The Minnesota Wild will honor retired radio play-by-play announcer Bob Kurtz on Saturday, Feb. 11, when the team hosts the New Jerseys Devils at 7 p.m. on Bob Kurtz Night.
The Wild will celebrate Kurtz’s broadcasting career throughout the game on Feb. 11. The first 10,000 fans attending Bob Kurtz Night will receive a mini radio that features some of his most memorable radio calls during his career. More details about Bob Kurtz Night will be announced in the near future.
“All of us look forward to having the chance to honor Bob for the tremendous contributions he made to our organization and to recognize his long and successful career on Feb. 11,” said Minnesota Wild President Matt Majka. “Bob will continue to be the ‘voice of the Wild’ in the hearts of many Wild fans.”
Kurtz served as the first-ever radio voice in franchise history and spent parts of 22 seasons with the organization before he decided to retire last season. The Detroit, Mich., native spent 11 years (1989-2000) working with New England Sports Network in Boston, Mass., prior to joining the Minnesota Wild for its inaugural season in 2000. He was the network’s play-by-play voice for the Boston Red Sox and broadcasted an array of sports including Boston Bruins hockey, Boston University hockey, the Hockey East Game of the Week and American Hockey League games.
Kurtz’s strong ties to Minnesota included serving as the lead television announcer for the Minnesota North Stars for seven seasons on KMSP (1979-84) and KXLI (1987-88). He also performed play-by-play duties for the Minnesota Twins on KMSP from 1979 to 1986 and on KSTP radio in 2011. A graduate of Michigan State University, Kurtz returned to his alma mater to call Spartans hockey, football, baseball and basketball from 1974 to 1979. He also did freelance play-by-play assignments with The Baseball Network (1994-95) and WJR Radio in Detroit.
He and his wife, Lorri, have two sons, Paul and Dan (Gina) and twin grandsons, Colt and Max.
(info and photo courtesy of Wild)
