Storied Pittsburgh Radio Announcer Dies

PITTSBURGH, PA — The longest tenured NCAA Division I basketball play-by-play announcer and Pittsburgh resident has died.

Ray Goss, who spent 58 years as the voice of the Duquesne Dukes died on Tuesday. He was 89.

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Goss died after being involved in a recent vehicular accident.

"Ray Goss was not only the voice of Duquesne basketball -- he was the heart of the Dukes for a wide audience," Duquesne University President Ken Gormley said in a statement.

"For 58 years, he sat behind the microphone and called games as the voice of the team he loved, reaching thousands of fans over multiple generations with his unique style of play-by-play broadcasting.

"In 2023, Ray was inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Radio Hall of Fame. At that time, I congratulated him for being the longest tenured NCAA Division I radio announcer in the United States. Ray just laughed and said 'I have plenty of steam left!'"

Born Jan. 6, 1937, in Carnegie, Pa., Goss called his first Duquesne basketball game March 17, 1968, when the Dukes faced Fordham in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament in New York at Madison Square Garden.

He began his full-time tenure as play-by-play radio announcer at the beginning of the 1968-69 campaign and during his tenure missed just two games during his entire career.

Goss is survived by seven children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.