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Bob Rathbun
One of the NBA's most recognizable and decorated play-by-play announcers, Bob
Rathbun enters his 13th season as the television play-by-play voice for the
Hawks.Rathbun will call all of the games on the Hawks' FSN South/SportSouth
package.
In 2008, Rathbun garnered two more significant broadcasting awards. In April, he
was inducted into the media wing of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and in
June, he was awarded his sixth NATAS Southeast Regional Emmy Award for
broadcasting excellence. FSN South's entry of the Hawks Dec. 6 last-second win
over the Timberwolves walked away with the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement,
Sporting Event/Game (Live Unedited).
In 2007, Rathbun won the same Emmy for his work on FSN's winning entry while
broadcasting play-by-play for the Atlanta Braves.
His basketball work has touched nearly all of the major broadcast outlets. His
NBA work has earned him opportunities to call games for TNT and NBA-TV, after a
collegiate resume that includes stints with CBS (NCAA basketball tournament),
ABC, and ESPN (College basketball plus college football and the College World
Series).
Rathbun has served as the college basketball play-by-play announcer for the ACC
Television Network through Raycom Sports since 1988, and he has called games for
both the ACC and the SEC on FSN South since he arrived in Atlanta in 1996.
With an extensive sports background, Rathbun's broadcasting career has earned
him seven Sportscaster of the Year honors (Virginia: 1980-82, 1985, 1988-89;
Georgia 1998), a Distinguished Service Award from the ACC (1994), and a
Distinguished Alumni Award from Catawba College (1988). He was inducted into his
alma mater's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
His baseball resume includes 10 years as FSN South's voice of the Atlanta
Braves, three seasons on radio in Detroit with the Tigers, and part time work on
Baltimore Orioles' TV broadcasts.
Since 2004, Rathbun has spearheaded the organization's Speaker's Bureau, where
he works on increasing the profile of the Hawks, Thrashers and Philips Arena -
through speaking engagements with civic, community, religious and other local
groups.
Rathbun, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech from Catawba
College (1976), and his wife Marybeth have two children, Court and Grace.