Joe Starkey

Joe Starkey, Voice of the San Francisco 49ers since 1989, Play-by-play announcer for University of California at Berkeley Golden Bears Football since 1975.

Joe Starkey took a back door approach to enter the field of sports reporting. Armed with an MBA in industrial relations from Loyola University in Chicago, he served as corporate vice president in charge of Union Bank's Northern California region by age 28. But Joe's heart really belonged to sports. As a spectator, Joe was never without his tape recorder to practice his play-by-play announcing. This technique ultimately became the demo tape that landed him his first sports announcers' job in 1972 for Charley Finley's Oakland-based National Hockey League Seals.

Since that time, Joe has been a broadcaster for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, the USFL's Oakland Invaders, and the NHL's San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins. He has also called Golden State Warriors and Cal Bears basketball, and is proud to be an eight time winner of the Associated Press Award for Best California Play by Play Broadcaster. His international experience includes Winter and Summer Olympics, Wimbledon tennis and professional soccer.