengals announced Sunday that Trumpy “passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family.” The team did not provide a cause of death, however.
A pioneer as a pass-catching tight end, Trumpy caught 298 passes for 4,600 yards and 35 touchdowns in 128 career games (122 starts) with Cincinnati. The four-time Pro Bowl performer and 1969 All-Pro was selected by the Bengals in the 12th round of the 1968 NFL Draft out of Utah, and he was named to Cincinnati’s 50th anniversary team in 2017.
He caught the first touchdown pass in Bengals history when quarterback John Stofa hit him with a 58-yarder on Sept. 15, 1968, in the expansion team’s 24-10 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Trumpy still has more touchdowns (35) and yards per catch (15.4) than any tight end in Bengals history.
He transitioned from the football field to local radio and then into the broadcast booth for NBC and network radio. He worked with Dick Enberg, Bob Costas and Don Criqui, among others, and called four Super Bowls, three Olympic Games and three Ryder Cups.
In 2014, Trumpy received the Pete Rozelle Radio and Television award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame for “longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football.”
“I’ve known Bob since we started here and he had an extraordinary career as both a player and a broadcaster,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said in a statement. “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.”
